Can one have multiple “It’s the most wonderful time of the year…” parts of a year? Like, we dig the hell out of October. Because Spooky Szn. And November. Because it’s our (Read: RNRF) birthday month. So, Fall in general. But this sweet spot in in April when the Rock & Roll Rumble returns and Salem Horror Fest is right around the corner is quickly becoming our JAM!
On that note, it’s almost Rumble time! And like last year, we’re here to give you a detailed(ish) and non-biased preview of the 24 bands battlin’ out each preliminary night in the hopes of winning that crown (Is there a crown? Or a scepter of some sort at least???) over at Sonia on May 4th. But before we head over to Sonia, we’ve gotta get the work done at Middle East Upstairs first beginning on Thursday, April 4th and this quartet of local outfits:
Shotgun Waltz (9PM): The coveted opening night opener! Or is it the high profile, high stress opening night opener?? Whichever way you look at it, Shotgun Waltz has the distinct honor of getting to rip it up first with their brand of fuzzed out Rawk that’s a little bit Dinosaur Jr and The Replacements kind of ’90’s Alt but made for today. Latest single “Pity Party” is great indication of what’s to come but for more, check out what’s over at their Bandcamp page here.
The Magic City (945PM): With only two releases under their belt so far, The Magic City is already making waves with their modern Boston Rawk aesthetic. Helping that kind of built in familiarity is the fact that the quartet is practically a supergroup already consisting of members of bands like The Daily Pravda and Graveyard of the Atlantic to name a few… that also happen to have some prior Rumble experience! Does that give TMC an edge? There’s only one way to find out! You can hit up this handy linktree here for everything else you might need to prepare you ahead of time.
Sunshine Riot (1030PM): Fresh(ish) off working with Steve Albini on 2023’s Loud, Bright, and Violent, Sunshine Riot’s Nirvana meets R.E.M. modern Alterna-Grunge provides the penultimate party soundtrack for Night 1 by most likely serving up a smattering of tracks from that most recent release and maybe reaching as far back as 2015’s Black Coffee Sigh? You know how you can find out, right? Have you heard this one before? For the rest, head here.
Twig (1115PM): The closah! Bluesy Rawk with a lot of heft, Twig is riding high with just-released single and video for “Nude Beaches” which is like “Misirlou” on speed that flows into a gnarly Indie Surf Rawk anthem. And that’s just their newest jam! Before that, was the 2020 collection of crunchy Rawk and the best place for you to find that plus all the links to the rest of Twig’s music, video clips and more is at their official website that can be found here.
And that concludes our preview of Night 1 of the 2024 edition of the Rock & Roll Rumble which takes place at Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge on Thursday, April 4th. Doors open at 8PM with a 9PM start time planned. Ticket links for all shows are located here with “Full Boat” passes for the whole shebang available here. For the latest on all things Rock & Roll Rumble-related, be sure to check out ye olde socials by clicking here, here, and here, or just skip the middle man and visit the main website here.
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