Homegrown Goodness: A Weekend Fest Full of Local Bands

Jamaica Plain is always a great source for underground shows and local music, but this weekend JP went all out with Homegrown Fest – three solid nights of the best bands circulating the underground scene. The second musical festival of what will surely be a series throughout the years included over 60 bands from the local area and across the country playing at The Temple Sound and Stage on Centre Street.

This is the second year that the festival has hosted a wide variety of bands and appealed to a vast audience. Including all different types of music, from low-fi grunge to hardcore metal to etherial folk and even Ethiopian jam bands, the three days were packed with an eager audience. The schedule included quirky descriptions such as “gnarly female fronted psychedelic sludge” describing the NYC band Bezoar or “catchy songs that don’t feel wrong and the blown out tunes like the Ramones” to introduce the Nashville native Pujol.

Because of the busy lineup, the bands alternated between playing the stage and the floor for an easier transition between sets. The Temple doubles as a venue for shows and a recording studio, providing a big floor to fit the audience and separate side rooms where the bands could set up merch tables and where WTBU radio DJs gave away zines about college radio. In the brief time between bands, the crowd interacted throughout the venue, relaxing on the couches up against the back wall, but always eager to be at the front for the next act.

Homegrown was alive and kicking until at least midnight, or even until 1:00 am, from Friday to Sunday, gaining in energy and mass and the hours passed. Each night had headliners that drew in large crowds, whether New Brunswick-based Jeff the Brotherhood or all the way from Ireland So Cow. On Sunday, as they eagerly awaited San Fransisco

musician Ty Segall, two men from Suffolk University commented that it just “got better every night.”

If you didn’t get the chance to experience this underground scene in all its glory, check out the Homegrown website for a complete lineup of the bands and keep an eye out for a repeat next year!