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15 must-see concerts at Boston’s smaller music venues during winter 2023-’24
Boston's small- to mid-size venues will be hosting shows to suit all tastes in December, January, and February.
As Steve Martin once said, “Let’s get small!” Here are 15 concerts worth seeing at Greater Boston’s smaller venues, organized by genre. (Sites include Brighton Music Hall, Paradise Rock Club, Royale, Big Night Live, The Sinclair in Cambridge, Crystal Palace in Somerville, The Cabot in Beverly, and Chevalier Theatre in Medford; check out our guide to larger venues here.) Please note, some of these shows may only have verified resale tickets available.
Best soul, R&B, and blues shows
GA-20 and Black Joe Lewis at Brighton Music Hall
GA-20 is one of Boston’s most successful and high-profile blues units. Three of their releases have topped the Billboard Blues Albums chart, and two — including this year’s “Live in Loveland” — have fallen just one spot short of that mark.
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They are also three-time Boston Music Awards Blues Artist of the Year honorees, and are nominated in the same category (for this sixth time overall) and for the Live Artist of the Year trophy this year.
Austin-based blues, funk, and soul guitarist Black Joe Lewis has released six albums and two EPs since 2007; 2009’s “Tell ‘Em What Your Name Is!” was produced by Jim Eno of Spoon, for whom Lewis opened — along with fellow indie rockers Okkervil River — in 2007. His latest effort is “The Difference Between Me & You” (2018). Saturday, Dec. 2, 8 p.m., Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave., Boston, $25
Jamila Woods at The Sinclair
Jamila Woods was born and is currently based in Chicago. However, she is an erstwhile New Englander by virtue of having graduated from Brown University. As a writer, she is a published poet, anthology editor, and an associate artistic director of Young Chicago Authors. As a musician, she has released three albums since 2016. The first two, “Heavn” and “Legacy! Legacy!,” were ranked among the top albums of their respective years by multiple outlets, with both appearing on the year-end lists by Pitchfork, Exclaim!, and NPR. If the reviews that accompanied the Oct. 13 release of “Water Made Us ” are any indication, then it is sure to be similarly recognized. With Kara Jackson, Tuesday, Feb. 20, 8 p.m., The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, $45
Best rap and hip-hop shows
Flatbush Zombies at Big Night Live
This Brooklyn-born and bred trio is currently on tour in celebration of the 10th anniversary of “BetterOffDead,” a mixtape that was released before their debut EP (“Clockwork Indigo,” recorded with Flatbush hip-hop duo The Underachievers) and their two LPs, “3001: A Laced Odyssey” (2016) and “Vacation in Hell” (2018), the latter two of which peaked at No. 10 and 11, respectively, on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The most recent entry in the group’s discography is 2020’s “now, more than ever,” which came out ten days after the murder of George Floyd alongside a statement from the band that read, in part, “This music was made for you. It was released with you in mind. Use it to start an evolution.” With A$AP Twelvyy, Sunday, Dec. 3, 7 p.m., Big Night Live, 110 Causeway St., Boston, $77.51(verified resale ticket)
Open Mike Eagle at The Sinclair
Over his dozen-plus years of recording, Open Mike Eagle has released numerous collections of songs with revealing and descriptive titles such as “Unapologetic Art Rap,” “Rappers Will Die of Natural Causes,” the highly praised “Brick Body Kids Still Daydream,” “What Happens When I Try to Relax,” “Anime, Trauma and Divorce,” and this year’s “Another Triumph of Ghetto Engineering.” In the press release that accompanied “Another Triumph’s…” forthcoming release, Eagle stated, “These songs are all fancy ways of saying ‘f— you’ to people that ignore us and ‘thank you’ to people that care if we live or die!” With Pink Navel, Wednesday, Dec. 13, 8 p.m., The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, $20
Best alternative, indie, and rock shows
Will Dailey and His Band at Crystal Ballroom
