Some of the bands featured during The New England Americana Festival @ the Church of Boston: The Accident That Led Me To The World, Brown Bird, Jimmy Ryan, Big East, and Three Day Threshold (photo by Mandy Morin).
A busy time with lots of things to write about, so for now, I’m just going to mention this one Boston-area band event going on at Church. However, it’s actually a whole pile of bands taking part in the three-day New England Americana Festival, so I’ll briefly profile a few of the bands performing.
Thursday-Saturday, February 25 – 27: The New England Americana Festival
Thursday, February 25: 6:50 The Accident That Led Me To The World, 7:30 Jeff Bird and the Dirty Finch, 8:10 Odessa Rose, 8:50 Bryan Pero and the Tired Horses, 9:30 Brown Bird, 10:10 Bean Pickers Union, 10:50 Movers and Shakers, and 11:30 Kinglsey Flood @ the Church of Boston – Thursday Feb. 25. 21+; $8; 6pm doors.
Brown Bird
Thursday night features, among others, an acoustic folk trio from Webster, Mass., alt-country/Americana bands such as Jeff Bird and the Dirty Finch from Rhode Island and Bryan Pero and the Tired Horses. Rootsy quintet Brown Bird caught my attention. Ok, they’re from Rhode Island and not Boston, but hey, close enough for my purposes right now. Banjo, fiddle, cello, accordian, ukelele, lap steel and other instrumentation along with some lovely vocals and harmonies; these guys should be really good to see live. They have a nice gypsy vibe going on. On the other end of the spectrum, in a quieter and more starkly minimalist vein, is The Accident That Led Me To The World, which features guitar picking and upright bass and alternately pretty and haunting vocal harmonies. Lovely. Then there’s the barroom grittiness of Boston’s Movers and Shakers and finishing off the night is Kingsley Flood, who mix a Woody Guthrie and The Band vibe with modern rock influences like the Replacements and the Pixies.
Friday, February 26: 7:10 They Will Hate Us, 7:50 Route .44, 8:30 John Colvert, 9:10 Golden West Motor Lodge, 9:50 The Rationales, 10:30 Coyote Kolb, 11:10 Girls, Guns, and Glory, and 12:15 Highway Ghosts @ the Church of Boston – Friday Feb. 26. 21+; $10; 6pm doors.
Golden West Motor Lodge (photo by Andy Pickering)
A very interesting band starting things off on Friday. They Will Hate Us are purveyors of a style of music they refer to as Gothicana – Adela and Jude perform their own original “inspirational songs of praise” on period instruments, as well as covers of The Carter Family, Hank Williams Sr. and others. Folky and old-timey, with a very nice sound. Then there’s the bluesy, ballsy sax-driven Route .44, and the introspective songwriting of John Colvert, accompanied tastefully by banjo, lap steel, harmonica and other instrumentation courtesy of multi-instrumentalist Evan Gavry. Golden West Motor Lodge provides some fun jamming a la the Replacements, Uncle Tupelo, Wilco and Neil Young. Country-blues and country-rock are represented with Coyote Kolb and Girls, Guns and Glory. Highway Ghosts, who recently released After All This Time, finish off the evening.
Saturday, February 27: 6:30 Dave Sammarco Band, 7:20 Bees Knees, 8:00 That Old Feelin, 8:45 Big East, 9:30 Sam Reid and the Riot Act, 10:20 Autumn Hollow, 11:10 Jimmy Ryan and Hayride (features Duke Levine), and 12:10 Three Day Threshold @ the Church of Boston – Saturday Feb. 27. 21+; $10; 6pm doors.
Jimmy Ryan and Hayride (featuring Duke Levine)
Starting off with the country-blues of the Dave Sammarco Band, this final evening of the New England Americana Festival features The Bees Knees, which combines a nice alt-country sound with an indie pop feel (influences include The Byrds, The Flying Burrito Brothers and The Band), and bluesy rock with Allston-based Big East. Sam Reid & The Riot Act add their brand of bluegrass Americana to the mix (tasty stuff), and The Autumn Hollow Band are on the bill as well with their rootsy pedal steel and banjo (and they’re really great; I’ve seen them at Toad). Apparently the organizers wanted to go out with a bang, ’cause rounding out the festival is Jimmy Ryan and Hayride with his crazy mandolin picking, and the lovely folk-Americana sounds of popular Somerville band Three Day Threshold. If you can only get to one of the three nights and you enjoy serious banjo/mandolin/harmonica jamming, this is probably the evening for you.
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John Beasley
Or, The Whale is an alternative country band I have really been getting into lately. Check them out