We don’t need Cinderella to tell us that it’s been a long cold winter away from Bellforge Arts Center, the sprawling new creative hub located southeast of Boston at the old Medfield State Hospital. After a colorful slate of summer and fall programming kept us sane last year, a new program is in the works for the warmer months of 2023, but not before a host of homegrown bands take advantage of the grounds, especially the historic chapel, to film new music videos. Last month Paper Tigers’ unleashed “Portrait of a Scene,” and now Aaron and the Lord, fresh off a commanding performance at the Boston Music Awards, have presented “Lilydale.”
The haunting video, released this past Friday (February 17), was directed by Aaron and the Lord guitarist Will Claflin, and shot on digital and super 8 inside Medfield State Hospital’s historic Lee Chapel, a central piece of Bellforge Arts Center’s ambitious long-term revitalization efforts.
“The eerie and atmospheric setting of the institution adds another layer of complexity to the video’s themes of exploring spirit mediums and the occult,” says Claflin. “I am proud to have directed and edited this video and to have been part of such a meaningful and transformative project.”
Aaron and the Lord, for the uninitiated, is the relatively new indie rock band led by Aaron Perrino (The Sheila Divine, Dear Leader, No Hope/No Harm) and Steven Lord (The Dirty Bangs). “Lilydale” acts as the first single from the project’s forthcoming album We are the Darkness. We are the Light.
Watch the video below, and catch Aaron and the Lord live on April 15, when they play the Harris reunion with Sidewalk Driver and Stars Like Ours at Crystal Ballroom in Somerville.