Anyone who has followed the Boston independent music scene at any point in the past 20 years has to at least recognize the name Will Dailey. After all, it’s difficult to fly under the radar of local fans when you’re a seven-time BMA winner in four different categories. If you more of a television person, then you may have heard at least one of his several songs that have appeared on — among other programs — “90210,” “CSI” and its offshoots, “NCIS” and its offshoots, “Numb3rs,” “BOSE,” and “Ghost Whisperer.” If you like what you’ve heard or would like to hear what so many others have, check out him and his band in Davis Square on Dec. 9. With Hayley Reardon, Saturday, Dec. 9, 8 p.m., Crystal Ballroom, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, $20
Hallelujah the Hills at The Sinclair
Named after an obscure 1963 movie that was filmed in Vermont, Hallelujah the Hills has established itself as one of the most admired Boston-based rock bands of the 2000s. Fronted by singer, songwriter, guitarist, journalist and author Ryan H. Walsh (click here for an interview about his book “Astral Weeks”), the sextet won more or less universal — and international — acclaim for its ambitious 2019 epic, “I’m You.” Last September, Walsh announced on the HTH website that the band would begin work on “DECK,” which would comprise “52 songs, one for each card. 4 thirteen-song albums, one for each suit.” With Eldridge Rodriguez and Aaron & the Lord, Friday, Dec. 15, 8:30 p.m., The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, $20
Torres at The Sinclair
Although my introduction was belated, I became an instant fan of Torres upon hearing “Thirstier” two years ago. It was the Orlando native’s fifth album, and my hurried attempt to play catch-up revealed that any of the previous ones would have had me just as effortlessly hooked. The follow-up to “Thirstier,” “What an enormous room,” is set for release on Jan. 26. As the first singles — “Collect” and “I got the fear” — indicate, it is (to use a critic’s cliché) less immediate than its predecessor. However, they are also unmistakable signs of artistic growth by an artist who is not only unafraid but eager to experiment. With Addie, Saturday, Jan. 27, 8 p.m., The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, $20
Best dance and electronic shows
Marshmello at Big Night Live
DJ/producer Marshmello has topped Billboard’s Top Dance/Electronic Albums chart three times in the past five years. He also has (by my count), 20 gold, platinum, and multi-platinum singles worldwide — the most successful of which is “Happier,” featuring the British band Bastille — making him one of the most popular practitioners of his chosen genre. His newest record, “Sugar Papi,” debuted at No. 1 on Nov. 18, 2023. It was his first venture into Latin music, with Latin artists serving as most of its guests and most of the song titles being in Spanish. Thursday, Dec. 28, 9:30 p.m., Big Night Live, 110 Causeway St., Boston, $97.50
Snakehips at Big Night Live
Snakehips is a duo from Sheffield, England. Their biggest hit is the 2015 worldwide smash “All My Friends,” featuring Tinashe (see below) and Chance the Rapper. Other hits include collaborations with MØ (“Don’t Leave”), Anderson .Paak (“Money on Me”), and Anne-Marie & Joey Badass (“Either Way”). In 2023, the duo issued a remix of Taylor Swift’s “Lavender Haze” and their debut full-length, “Never Worry,” which featured a slew of guests that included Medford-born hip-hop artist and six-time Boston Music Award winner BIA. Saturday, Jan. 28, 10:30 p.m., Big Night Live, 110 Causeway St., Boston, $28.40
Best folk, country, and Americana shows
Dawes at The Cabot
This Los Angeles quartet has spent 2023 touring in support of 2022’s “Misadventures of Doomscroller,” which was released in a deluxe edition in February that featured a live performance, and in recognition of the 10th anniversary of “Stories Don’t End,” which was also given deluxe treatment this year. The former was, like several other Dawes records, produced by Jonathan Wilson, whose credits include Margo Price, Father John Misty, and Billy Strings. Together and individually, Dawes and Wilson have been praised for their approximation of the Laurel Canyon sound, the classic practitioners of which include Joni Mitchell, Linda Ronstadt, Crosby, Stills & Nash, and Neil Young. With Annika Bennett, Thursday, Dec. 28, 8 p.m., The Cabot, 286 Cabot St., Beverly, $68.50-$112.25
Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band at Paradise Rock Club
