Boston’s 617Sessions celebrates a special milestone today (November 5) with the release of its fifth annual Sound of Our Town compilation. As of this fall, the program has helped 50 independent Boston artists record and release original music, completely free of charge.
Every year since its inception in 2017, the Boston Music Awards’ 617Sessions program has selected 10 area artists from a pool of applicants to receive complementary studio time at the Bridge Sound and Stage in Cambridge. Upon completion, the program releases all 10 tracks as a digital album, allowing each artist to collect their respective royalties from streams and downloads.
This year’s edition features new songs from King Fiya, Datcha, Senseless Optimism, Anson Rap$, Mallcops, The Wolff Sisters, Juniper Youth, Jake Swamp & The Pine, Salem Wolves, and Michael Minelli.
After a devastating year like 2020, the opportunities provided by 617Sessions helped musicians like Senseless Optimism hop back on track after months of little to no musical activity. She penned her featured tune “Yesterdayz” last year as “an ode to better days to come” after a period of poor physical and mental health. Twelve months later, the song’s message has transformed from wish to reality, thanks to the program’s complimentary studio time.
To understand the full effect of 617Sessions, multiply that feel-good fruition by 50.
“Bringing the band and my producer into a new environment and creating something made the song that much more meaningful and special,” Senseless Optimism tells Vanyaland.
Per tradition, all 10 featured artists are nominated in the “617Sessions Artist of the Year” category at this year’s BMAs. The full BMAs ballot dropped this morning in tangent with the 2021 edition of Sound of Our Town.
Check out all the nominations, and press play on the 10 newest tracks to come out of 617Sessions below.
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