The City of Boston has declared its official songs of the summer — 68, to be exact.
Straight from City Hall and into your headphones is Dear Summer Vol. 1, a mixtape of Boston music presented by Mayor Michelle Wu and the City’s Tourism, Sports and Entertainment Office. The project marks the city’s first-ever mixtape and is described as an “annual collaboration,” implying that more editions will follow in the coming years.
The project dropped yesterday — June 17, a nod to Boston’s 617 area code — via Mayor Wu’s Soundcloud account. Clocking in at almost an hour and 40 minutes, it fuses the original work of six DJs and 17 artists, sporadically interjecting messages from surprise guests like David Ortiz. Participating DJs include Baby Indiglo, Braunski Beat, DJ Papadon, DJ Slick Vick, ReaL P, and SNAX, while the artist lineup features $ean Wire, Alisa Amador, Amadeezy, Avenue, Gogo., kei, Mint Green, Miranda Rae, Oompa, Radical One, Rilla Force, The Elovaters, Tokyo Tramps, ToriTori, UgoBoy, Vintage Lee, and Wayup Rui.
“We’re proud to be home to many artists and creatives who produce a unique, homegrown local culture, one that we’re excited to showcase with our Dear Summer mixtape,” Mayor Wu says at the beginning of the project.
In an effort to craft a full picture of Boston’s many beats, Dear Summer Vol. 1 crosses genre and neighborhood lines, juxtaposing Mattapan-made electronic music with Fenway-based blues, at times even reaching south to incorporate music from Stoughton, Randolph, and the South Shore.
Listen to the mixtape in full below.