Music
For two New England folk legends, friendship and music can weather any storm
A new documentary premiering at the Independent Film Festival Boston tells the story of a North Shore musical friendship 50 years in the making. Mason Daring and Jeanie Stahl made...
Non-Event celebrates 25 years of bringing experimental music to Boston
Despite being an organization without a permanent venue, Non-Event is dedicated to presenting music that is inherently as non-commercial as it gets. "If they weren’t doing what they are doing,...
At Berklee, aspiring composers worry AI threatens their future
For centuries, the process of writing music has been the same, whether it’s done with pencil and paper or a computer: The art involves expressing human ideas through music. Generative...
Vote for your favorite local 2026 NPR Tiny Desk Contest entry
There were 184 Massachusetts entries to the national contest, and we've whittled it down to 22 local finalists. Cast your vote for the Fan Favorite.
What does the city sound like? This festival wants you to walk to find out
Produced by the Harvard ArtLab and artist-researcher Jacek Smolicki, the Walking Festival of Sound features a lineup of 19 soundwalks, listening sessions and talks from local artists and practitioners. The...
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A musical project sheds light on Boston's Black labor history
An album and podcast from the Silkroad Ensemble and Rhiannon Giddens was inspired by the Black and immigrant labor that built America’s railroads. In Boston, Black sleeping car porters unionized...
Our local Tiny Desk search begins
WBUR's Amelia Mason has begun her annual springtime search for our favorite local entry to NPR's Tiny Desk Contest, with the help of a panel of local collaborators.
How Berklee College of Music is thinking about AI and the future of music
Mark Ethier runs the Berklee Emerging Artistic Technology Lab, or BEATL. His job is to prepare Berklee College of Music students for an evolving industry where the use of AI...
Boston's folk scene remembers Bob Franke with a tribute concert
The beloved singer-writer died in October at the age of 74 after being struck and killed by a motorcycle in Guatemala, where he had recently retired. Musicians are honoring his...
Ahead of No Kings Rally, Dropkick Murphys' Ken Casey on resistance as celebration
The Celtic punk rockers are taking the stage as part of Saturday’s No Kings Rally on Boston Common. The lead singer spoke about staying true to the band’s message and...
Five years after his death, Chick Corea's legacy lives on
The Chelsea native died in 2021, but between a series of newly released live recordings, his recent Grammy win for Best Jazz Performance, and his compositions remaining a core part...
Boston's Sweet Petunia brings basement DIY to old time folk
Banjo-wielding Maddy Simpson and Mairead Guy may have met in the halls of the Berklee College of Music in 2018, but it was at an Allston basement show where they...
After years of roving, the Boston Lyric Opera celebrates its new home
New England's largest opera company finally has a place to call home. It’s welcoming the public to its newly renovated performance and community studios in Fort Point with an intimate...
A guide to Greater Boston's spring classical music concerts
From Castle of Our Skins' sound portraits to Boston Lyric Opera's delightful sounding "Daughter of the Regiment," WBUR critic Lloyd Schwartz shares the performances he's particularly eager to hear —...
BSO musicians rally in support of embattled director
Musicians with the Boston Symphony Orchestra gathered Tuesday on the steps of Symphony Hall to support their embattled music director Andris Nelsons.
After the BSO's decision, a critic reviews Andris Nelsons' dismissal and tenure
The news of Nelsons contract coming to an end was seismic in the classical music world. While WBUR art critic Lloyd Schwartz wasn’t shocked by the decision, the way it's...
Grace Givertz bids love goodbye on her cinematic folk album
The Boston singer-songwriter explores interracial dating and the end of her first real relationship on her sophomore album, “Midnight Feature.”
Meet O’Jizo, an Irish band from Japan
Tokyo-born flutist Kozo Toyota fell for Irish music after hearing fiddle tunes in Tokyo Disneyland. He co-founded a Celtic trio, which marries traditional Irish repertoire with contemporary grooves and inventive...
14 albums by Greater Boston musicians to listen to this spring
From Latin jazz to children’s music to hard-hitting R&B, WBUR music writer Noah Schaffer shares albums coming out this spring that prove Greater Boston artists are full of resourcefulness and...
Joseph Sater, co-owner of the Middle East Restaurant & Nightclub, has died
Sater moved from his native Lebanon to the U.S. in 1974, around the same time his brother first bought what was then a neighborhood restaurant. The pair turned it into...