Boston Calling returns for yet another impressive festival this May and of course, the lineup is brilliant. Along with continuing the trend of attracting incredible big-name talent--this spring’s headliners include: Beck, My Morning Jacket, Tenacious D, and Pixies--Boston Calling has also booked two powerful local opening acts in The Ballroom Thieves and Krill. Recently, I had a chance to exchange a few emails with Jonah Furman, lead vocalist and bass player for Krill. Though the group is known as a “Boston band”, Furman and crew are actually all originally from the suburbs of Chicago. Currently, Furman is the only member who resides in Boston (drummer Ian Becker and guitarist Aaron Ratoff moved to NYC in 2014). Despite the distance, Furman says it hasn’t been difficult to keep the band going.  “It's not tough to practice when you play shows every ten days or so!”, writes Furman. “It’s kind of weird doing a LDR [long distance relationship] band, [but] I don't plan to move to NYC anytime soon.” 

Click here to read an abridged version of the conversation. If you're too busy scrolling through pictures of food and cats on Instagram and want a synopsis: highlights include being offered to play Boston Calling, dealing with unexpected success, and the debilitating effects of consumerism on the world.

Main page photo credit: Ethan Long

Earlier this week, Boston Calling announced the expansion of its summer Block Party series. In addition to the weekly Thursday evening events at Dewey Square (across from South Station), a monthly party has been added back in Downtown Crossing, the original site of the gatherings. All events will continue to feature cheap drinks (sponsored by Shock Top and Wicked Wines) and music courtesy of Boston-area musicians. The Downtown Crossing Block Party kicks-off tonight featuring Tigerman WOAH, with all subsequent events held on the first Wednesday of each month. The Dewey Square Party will launch May 14, with a performance by The Almighty Buck.

For more info about the Block Parties (and to see future performance schedules), check out the Block Party Facebook page.
-Dan McMahon (@dmcmhn)

San Francisco based art rock singer/songwriter, Lila Rose will be celebrating the release of her album, WE. ANIMALS. The event will take place tomorrow on May 7th. Apparently, the new live show is comprised of a full multimedia rig including 3D mapping onto a structure that Lila will be singing from...that's exciting news. It's always good to learn that something new and innovative is going to emerge right before your eyes! Lila is a pretty gutsy performance artist, so you should definitely be ready to experience something a bit off the wall!

The downtempo, indie folk musical outfit, LYNX and talented folk artist, Mariee Sioux will be supporting Lila Rose tomorrow night. Support awesome local musicians who bust their tails to create awesome and elaborate shows for your inspiration and entertainment.

League of Wolves are heading to Canadian Music Week from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. So of course those prairie boys have sweet beards. They just released a self titled album. I fired into it...starting at the top with "Runaway". Groovy beats and mean electric guitar will get your outta your seat and over to the bar...you'll make it to the dance floor eventually. The next track "Ariella" had a more mellow vibe...could be reggae-sized if they really wanted to. Also showed off their harmonies. Nice variety in the top 2 tracks. They're playin back to back nights for CMW first on Wednesday May 6th at Rancho Relaxo then at the Bier Market on Thursday May 7th.-Kris "Big City"Gies

 

It's always horrible when someone from our community suffers from serious illness and challenging life changes. We regret to report that Sivan Lioncub of the popular San Francisco based art rock band, Everyone is Dirty has suffered from liver failure due to an allergic reaction to antibiotics. Her friends have been putting on a series of benefit shows to help her pay off her incredible medical bills.

On May 10th at Bottom of the Hill, Tricycle Records is hosting an event in support of Sivan's unfortunate experience. The event will include performances by:

The Lovemakers
The Union Trade
Brasil
Paisano

DJ Sets by Pegasister

We've got to help each other out in hard times. Make your way out to this show on Sunday night. Get more info about the event here.