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Rock Shop and Anngelle Wood to host ‘The State of Live Music In Boston: An Open Forum’

UPDATE May 13 at 11:20 a.m.: Due to significant interest in the forum, “The State of Live Music In Boston” has been moved to iZotope (60 Hampshire St. in Cambridge), a larger space that can accommodate more people. Host Anngelle Wood says the new location will also hold future forums as a means to continue the discussion about live music in and around Boston. RSVP here; our original post is below, with updated graphics.


The Boston music scene is being asked to come together to discuss the state of live music around the city.

Anngelle Wood Media has teamed up with Kevin Hoskins and Steve Theo of Rock Shop Boston to present a public discussion titled “The State Of Live Music In Boston: An Open Forum”. It’s RSVP only, and goes down May 23 at 7 p.m. at Q Division Studios in Somerville [EDIT: See update above].

(Disclosure: I’ve spoken on Rock Shop panels in the past.)

Wood, the curator of the Rock And Roll Rumble and host of Boston Emissions on WZLX 100.7 FM, tells Vanyaland that the idea is to create an open discussion about what’s going on around local stages, from venue openings and closings to booking practices to creating an effort of full-on transparency within the clubs.

“There is a lot of confusion and frustration surrounding the value of live music as well as the way venues prioritize pay outs,” Wood tells Vanyaland. “There seems to be no transparency in terms of booking and room fees. I have had many conversations about this with people who play music in town, and it is a common theme. We are reaching out to all talent buyers, promoters, bookers, bands, and media people. This will be an open conversation — with some guidelines — to get this stuff out in the open.”

Wood also says that if a band wants to share personal stories or experiences but doesn’t want to go public with them, they can email her at anngellewoodmedia@gmail.com.

Here’s the full bulletin announcement, via the Facebook event page.

Do Venues Value Live Music?

Bat signal received! There is an important discussion to be had about the state of live music in Boston. Let’s put it all on the table — from bands being expected to play for free to being required to sell advance tickets (aka pay-to-play), to transparency in current venue room fees.

This is an open forum to discuss the treatment of live musicians by venues in Boston and how bands can take a more active role. Boston can be a better city for music …and musicians.
We want to hear from you.

All are welcome. It is free and open to the public. Please share with anyone who’d like to attend. We do ask that you please RSVP to get an idea of attendance here.

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