Vikesh Kapoor insists he’s not from around here, nor, really, anywhere in particular. “I’m from India, I’m from the United States, grew up in Pennsylvania,” he relents. “I don’t consider myself a Boston or Cambridge musician, though the city has been kind to me.” Indeed—Kapoor’s name has lit up the local music pages of late, thanks in no small part to Newspress Scare, his upcoming seven-inch (the album release party is Thursday night at the Democracy Center in Cambridge). In the ensuing media blitz, he has tried to carve out an image as a traditional troubadour, and Newspress Scare represents an admirable effort at traditional folk from a talented musician and earnest songwriter.

Last week saw TeaParty’s inaugural TeaRoom Tuesday at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge. Showgoers, gallantly unfazed by partying on a weeknight and/or missing the season premiere of Lost, got an earful from two vastly different acts, held together by the common threads of passion and talent.

Touring, touring and more touring: That’s what Southern-bred trio The Whigs has been up to for the past year or so, and they’ve been playing packed stadiums and crowded holes-in-the-wall alike abroad and across the country. Though their sound on record (especially on 2008’s Mission Control) is one that feels right at home in a dimly lit, gritty, made-for-garage-rock kind of spot, The Whigs are indisputably a live band that drum up a contagious, electrified energy that inspires even the most heavy-footed of concert goers to move their feet and bob their heads.

The first time we saw Ad Frank in action was onstage at Boston Band Crush’s One Night Band this past summer: Frank, along with various varsity members of Boston indie rock, played one of our favorite sets of the night as a member of Awesome Chariot.  The band, visibly amused and enjoying themselves as the [...]

At the tail end of their summer tour, Matt Singer and Great Elk stopped by Club Passim’s Campfire festival a little over a month ago and wowed us with their hilarious lyrics, earnest guitar playing and gypsy-infused folk rock.  Their intimate set onstage at Club Passim seemed a fitting closer to their summer, as Paul [...]

With venues closing and becoming more restrictive in their hometowns outside of Massachusetts, Rish, Adam, Jesse, and Matt all found themselves drawn to the feeling of community that the Boston music scene provides.  In the few years that this four-piece has been together, they have gained some serious momentum, receiving praise for their dynamic live [...]

Crossing the Williamsburg Bridge is an action required of those looking to observe Pitchfork favorites and college radio standard-makers in their natural habitat of Brooklyn.  Here in Boston, walking over the Longfellow or Mass Ave bridges will land you smack in the heart of Boston’s indie rock headquarters at the intersection of Brookline Street and [...]

The title pretty much says it all.   This weekend is long for a reason and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Columbus totally screwed up trying to find India and wound up with us instead.  With Boston bands headlining shows in Cambridge, Allston and Somerville on Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, [...]

The Beatings have been around the block for sure: Since forming over ten years ago, Eldridge, Erin, Tony, Dennis and most recently acquired member Greg have been bouncing ideas off each other, getting songs down on tape and playing their music from the East Coast to the West Coast and back again.  Though based in [...]

If anything, the members of St. Helena, Jessie and I can agree on one thing: Allston bars, you’ve gotta knock it off with the Top 40 radio bonanza.  Patrick, Shawn, Chaeten, Magen and Keith all mirrored our distaste for the onslaught of Britney and Katy and Rihanna our ears were met with over the course [...]