Music
Our favorite local music this month
From meditative new chapter from a favorite musician to a '90s alt-rock inspired album that explores the modern age, our music critics share their favorite local new music.
Couch is ready for a 'Big Talk' on debut album
A handful of local bands can fill up a venue as large as Boston’s 3,500-capacity Roadrunner. Couch is one of them. After years of touring success, the group has released...
Concert series 'Which Side?' looks at the past and future of protest music
Organized by political and musical activist Joyce Linehan and Boston Globe correspondent James Sullivan, the monthly concert and discussion series features performances by local musicians and is designed to create...
At 125, Boston's Symphony Hall still sings
On its opening night in 1900, Boston's Symphony Hall drew patrons in more than 250 carriages and headlines nationwide. Today, the landmark’s revolutionary acoustics — engineered by a Harvard physics...
A punk rock anthem for Market Basket
The iconic grocery chain’s community spirit is what Boston punk rock band Stop Calling Me Frank strove to capture in “MB Anthem (The Market Basket Song).”
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Roomful of Blues swings into a new era
Since it was founded in Rhode Island in 1967, the group has had eight lead singers and over 60 members. Roomful's new record “Steppin’ Out!” marks a new era for...
Sound designer Skooby Laposky amplifies the hidden lives of plants
The audio explorer and plant DJ collaborates with gardens and trees to turn up the volume on their hidden role in our environment.
Jake Blount's dystopian folk music is an omen for the present
The Providence musician released his first album of Black mountain music during America’s racial reckoning. Amid Trump’s DEI purge and environmental collapse, his Afrofuturist folk hits different.
14 albums by New England musicians to listen to this fall
This fall's album releases offer proof that New England musicians are creating music on the highest caliber, from jazz artist Zahili Gonzalez Zamora to international touring band Couch.
A guide to Greater Boston's autumnal cornucopia of classical music events
From White Snake Project's opera "White Raven, Black Dove" to Radius Ensemble's "Currents" concert, WBUR arts critic Lloyd Schwartz compiles an abundance of opportunities to experience classical music this fall.
Evan Greer on making music to meet the moment
Ahead of the release of her new album "AMAB/ACAB," the self-described queer anarcho-indie-punk musician spoke with WBUR's Amelia Mason about how her perspective has changed with age, what it means...
This Boston rapper is on a quest to help musicians create sustainable careers
Hip-hop artist Red Shaydez used her own experiences as a creative entrepreneur to launch a development bootcamp for artists. The inaugural cohort wraps up with a concert on Sept. 4...
Our favorite local music from August
From an exclusive song premiere by a Somerville alt-rock band to an album of Hawaiian-inspired exotica, our music critics enjoyed a rich variety of local music this month.
B-52s legend Kate Pierson finds a new groove on the Cape
Renowned for her vibrant style and powerhouse vocals with the B-52s, Kate Pierson is now drawing fresh inspiration from the wild beauty of Cape Cod. Between touring, solo gigs, and...
Joe Perry's 'revolving door' of musicians heads out on tour
The Joe Perry Project is the Aerosmith guitarist's perennial Plan B. It's a band he’s put together several times starting in 1979. This time, the group heads out for a...
Boston's Naya Rockers celebrate the nun and her school that cultivated reggae
On the upcoming album "Higher Education," the reggae collective pays homage to Sister Mary Ignatius Davies and the Alpha Boys' School in Kingston, Jamaica. Each song celebrates learning and a...
A 'radically inclusive' brass band believes anyone can learn to play
At School of Honk's weekly practices, you'll get handed an instrument and invited to join a parade — even if you've never played a note.
Listen: Lauren Henderson explores how jazz bridges cultures on 'Sonidos'
Lauren Henderson blends her multicultural roots into a soulful, bilingual jazz album, “Sonidos,” releasing Aug. 1. She draws on the jazz and Latin sounds she heard growing up, and brings...
8 artists bringing the British jazz invasion to Newport
Here’s a look at how Newport Jazz Festival will showcase the past, present and future of British jazz and adjacent music during its Aug. 1-3 run at Fort Adams State...
Our favorite local music from July
This month's music roundup brings an angsty song layered with the irony of adulthood, a laid-back yet turned up hip-hop project, a compilation album inspired by a crowd-pleasing food, and...