Back Porch Festival returns with Lucinda Williams as headliner
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Olsen first established Back Porch Festival as a one-venue affair in 2014, and expanded the festival to multiple locations in 2023, when the Iron Horse was amidst a five-year slumber. The beloved performance space reopened last spring, complete with upgrades like a new sound and lighting system.
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'That club, from 1978 until 2019, has always been the hub of this place,' Olsen says. 'It's a legendary club that has always had a really eclectic booking policy – one night it's a blues legend, the next night it's some kind of jam band, the next night it's classic folk performers.'
That variety makes the Iron Horse a natural fit for the festival, which Olsen describes as a 'melting pot' of artists who are connected to American roots music, from blues and bluegrass to rockabilly and indie rock. In the same day, a guest could catch the Boston Americana duo
and classic soul and R&B group
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Some performers – like New England folk legend
Also new for 2025 is a Back Porch Festival app that allows guests to plan and cater their experience to their tastes, whether they want to sample the national touring acts in town, or discover artists from the region, like Boston blues staple
No matter what visitors choose, the cost is the same: $70 for a general admission
On Sunday morning, Cohen will bring the programming full circle and broadcast his Back Porch radio show live from the Iron Horse, which is free and open to the public.
'It's really fun to have this movable feast of music,' concludes Olsen. 'It allows you to sample things, to try things, to connect with friends in different venues.'
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At the
The
TD Garden continues to ease into concert season with a performance from country megastar
The Lizard Lounge hosts various flavors of New England folk and soul this week. Singer-songwriter
toast the release of their debut LP 'Roll Shine Roll' on
,
another treat from Vermont, inspires with retro soul-rock on
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In the Theatre District,
Lady Gaga's seventh LP "MAYHEM" is a pop patchwork that lives up to its title. (Frank LeBon)
Frank LeBon
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Lady Gaga,
Boston-born group Vundabar ground their garage rock on the new LP 'Surgery and Pleasure.'
Louise Mason
Vundabar,
SASAMI charts a refreshing stream of synth-pop on her new album 'Blood on the Silver Screen.'
Miriam Marlene
SASAMI,
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BONUS TRACK
Peter Wolf
, one of Boston's greatest storytellers, finally puts his own legend to paper with the new memoir 'Waiting on the Moon: Artists, Poets, Drifters, Grifters, and Goddesses.' Wolf celebrates the book's release this
Victoria Wasylak can be reached at vmwasylak@gmail.com. Follow her on Bluesky @VickiWasylak.bsky.social.
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Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Jeff Bezos's wedding could be ruined by protesters
When Jeff Bezos and his bride-to-be cruise into Venice's lagoon on their $500 million (£386 million), 410ft-long superyacht this month, it will not just be gondolas, Gothic palazzi and bell towers that will greet them. Activists will stage noisy protests against the star-studded wedding of the billionaire Amazon founder and Lauren Sánchez, a former television journalist, arguing that it will transform the World Heritage city into 'a playground for billionaires'. The nuptials, set to be held for three days from June 24-26, are set to cost $10 million (£8.4 million) and will be the biggest celebrity wedding at the site since George Clooney married Amal Alamuddin a decade ago. Hollywood stars such as Kim Kardashian, Kris Jenner and Katy Perry, as well as members of the Trump dynasty like Donald Trump Jr, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, are expected to attend. Luxury suites in the finest hotels have been booked for the likes of Bill Gates, Orlando Bloom, Oprah Winfrey, Eva Longoria and Leonardo DiCaprio. With a slogan that plays on Bezos's ownership of Blue Origin, his space rocket venture – 'No space for oligarchs, no space for Bezos' – protesters will march along canal banks and through piazzas during the wedding celebrations, carrying banners and letting off coloured smoke flares. Venice, the protestors argue, should not be put up for sale to the world's third-richest man, who has an estimated worth of $225 billion (£166 billion). The 'dignity' of Venice needs to be defended. 'The whole of Venice, all the people who live here, need to do something to protest against Bezos,' Alice Bazzoli, an activist from the 'No space for Bezos' campaign, told The Telegraph. 'It's not about him personally, it's about the consequences that the wedding will have for the city.' On stone bridges and the walls of alleyways across the city's historic centre, there are posters depicting the American billionaire's head superimposed on a rocket blasting into space and the words 'Bezos wedding in Venice? No way!' Protesters say that a mega-wedding attended by the 'ultra-rich one per cent' is the last thing that Venice needs, insisting that it will disrupt daily life for ordinary Venetians and will bring them little benefit. The wedding will also entail the cordoning off of public areas and the blanket booking of water taxis. No official wedding programme has been disclosed, but locals have a hunch that the nuptials may be held on the island of San Giorgio, which lies at the mouth of the Grand Canal opposite the stone-carved splendour of St Mark's Square. A tiny islet, it boasts historic churches, cloisters and libraries. 