By now everyone knows of that big-ticket music festival going on Memorial Day weekend at City Hall. But between the Awesome Day Fest in Allston (May 24), Do617’s Last Call party at Brighton Music Hall (May 24), and the Boston Clawing showcase at Ned Devine’s (May 25), that entire weekend is shaping up to be a great one for the Boston music scene.
We’ve already hyped the Last Call and Boston Clawing parties, but now it looks like details on the Awesome Day festival are taking shape: 15 bands will perform across these three Allston venues for an all-day Saturday bash: O’Brien’s Pub (3 Harvard Ave.), Pizzeria Regina (353 Cambridge St.) and Store 54 (16 Harvard Ave.). All three rooms are within a minute walk of each other on the scenic intersection of Cambridge Street and Harvard Avenue. There will also be a BBQ at O’Brien’s.
Among the participating bands are Lifestyle (pictured above), Thalia Zedek Band, Soccer Mom, Gondoliers, the Proselyte, Jim Healey, Tired Old Bones, Hey Zeus!, Eldridge Rodriguez, Beware the Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion!, M.G. Lederman, Quarterly, the TeleVibes, and earthquake party!
“Awesome Day Fest will hopefully show a small part of the diverse rock/indie scene here in Boston,” says co-curator Cameron Keiber of Midriff Records. “It’s a scene that is as vital and important as any other scene in any other city. Unfortunately, because of time and space constraints we are only presenting a tiny cross section of what makes the greater Boston music scene so special.”
Keiber says the idea for Awesome Day is to grow each year. “Hopefully going forward we’ll be able to open up the festival to more venues and bands,” he tells Vanyaland.
But this year is pretty stacked.
“I’ve love Allston… un-ironically,” says Keiber. “It’s where I’ve settled my family and put down roots and I think there is a good amount of people who love Allston, too. So this festival is as much a celebration of Allston, Massachusetts, as much as it is of the Boston music scene. Hopefully the fest gets people to come out and spend their time with the Allston community for the day.
Tickets to O’Brien’s portion are $10 (includes BBQ) and can be purchased at O’Brien’s the day of the event. According to Keiber, Store 54 and Regina Pizzeria will have “an encouraged donation policy for their performances on the evening of the event in lieu of a door cover. We are asking that people please respect it.”
Here’s who’s playing when and where:
O’Brien’s Pub: Gondoliers, Tired Old Bones, Soccer Mom, Hey Zeus!, The Proselyte, Jim Healey, Quarterly (set times TBA shortly; doors at 3 p.m., $10).
Store 54: Beware The Dangers of a Ghost Scorpion, The TeleVibes, Thalia Zedek Band, M.G. Lederman
Regina Pizzeria: Lifestyle, Eldridge Rodriguez, Earthquake Party!, DJ Ken Cmar (show starts at 9 p.m., donation asked in lieu of cover)
Check out the flyer below, illustrated by Ian Adams…
