(Photo from Illegally Blind’s Facebook)
Fuzzstival, the brainchild of Jason Trefts of Illegally Blind, is one of Boston’s greatest annual music festivals. It’s three separate days that bring people closer to the awesome local and regional music that we might miss on our Spotify radios and Pandora stations. It expands the breadth of our community by getting us all together to connect around homespun musical acts. There are many talented local bands within the helix of the psychedelic-garage-noise-folk-rock genres, and they will be the cardinal sound of the weekend daze. We can also look forward to the spotlight (and on Saturday, the sun, hopefully) shining on a myriad of kickass female-led bands.
Boston Fuzzstival 2017 is going on September 28-30, this coming Thursday through Saturday. Tonight kicks off at Massasoit Elk’s Lodge in Central Square. Friday night, Fuzzstival will move on over to ONCE lounge in Somerville and Saturday it will close out at the Somerville ARTfarm for Social Innovation. This is the first time in years that it hasn’t been held at the Middle East in Cambridge. Trefts announced last year that he would no longer be booking shows there, but it also just feels so right that Fuzzstival will take place in the community-centered Somerville.
The first night, Dazey and the Scouts are getting things started at the the Elk’s Lodge. Dazey and the Scouts describe themselves as queer rock and weird pop. They are led by a vocalist who knows how to manipulate her beautiful voice to create a rock n’ roll vibrato, get a crowd moving, and on top of that, they’re hilarious. Check out the video for their song, “Wet”.
Second to last that eve, Birthing Hips will be playing. Birthing Hips are known for their noisey catchiness and for subconsciously encouraging audiences to embrace their inner freak. Don’t be afraid to move during their set.
Dent will round things off, adding some hardcore punk and metal vibes to the end of the evening.
The madness will continue on Friday, September 29th, at ONCE Ballroom with sets from the likes of Mint Green, BABY!, Horse Jumper of Love, and will be headlined by Ovlov. Mint Green and Baby! are both nominated for the Boston Music Awards’ New Artist of the Year, so if you haven’t seen either of the house show darlings, this is your chance. Mint Green starts things off at 7pm so be sure to roll with the punk vibes rather than punk time. Stick around to hear Horse Jumper of Love – the trio’s Audiotree session demonstrates their ability to deliver sparse yet fluid arrangements in the best recording conditions of their career all while doling out a whopping dose of hometown pride.
Power through for Saturday’s 2-7:30pm stretch at ARTFarm. Sandwiched between some of the fuzzier acts is powerhouse rapper and producer Sammus. She’s a PhD student at Cornell with all of the expected nerdiness that entails – here’s hoping we get to see a return of her arm cannon. Mini Dresses will also be in attendance on Saturday to bring more low key, dreamy vibes later in the night. This has been a fantastic year for newcomers and while Boston’s unsigned scene flourishes, our Joy Void signings should absolutely not be missed.
To see the complete list of bands playing visit Illegally Blind’s website.