Editor’s Note: Welcome to our new series spotlighting the bands and artists playing this year’s NICE, a fest. With 49 live performances over three days and two venues — July 28 to 30 at Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom and The Rockwell — there’s a lot going on, but consider this your compass to the NICE-est weekend imaginable. Get ticket info here, and check out our continued coverage of the festival.
Maneka
When and Where: Friday, July 29 at 6:45 p.m. at The Crystal Ballroom.
Band Bio: Devin McKnight makes music to be understood. With Maneka, his wildly adventurous songwriting project, the Brooklyn-based indie rock artist has consistently and thoughtfully explored the fringes of identity. As a Black man, he writes songs that resiliently navigate the anxiety of being a minority in largely white spaces, offering solidarity to outsiders everywhere and firm defiance against a regressive status quo. On Dark Matters, the masterful second Maneka album out March 11, 2022 via Skeletal Lightning, McKnight is at his most clear-eyed and searching. Across 10 tracks, McKnight asks uncomfortable questions about himself and America’s dark past all while scraping the edges of what guitar music can be. Kinetic, unpredictable, and totally resonant, this LP is a triumphant window into McKnight’s vision.
Fun Fact: “I’m the nicest guy you’ve ever met.”
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