Boston Music Venues: The State of the Scene
The live music industry has been essentially decimated due to the impact of COVID-19, and the Boston music scene is no exception. Even before the pandemic, Boston’s music scene struggled compared to other cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Nashville. Newer construction and the increased costs of renting space and operating a venue have made it excessively difficult for local musicians to find a place to play. The prolonged absence of live music has forced the closure of countless venues around the world, creating a lot of uncertainty as to what the future holds for performers and those who work in the industry. Although the outlook is pretty dismal at the moment, some hope remains for Boston’s music scene.
Boston-area musicians have witnessed the closure of several popular local spots over the past few years, including Church in Fenway, the Milky Way Lounge in Jamaica Plain, the Cantab Lounge in Cambridge’s Central Square, TT the Bear’s in Central Square, and most notably, Allston’s legendary Great Scott. Despite hosting world-renowned music schools, particularly Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, and New England Conservatory, Boston sorely lacks places for up-and-coming musicians to perform. Mid-level and larger venues would draw in national acts, but booking is typically handled by corporate entities, who rarely draw from the local talent pool to provide entertainment, even as opening acts. Plans to redevelop certain areas of the city further jeopardize the future of small venues. So what is there for local musicians to look forward to once live music begins again? Thankfully, not all hope is lost, even for some of the venues that have currently called it quits.
The Local Landmarks
The Cantab Lounge
Last month (July 2020), locals learned that Central Square’s Cantab Lounge was officially up for sale. Practically every local Boston band has either played at or attended a show in the basement venue, known as Club Bohemia. The Cantab Lounge has been treasured by locals for over 50 years and featured all styles of music, but especially provided a platform for local bluegrass musicians. The club also hosted the Boston Poetry Slam every week since 1992, making it the longest running poetry slam in the area. While the business’s listing casts doubt on the venue’s future, there’s at least a chance any new owners could still operate a venue at that location. The permanent loss of the Cantab Lounge would deal a huge blow to musicians establishing their footing in the local scene. There are very few variety rooms in the Boston area as is. But at this stage, an uncertain future is better than definite closure with plans to remove the space.
O’Brien’s Pub
Across the river in Allston, the location of the famed O’Brien’s Pub has been put up for sale. The local dive hosted music every night of the week, providing touring bands and regional acts of any style a place to play and hang out. The entire intersection at O’Brien’s present location is slated for redevelopment, which has already begun on some surrounding lots. While the announcement isn’t exactly surprising, it just feels like another nail in the coffin for Boston’s music scene. But instead of closing up shop for good, the owner intends to operate the room for as long as possible before relocating the charmingly dingy venue. O’Brien’s will continue to operate at its present location for at least the next couple of years (not considering Covid impacts).
Great Scott
Just up the street in Allston from O’Brien’s, Great Scott faces a more challenging scenario. The nationally acclaimed venue is being uprooted from its current location due to circumstances brought on by the pandemic. A crowdfunding campaign managed to raise over $200,000 to fight for the establishment, which secured some sort of future for the loved venue. Recent developments hint at the possibility of Great Scott relocating to the building that currently hosts the now defunct Regina Pizzeria, which seems too good to be true. Currently, Great Scott resides on the ground floor of a residential building (pictured below left), which means consistently angry neighbors that don’t necessarily want anything to do with late-night activities and loud music. But the proposed location (pictured below right) is a stand-alone building right next to the Massachusetts Turnpike and an active railway, meaning noise won’t be an issue. There would also be a parking lot(!) and easy access via public transit. And since the building has historical landmark status, it can’t be destroyed and redeveloped, unlike the rest of the surrounding area. We’ll just have to wait and see what happens, but the glimmer of hope surrounding Great Scott is getting brighter! (Photos by Michael Marotta of Vanyaland)
The Middle East
In January 2020, owners of the Middle East restaurant and nightclub announced plans to sell the properties, which house several different venues: the Middle East Upstairs, the Middle East Downstairs, Sonia (pictured below right - former TT the Bear’s location), the Corner, and ZuZu. Located just up the street from the Cantab Lounge, the Middle East has provided a platform for local and touring musicians since the 1970s. But the Middle East began to struggle even before Covid. In 2018, one of the owners, Jospeh Sater, left his management role amidst sexual assault allegations against him. Since then, many local musicians have boycotted the chain of venues, citing management’s inability to guarantee the safety of their staff and attendees. While nobody knows for sure what will happen to the Middle East in the coming months, it will take more than just enduring Covid closures to revitalize local love for the establishment.
