The signs of spring are finally cropping up: Snow is melting, sunlight miraculously lingers past 5 p.m., and the Rock and Roll Rumble has announced its Class of 2023.
After confirming the long-awaited return of the Boston rock competition last fall, host Anngelle Wood today (March 12) unveiled the 24 bands and artists who will vie for the Rumble crown via her radio show, Boston Emissions on UncertainFM. Next month at The Middle East and Sonia, the Rumble will host its first edition since 2019 due to pandemic postponements.
This year’s performers are, in alphabetical order: Bird Language, Bleach the Sky, The Chelsea Curve, City of Dis, Devil Love, Donaher, D-Tension & The Secrets, The Endorphins, The Freqs, Graveyard of the Atlantic, Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight, Kid Disaster, Kooked Out, Luxury Deathtrap, Michael Kane & The Morning Afters, Not Bad Not Well, One Fall, Paper Tigers, Parts Per Million, Ruin The Nite, The Shallows, Time Wolf, Tysk Tysk Task, and Wildcat Slim.
Roughly one-fifth of the lineup showcases returning bands from the “Class of 2020” who never got the chance to compete, due to the Rumble’s cancellation — and subsequent hibernation — during the COVID-19 pandemic. Groups stepping back up to bat include Donaher, Graveyard of the Atlantic, The Endorphins, The Shallows, and Wildcat Slim.
“I always have a dream lineup in my head,” Wood tells Vanyaland, “and I wanted bands who didn’t get to play in 2020 to be considered. Having a submissions process helps to see who’s interested and available. I like offering that courtesy. The process is tough and took me a lot longer than I expected. There’s criteria I stuck with, like having something new out — at least in the past year. It was really hard for bands to play live the last few years. I kept that in mind [when looking at submissions].”
This year’s Rumble is a two-venue affair as it moves from ONCE in Somerville to Cambridge’s Central Square; the preliminary rounds are scheduled for the first two weekends of April at the Middle East Upstairs (April 6 to 8 and April 13 to 15), followed by a shift to next door venue Sonia for the semi-finals (April 21 and 22) and finals (May 6).
Nightly tickets and daily lineups for the Rumble will be available later this week.