'He has booked out at least five luxury hotels, the island of San Giorgio will be completely booked out for the duration of the wedding, it will be hard for locals to move around because there will be security measures for his VIP guests,' said Ms Bazzoli. 'He'll pretty much take over the city for his celebrations, paying a huge amount of money for the privilege. It will compound all our problems – daily life is already hard for locals in Venice because of the impact of mass tourism.' In a quiet street in the Castello district of the city, far from the tourist hordes, Marta Sottoriva, another activist, was busy making giant banners for the protests. 'The wedding will benefit the very few – the owners of luxury hotels, the operators of water taxis – all of whom already earn huge amounts of money from tourism. It will bring absolutely no benefits for ordinary Venetians,' she said. For many Venetians, the wedding represents an extreme example of the commercialisation of their city – a place where locals can no longer afford to live because apartments are sold to outsiders or rented to tourists on platforms such as Airbnb. With an acute lack of affordable public housing, many families move to the mainland, across the lagoon, where rents are cheaper. 'Venice is being transformed into a vast theme park, a cultural Disneyland,' said Ms Sottoriva. The authorities introduced a scheme last year whereby day-trippers have to register online and pay an 'access fee' to enter the city. 'A lot of friends have said to me that they now feel like animals in a zoo,' she said. Luigi Brugnaro, the millionaire mayor of Venice, insisted that the Bezos wedding will be a 'great event' that will bring no disruption whatsoever. He said there will only be around 200 guests and that Venice has experience of handling much larger events, such as the Art and Architecture Biennale exhibitions. Bezos and his staff have 'categorically' not booked large numbers of gondolas and water taxis. The mayor told The Telegraph that he was 'grateful' that Bezos had chosen Venice as the venue for his wedding. 'Anyone who loves Venice is always welcome,' he said, adding that there will be significant economic benefits because the event will 'reinforce the role of Venice as a place of encounters and hospitality'. The priority will be to 'ensure that the city functions normally, for everyone, without any inconvenience for anybody,' he said. But claims of lavish economic dividends are sharply disputed by critics. 'I don't think Kim Kardashian will be sitting down at a local trattoria to eat spaghetti. They'll have private chefs instead,' said Ms Bazzoli. Giovanni Andrea Martini, an opposition member of the city council, said: 'It's absolutely false. It won't bring any benefit to ordinary Venetians. It is just going to cause inconvenience.' Hosting the wedding is 'an extreme case of the Disneyfication of Venice,' he said. But now that it is a done deal, Mr Martini wants Mr Bezos to make a donation to the city – not towards sprucing up ancient monuments or artworks but towards restoring the estimated 1,000 council houses and flats that lie empty and abandoned, fuelling the accommodation crisis. Mr Martini said the official estimate of 48,000 inhabitants is wrong, saying around 18,000 of those are second homeowners who have residency but do not live in the city full-time. The true population could therefore be as low as 30,000. Speaking from his office in Venice's town hall, he said the real number of annual visitors could be as high as 30 million – much greater than the 20 million figure that is often cited. 'This is the proportion we are dealing with – 30 million tourists visiting a city of 30,000 inhabitants.' Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
New York Post
3 hours ago
- New York Post
Why the Talking Heads are still making more sense than ever 50 years later
Fifty years ago this month, three clean-cut art-school students who called themselves Talking Heads played an audition night at the Bowery club CBGB. Different from the other newly minted punk bands putting the New York City hole-in-the-wall on the map, frontman David Byrne, bassist Tina Weymouth, and drummer Chris Frantz looked and sounded like no one else. The skittish, hollow-eyed singer accompanied his strange, keening vocals and obtuse lyrics with hyper-rhythmic guitarwork, while the petite blond bassist (a rare mid-'70s axe-wielding female) and robust mop-top drummer held down the propulsive groove. Their catchy 'Psycho Killer' — with its sing-along chorus — immediately caught the attention of club owner Hilly Kristal, who booked them for a series of dates, including opening for the Ramones. 