Most recently, Somerville’s Thunder Road announced that it will not reopen in its Union Square location. While only opened for about 5 years, Thunder Road offered local musicians a modern, polished place to perform and congregate. A statement released by the club’s owner, Charlie Abel, thanked the local music community for giving the venue a foothold in the scene. It also suggests the possibility of the formation of another venue to take the place of Thunder Road. The Boston music scene will just have to wait and see at this point.
Practice Spaces
Aside from performance spaces, Boston also severely lacks practice and rehearsal facilities. Unfortunately, it’s not possible for the overwhelming majority of city-dwellers to have band practice at home. Even musicians in the suburbs regularly receive noise complaints from neighbors for playing too loudly. Rentable practice spaces are the only viable solution for most musicians in the area. But securing a space in Boston isn’t so easy.
Studio 52
Over the past few years, local musicians have seen the demise of several practice facilities such as the EMF building in Central Square, Jam Spot in Somerville, and the Sound Museum facility on Denby Road in Allston, MA. Even Studio 52 (pictured right), the facility we have called home for over 5 years, faces the challenges of a rapidly developing environment. Although the fate of the current building is unknown at the moment, Studio 52 is relocating to a building a few blocks away right near the intersection of Harvard Ave and Brighton Ave in Allston Village (more on that at a later date).
The Record Company
The Record Company, a non-profit and community-oriented music space, is in the process of relocating to a larger facility, which will include 4 recording studios, 15 rehearsal rooms, and a performance space, all specifically targeting people from poorer communities, people of color, and queer and non-binary music makers. The performance space will be all-ages, a rarity in the Boston area, which provides access to a much wider and often overlooked audience. At the time of writing this post, the Record Company says they plan to open the new location by the end of 2020. You can track the progress of the new facility right here.
Looking Ahead
It’s not possible to know what the music scene will look like a year from now. There will undoubtedly be continued difficulties for live music venues, especially smaller rooms, to operate in a capacity that allows them to stay afloat. The longevity of the scene may depend more on larger institutions, particularly the numerous local universities, to fund new places for musicians to perform. A city with very little live music lacks culture, and musicians won’t remain in an area with nowhere to perform. The number of places to play is incongruent with the number of musicians in the area, especially when accounting for the student populations of Berklee College of Music, Boston Conservatory, and New England Conservatory. While these are world-class institutions, they largely provide an insular student experience. Their performance spaces are largely shielded from local performers. The entire music community would benefit from more venues open to the public, especially all-ages spaces where younger, up-and-coming musicians can gain some live performance experience.
Boston is an expensive city. As the price of real estate continues increasing, more musicians and artists get squeezed out of living in the area. Coupled with the prolonged repercussions of the pandemic, the Boston music scene faces a long, slow recovery. Perhaps the trend of more businesses going remote will stick, allowing prices for housing and commercial real estate to relax. There’s the potential for some silver lining, but it will take responsible people with the arts in mind in positions of power, and the entire local music community, to see it through.
Although there are countless questions and uncertainties surrounding the fate of the Boston music scene, there’s still hope within the community that we can rebuild when it’s safe to do so. Where there’s a will, there’s a way, and the Boston area has far too many incredibly skilled and driven artists for the scene to simply vanish amidst the numerous challenges brought on by the pandemic. Make sure to support your favorite local artists by purchasing their music and buying their merchandise!
Want to perform live as soon as venues are able to open up again? Equip yourself with the necessary skills by taking drum lessons in the meantime. Schedule a trial lesson to get closer to your goals!