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This weekend’s BC65 party at ONCE in Somerville serves a few different purposes, all of which are vital in their own right. One, it’s event promoter Bob Colby’s 65th birthday, which ages out to about 250 in Boston music scene years. The Sunday afternoon (August 13) marathon show also serves as the grand finale for Colby’s booking practices, under the Bob Colby Presents banner, which over the years have aimed to shine a spotlight on the various underground and off-the-radar bands and artists around the city. Third, the 10-band lineup is a mini-festival of eclectic sounds and styles that all share one common bond: They all helped shape Colby’s network of friends and bands.
“The BC65 lineup is a mix if acts I’ve discovered over the course of five years booking shows, plus a few old friends I’ve known for decades,” Colby tells us.
As we detailed in a November 2015 spotlight on Colby, the Watertown resident and longtime supporter of Boston arts and music is eying a move towards a warmer climate as he deals with increasing health issues. So while he prepares a new chapter in his life, it was due time for a proper sendoff, and no better date than on a birthday.
“BC65 is the last Bob Colby Presents show that I’m planning to put on in the Boston area,” he adds. “I’m hoping to move to a more-affordable, warmer part of the country in the near future, but I don’t know how long it will take me to find something suitable, making the kind of advance planning a good show requires impossible. There might be some sort of informal going-away party once I know my moving date, but I really have no idea about that now.”
In the meantime, a party is in order. The day-into-night festivities, which begin at the 3 p.m. door time, is headlined by Thalia Zedek — “one of the most consequential, influential performers to have ever come out of this town,” Colby says — and features performances by The Wrong Shapes, an acoustic Carissa Johnson, Viva Gina, Dyr Faser, The Land of Enchantment, Kingdom of Love, Cold Expectations, The Very, and Randy Black and the Heathcroppers.
The show is so long, there will even be a dinner break. To get your appetitive for music all worked up, preview most the performers below, and keep it locked to the BC65 Facebook event page for set-times and any last-minute updates or news.
BC65 — BOB COLBY’S 65th BIRTHDAY BASH AND FINAL BCP SHOW :: Sunday, August 13 at ONCE Somerville, 156 Highland Ave. in Somerville, MA :: 3 p.m. to midnight, 18-plus, $12 in advance and $15 at the door :: Advance tickets :: ONCE event page :: Facebook event page :: Show poster by Daykamp Creative