Josh Ritter will spend the two weeks of February touring in celebration of the two full decades that have passed since the release of his third LP, “Hello Starling.” Like Dawes, however, he will (presumably) have one foot planted firmly in the present, as he has another album, “Spectral Lines,” that will still be less than one year old when he plays the last of these shows at the Paradise. And just to keep things interesting, Ritter recently recorded his own version of Cyndi Lauper’s “The Goonies ‘R’ Good Enough.” Given that I am a fellow ’80s kid who is only six months older than he is, I can definitely appreciate that. Friday, Feb. 16 and Saturday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m., Paradise Rock Club, 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston, $54
Judy Collins at The Cabot
It has been 62 years since the release of her debut, and folk stalwart Judy Collins is doing some of the strongest work of her seven-decade-spanning career. Last year’s “Spellbound,” her 29th studio LP, was the first on which she composed all of the songs herself. Her efforts were rewarded with a Grammy nomination — her seventh — for Best Folk Album. And not many performers who are eight decades into life — or much younger for that matter — can say, as Collins did in a recent interview, “Before the pandemic, I was doing 125 shows a year. I think it’s down to a hundred this year, but it’ll probably go back up.” Friday, Feb. 23, 8 p.m., The Cabot, 286 Cabot St., Beverly, $46.50-$101.00
Best pop show
Tinashe at Royale
“I consider myself a pop artist who makes R&B-tinged pop music,” then-24-year-old Tinashe said in a 2017 interview with The Guardian. At that point, the Kentucky-born singer had two albums, a worldwide debut hit single (“2 On,” featuring ScHoolboy Q), and a shared lead vocal on another global smash (“All My Friends,” by Marshmello and including Chance the Rapper) to her credit. She had also headlined two tours and opened for Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Katy Perry, and Beyoncé. Since then, Tinashe has headlined three tours and recorded four more records, including “BB/ANG3L,” which dropped on Sept. 8, 2023. (It is probably worth noting that Tinashe said in a 2020 Rolling Stone interview, “I’m going to go as far as to say we need to abolish genres in general.”) Monday, Feb. 12, 8 p.m., Royale, 279 Tremont St., Boston, $32.50 in advance/$35 day of show
Best singer-songwriter shows
Patrick Watson at The Sinclair
Born near LA and raised near Montreal, Patrick Watson — which is technically the name of the lead singer/songwriter and the band — has achieved an admirable level of popularity in his/its homeland and earned a fair amount of praise south of its border. Writing for the Boston Globe in 2015, Jeremy D. Goodwin made favorable comparisons to Andrew Bird, Rufus Wainwright, and Broken Social Scene. I, meanwhile, upon hearing 2022’s “Better In the Shade,” immediately thought of Nick Drake upon hearing Mr. Watson’s vocals. (And I was, of course, not the first to do so.) With La Force. Tuesday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m., The Sinclair, 52 Church St., Cambridge, $30
Cat Power at Chevalier Theatre
The artist born Charlyn Marie (“Chan”) Marshall has recorded her own versions of songs by dozens of others. Thirty-eight of them can be found on “The Covers Record,” “Jukebox,” “Dark End of the Street,” and “Covers.” Interestingly, but probably not surprisingly, the only artist whose songs she recorded two of on any of the aforementioned records is Bob Dylan. For her latest release, Marshall has gone whole hog on Dylan by recreating in its entirety his 1966 “Royal Albert Hall” concert. Unlike the mislabeled Dylan bootleg whose name stuck (hence the quotation marks — it was actually recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall), “Cat Power Sings Dylan” was, in fact, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. And now she’ll perform the whole thing in Medford. Saturday, Feb. 17, 8 p.m., Chevalier Theatre, 30 Forest St., Medford, $55-$95
Also, don’t miss:
- The Lone Bellow, Sinclair, Dec. 2-3 (Americana/alt-country)
- Allison Russell, Sinclair, Dec. 7 (Americana/roots)
- Savannah Cristina, Sonia-Middle East, Dec. 7 (soul/R&B/blues)
- Big Freedia’s Christmas in Central City Tour, Brighton Music Hall, Dec. 11 (hip-hop)
- The Felice Brothers, Sinclair, Dec. 28 (folk rock)
- Boston Celtic Music Festival, Club Passim, Crystal Ballroom, The Burren and The Rockwell, Jan. 11-14
- Nate Smith, Sinclair, Jan. 11 (country)
- The Milk Carton Kids, Paradise Rock Club, Jan. 26 (folk)
- The Bones of J.R. Jones, Brighton Music Hall, Jan. 28 (folk/blues)
- The Record Company, Sinclair, Jan. 31 (rock/roots)
- DJ Shadow, Royale, Feb. 6 (dance/electronic)
- Jaime Wyatt, Sinclair, Feb. 6 (alt-country)
- Squid, Paradise Rock Club, Feb. 14 (alt/indie)
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