7 Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth, David Byrne, and Jerry Harrison of Talking Heads, which this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of its founding. Getty Images for BAM Later adding keyboardist/guitarist (and Harvard grad) Jerry Harrison, the band would become 'the most original, musically ambitious, and rigorously creative rock group of their time,' writes Jonathan Gould in his riveting new biography, 'Burning Down the House: Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' (out June 16). The book deftly interrelates New York City's cultural, social, and economic history (from its bankruptcy and the downtown art scene to Son of Sam and the '80s boom) as the band evolves into an expanded group of both African-American and white musicians, ambitiously exploring ever-more innovative sounds. A former professional drummer and the author of well-received biographies of the Beatles and Otis Redding, Gould says that 'having grown up in New York, a big part of my attraction to the subject involved the chance to write about the change in the city's social life and geography over the past fifty years.' He focused on Talking Heads, he relates, because 'having written books about the archetype of a rock group and the archetype of a soul singer that together comprised an extended exploration of the centrality of race in Anglo-American popular music, I wanted to tell the story of a second-generation rock group's engagement with Black music — as dramatized by David Byrne.' 7 Frontman David Byrne lives with Asperger's Syndrome, which has heavily influenced his musical delivery. ©Island Alive Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection 7 Talking Heads: Tina Weymouth, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and David Byrne in an undated picture. ©Island Alive Pictures / Everett Collection Gould calls the Scottish-born, suburban Maryland-raised Byrne 'one of the 'whitest' men ever to front a rock group, but who transformed himself over the course of his career into a singer, musician, and performer embodying many of the most kinetic qualities of Black music while still maintaining an unequivocally 'white' identity.' From reinterpreting Al Green's 'Take Me to the River' to diving into the music of Africa and Latin America, Talking Heads released eight studio albums between 1977 and 1988. The group reunited once in 2002 to perform at their induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. More recently, the band reconvened for a public discussion at the Toronto Film Fest and with Stephen Colbert to celebrate the re-release of 'Stop Making Sense,' their seminal 1984 concert doc. 7 'Stop Making Sense,' the Talking Heads' seminal 1984 film, was rereleased last year for its 40th anniversary. Courtesy Everett Collection 7 Byrne in a scene from 'Stop Making Sense.' He was crucial in helping to refine and define the band's embrace of African-American musical traditions. ©Cinecom Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection In 'Burning Down the House,' Gould explores how Byrne's Asperger's syndrome affected his relationships, as well as how it 'exerted a strong influence on his creative sensibility, beginning with his tendency to approach most aspects of music-making without the sort of preconceptions that most of us accept as a way of trying to show other people that we know what we're doing.' Gould adds, 'David's Asperger's also contributed to his remarkable powers of concentration and observation, in part because people on the spectrum learn to pay very close attention to things as a way of navigating an unfamiliar and sometimes incomprehensible world. At the same time, I think it's important to put this in context. David's Asperger's was one of many influences on an artist who sought out and absorbed influences like a sponge. It was not the be-all-and-end-all of his personality or of his creative sensibility.' 7 'Talking Heads and the New York Scene That Transformed Rock' is written by Jonathan Gould. 7 Author Jonathan Gould finished the project even more of a fan of their music than when he began his book some five years ago. Richard Edelman In a gripping narrative, Gould traces Talking Heads' journey from their hometowns to their art schools, Chrystie Street loft, and eventual global stardom. He sharply analyzes their work and includes rich portraits of individuals, art movements, and music scenes in their orbit. While Gould interviewed the band's longtime friends and colleagues, all four declined to speak with him. 'Though I was initially disappointed that they chose not to cooperate with my research,' he says, 'I've come to regard it as a blessing in disguise. I have the feeling that not speaking with them insulated me enough from their conflicting personal narratives to enable me to gain perspective on the formation and musical evolution of the band.' Gould finished the project even more of a fan of their music than when he began his book some five years ago. 'Initially, I was drawn most strongly to the trio of albums — Fear of Music, Remain in Light, and Speaking in Tongues — that had the greatest ambition and intensity,' he relates. 'As a drummer, I have a great appreciation of Chris's playing, beginning with his steadiness and solidity. And I consider David to be a genius — a word I don't use lightly — on account of the utterly distinctive nature of his singing, guitar playing, and songwriting. Simply put, I can't think of anyone else in popular music who sounds like him or writes like him.'
USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!'
