The “World Series of Boston rock” is finally back on its home turf. After a few years’ hiatus due to the pandemic, the Rock And Roll Rumble returns tonight (April 6), kicking off six preliminary nights this weekend and next as 24 bands battle it out for ultimate scene supremacy.
When we last Rumble’d with Anngelle Wood and crew, Set Fire captured the crown back in 2019 at ONCE in Somerville. Four years later, the Rumble is resurrected at its one-time home of The Middle East in Cambridge, where the preliminary nights will take over the Upstairs room before shifting next door to Sonia, the former site of the beloved T.T. The Bear’s Place, for the semis and final.
Tonight kicks off with a fury, and the lineup features a lively guitar-based evening of eclectic sounds from alt-rock beacons Graveyard of the Atlantic (9 p.m.); dream-pop shoegazers The Shallows (9:45 p.m.); ambient pop-rock quintet Bird Language (10:30 p.m.); and high-energy genre-benders Kooked Out (11:15 p.m.). Listen to each band below.
[Disclaimer: The author of this post has worked with some of the aforementioned bands and artists, as well as a wide spectrum of this year’s Rumble performers, and offers no additional editorial commentary other than our usual Vanyaland endorsement that everyone in this city should support Boston music in all its forms and features.]
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ROCK AND ROLL RUMBLE, PRELIMINARY NIGHT 1 :: Thursday, April 6 at The Middle East, 472 Massachusetts Ave. in Cambridge, MA :: 8 p.m., 18-plus, $17 :: Event info :: Advance tickets
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