PLAYGROUND BOSTON

WBOS Earthfest Battle Winners Jackson Weatherbee Band

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Congrats to Jackson Weatherbee Band, who narrowly beat out Gold Star Morning by bringing their fan base out in droves to win the WBOS Boch Battle of the Bands at the Hard Rock Cafe last Sunday. JWB opened the free Radio 92.9 Earthfest concert at the Hatch Shell this past weekend as a reward for winning this Battle.

Thanks to Steve Wollkind for the great photos! See more of Steve’s work at his Flickr!

WBOS Finalist Holmes

Jackson Weatherbee Band

Gold Star Morning

Naked on Roller Skates

Holmes

Cousin Johnny

Ajar Project

Hard Rock Cafe

Radio 929.9 Earthfest Home Page

You’ve got a long day of BBQing and enjoying the nice weather tomorrow. It’ll be tough. But look, eventually the sun will go down, it’ll get a bit colder out, and then what are you going to do? Go home? No, definitely not. How about checking out a FREE rock show, and helping one of your favorite local bands win the opportunity to open up the Radio 92.9 Earthfest at the Hatch Shell, playing in front of an expected 125,000+ crowd. Yes, you read that flyer correctly, and before you ask, no, its not 1995. The Earthfest headliners might not exactly be burning up the airwaves anymore, but people turn out in droves when its a free show with recognizable national acts, meaning that this presents the winner of the local opener battle with a great opportunity to expose themselves (MUSICALLY, dammit!) to hordes of new fans.

For the local opener finals, doors open around 7pm, and the whole thing will wrap up around 10. And its free! And all ages – bring the kiddies! 92.9 will also be giving away some tickets for upcoming Green Day and Pearl Jam shows, among others. Here’s the kicker though – the entire thing will be decided by audience applause at the end of the show. That means your favorite band isn’t going to win unless you get out there and support them! Our pick for the night would be Naked On Roller Skates, fast-rising stars in the local pop rock scene. Check out their track “Sugar” (which you can download for free on their Reverbnation page!)

Naked On Roller Skates – “Sugar”

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Naked On Roller Skates - Photo by JustBill

And here’s your listing of all the bands competing, with links to their websites so you can check them out. Get out there and be sure to clap, yell, scream, and possibly do that Three Stooges woop-woop-woop thing for your favorite band!

Naked on Roller Skates

Gold Star Morning

Jackson Weatherbee Band

Holmes

Cousin Johnny

Ajar Project

Hard Rock Cafe

Radio 929.9 Earthfest Home Page

Friday, January 29th @ Middle East Upstairs

Mascara might be the closest thing Boston has to a local rock Supergroup (You know, now that the Holidad All-Stars are no more) Chris Mascara is the lead-singer avatar for the Rock Band games, and is doing work with Blue Man Group this year. He’s recruited two of the best and most recognizable musicians in town to help out on his original material, Bo Barringer of MEandJOANCOLLINS, and Matt Traber, one of Sarah Rabdau’s Self-Employed Assassins. Should be a great show, it’ll be the CD Release for the new album Fountain of Tears, as well as a tour kickoff. Also playing are Ho-Ag, Super 400, and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling.

Friday, January 29th @ TT’s

This Friday marks the kickoff of the “Blackbutton Presents” series, an attempt to better bring the local music scene together (We’re always fans of that here at PGB!). The boys of Blackbutton have put together a lineup full of some of their favorite bands in town, and will be offering compilation CDs as giveaways to the first 50 people through the door. These guys put out a LOT of sound for just a 2-man outfit – this past summer we dubbed them the loudest band at the P-Town Festival, up against some stiff competition. Their style is a new twist on the grunge rock you grew up listening to – check them out! Also featured on this bill are Dead Cats Dead Rats, A Wish For Fire, and Left Hand Does.

Saturday, January 30th @ Middle East Upstairs

TAB the Band’s received plenty of coverage on PGB – definitely an act worth catching. Their straightforward, irreverant approach to rock and roll is refreshing in a sea of so many acts taking themselves too seriously. This will be the CD Release party for their newest infectiously catchy offering, Zoo Noises. Make sure to show up in time to catch Trucker Mouth too, these guys have a great bluesy southern style that makes you want to stomp your feet and get down ‘n dirty. They’ll be joined by local rock rising stars Gold Star Morning, and NYC’s Edison.

Saturday, January 30th @ Precinct

Saturday Night at Precinct is chock full of some seriously impressive local talent, a perfect environment for singer/songwriters to show off their chops. Alice Austin is one to watch in the local scene – she’s poised for a trip to SXSW later this month, and its only a matter of time before you won’t be able to catch her in a cozy dark room like Precinct. She’s bluesy, she’s gritty, she’s got a powerful sultry voice that serves as a great accent to her twangy guitar riffs. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but I distinctly remember thinking last time I saw her act that there was something undeniably Mike Ness-ish about her – and I certainly don’t say that about just anyone. See for yourself on Saturday, where she’ll be joined by Myra Flynn, Mary Casiello, Jesse McCullagh, and Stereo Soul Future.

Michael Bernier and the Uprising

The summer slate at Paradise ended with a bash featuring four up-and-coming New England bands on August 29. Gold Star Morning, Fire In The Field and McAlister Drive set up the gradually inflating crowd, and Michael Bernier & the Uprising knocked them down with a set that felt more like a celebration than a hard-polished recital – natural and jubilant, with plenty of smiles, dancing and no inhibitions within a 12-bar radius.

In essence, it was a coming-out party for the four groups, who have all added new members in the past year. Each band spoke highly of their respective newcomers and seemed to have the glow of a team that has found the one missing piece they were looking for.

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