The 'true' origin story of 'The Ritual' is even more hair-raising: 'Begone Satan!' Show Caption Hide Caption 'The Ritual': Al Pacino, Dan Stevens take on exorcism horror Al Pacino and Dan Stevens star in "The Ritual," a horror film based on the account of a 1928 American exorcism. "The Ritual" exorcism horror drama (now in theaters), starring Al Pacino as the real-life German-American Capuchin friar Theophilus Riesinger and Dan Stevens as Father Joseph Steiger, proudly claims to be "based on true events." The star duo delivers hair-raising moments as they recreate the 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt (Abigail Cowen). But on a horror level, it pales in comparison to the more sensational source material. Writer-director David Midell has made it clear "The Ritual" is inspired by the 1935 "Begone Satan!" book by Father Carl Vogl, a German priest and author. Vogl's exclamation point-filled "true account" of the proceedings in Earling, Iowa, is still available online and makes for great, campy reading. How 'Begone Satan!' emerged as the source of 'The Ritual' in Time magazine Steiger's job was to host (other churches declined) and to take notes during the harrowing (and reportedly successful) exorcism. The Steiger notes are the purported source of "Begone Satan!" which made front-page news in religious publications like Denver's Catholic Register years later. Time magazine brought the story to mainstream readers with a Riesinger-heavy 1936 account of the "diabolical possession." The Time article demonstrates some skepticism by reminding readers "that no Catholic is obliged to believe in any particular account of a case of diabolical possession outside of those recounted in Scripture." At the end of this long, twisted, and sometimes dubious road, "The Ritual" earns the right to make the carefully worded claim in its closing: "The 1928 exorcism of Emma Schmidt represents the most thoroughly documented and well-known exorcism in American history." The devil will apparently mess with your car In an early "Ritual" scene, Steiger apologizes for failing to pick up Riesinger at the train station, attributing the oversight to the devil's mischief. With 19 exorcisms to his name, he knows that the devil will mess with cars. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger can't explain why his "tip-top" car takes two hours to get to the station. Riesinger points out that the traveling mishap is the devil "doing his utmost to foil our plans." Later, Steiger is nearly killed after inexplicably losing control of his still-new car on a familiar road and crashing it to "smithereens." The book's car-totaling "devil's trick" doesn't make "The Ritual," which is a shame, given the rich real-life irony: Stevens' "Downton Abbey" character, Matthew Crawley, was killed in a Season 3 car crash that allowed him to pursue a film career. In "Begone Satan!" Steiger's congregation pitches in to buy a new car for the pastor, which frankly could have been an alternate film ending (with a Ford sponsorship). Riesinger had met Schmidt's demons before In "The Ritual," Riesinger makes it clear that the case is personal because he had previously exorcised Schmidt. "Begone Satan!" says Riesinger "freed her from this possession" in 1912, but Schmidt "became possessed again" in her 40s. Schmidt is said to be possessed by four entities that announce themselves as Beelzebub, betraying disciple Judas, Schmidt's abusive father Jacob and Mina (Jacob's lover and Schmidt's aunt). The devil didn't mess with the 'Ritual' nuns Three nuns are injured while dealing directly with the possessed Schmidt in "The Ritual," and Sister Rose ("Twilight" star Ashley Greene) has her hair pulled out of her scalp. In "Begone Satan!" the devil never attacked the nuns, saving his blows for the bigwigs — Pastor Steiger or Mother Superior (played by "Everybody Loves Raymond" star Patricia Heaton). In "The Ritual," the demons within Schmidt taunt Steiger with knowledge of his brother's recent death by suicide. There's no suggestion of these low blows in "Begone Satan!" But in the book, Steiger gives some memorable verbal shots in that never made the movie, like "detestable hellhound" and "vile serpent." Satan also calls Riesinger "dumbbell" when the overtired priest doesn't get his prayers right. That didn't make the movie, either. 'Begone Satan!' has the possessed woman flying over bed like 'The Ritual' The possessed Schmidt throws up black bile often in "The Ritual," but not as much as in the book. 'It was not unusual for her to vomit 20 to 30 times a day," the book says, including bedside descriptions of wretched output "resembling vomited macaroni." The movie scene featuring Schmidt flying over the bed is detailed in "Begone Satan!" "The possessed woman broke from the grip of her protectors and stood erect before them," the book says. "Only her heels were touching the bed." How 'Begone Satan!' ends the story Unlike the movie, the Iowa exorcism reportedly took place in three stages, in August, September and December 1928. The book's climax differs from "The Ritual" ending, which has Schmidt running through the church catacombs, and Steiger stepping up with an exorcist hero moment, shouting down the demon with the Bible in hand. In the book, levitating Schmidt returns to the bed, and "Satan was forced to leave his victim at last to return to Hell." Schmidt utters, "My Jesus mercy! Praised be Jesus!" showing she's clear. The woman "reportedly lived out the rest of her life peacefully," the movie says in the closing credits. "Begone Satan!" backs up that happy ending, adding "there were still possessions, but of a milder nature."
