Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community.
Today is Billy Ruane’s birthday. He would have been 60 years old. And there probably would have been a party somewhere that would have extended long through the weekend.
The Boston music scene icon passed away in October 2010 at the age of 52, and incredibly, the stories of his legacy still permeate through the city. His ashes remain on display at the Middle East in Central Square, filmmaker Michael Gill is putting the final touches on his long-awaited documentary, The Road To Ruane, and the process is underway to rename the corner of Brookline and Green streets, where Sonia now sits at the space of the old T.T The Bear’s Place rock club, as “Billy Ruane Square”.
Leading the charge on “Billy Ruane Square” is the Middle East and music journalist and historian Brian Coleman, who earlier this year compiled more than 3,000 signatures (roughly 500 online and more than 2,800 physical endorsements) to support the cause and get the measure in front of Cambridge officials. As the square targets a 2018 dedication, the comments, nearly 200 of them, on the online petition served as a reminder of who Ruane truly was, and the effect he had on people.
With Coleman’s permission, we published those comments below, and asked him if he was surprised by the reaction.