By Sam Coren
One of the best parts about living in Somerville is being in close proximity to some of the Boston area’s best live independent music venues. Who doesn’t love seeing up and coming talent for reasonably priced tickets in your own neighborhood? To give you a taste of what Somerville’s music scene has to offer I’ll be running a biweekly update with some of the most interesting music events playing in town:
August 3rd: Tribute to Blues Greats Robert Johnson & Mississippi John Hurt (Bloc 11 Cafe)
Aside making a well made cup of coffee, Bloc 11 in Union Square also serves as a good spot for blues, jazz, and singer-songwriter acts. Most of these music events are free, but you should definitely give the tip jar some love if you hear something you like. This Wednesday you can get over your hump day blues with musicians Craig Robertson and Zack Niman as they pay homage to Delta Blues legends Robert Johnson & Mississippi John Hurt. Show starts at 7pm.
August 4th: Mikael Mutti with Percussivo Mundo Novo (Johnny D’s Uptown)
A world-class music prodigy makes a tour stop at our own Johnny D’s. Mikael Mutti’s fuses traditional Brazillian afrobeat rhythms with a dash of latin jazz and swirling synthesizers. Even cooler? Mutti’s featured all over the soundtrack for the 3D animated film Rio (2011) and he’s been known to make his own instruments out of various video game controllers.
August 5th & 6th: Deep Heaven Now 4 - Union Square (PA’s Lounge and Precinct)
Dig trippy guitar solos and crazy video light shows? Hop down to Union Square for the Deep Heaven Now 4 Psych Rock fest on Friday August 5th and Saturday August 6th. 26 bands will be playing Precinct and PA’s Lounge. For the low price of $10 a day you get access to both venues and the set times are staggered between the two so you don’t have to miss a band. Some notable acts that are not to be missed include local shoegazers Endless Wave and the far out experimental folk of Portland’s Herbcraft. For more info visit the Deep Heaven Now 4 Facebook event page and don’t forget to check out the compilation featuring all the bands playing in the streaming player below:
August 11th: Kobie (Johnny D’s Uptown)
It takes a lot of chutzpah to be a singer in a Prince cover band. However, if there’s anyone who could pull that role off gracefully it would be the Boston by-way-of DC singer-songwriter Kobie. When he’s not performing in Lovesexy, a tribute to The Artist, he’s bringing his original brand of sweet, funky soul to venues all over New England.
August 12th: Dave Sammarco Band (Sally O’Brien’s)
Got a hankering for some country fried rock? For those of you who doubt Somerville’s ability to deliver the sounds of the south, pay Sally O’Brien’s a Friday visit and catch Arlington’s Dave Sammarco Band in action. Nothing gets the weekend going like a nice glass of whiskey and shuffling your feet to some twang.
