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Together Boston is an annual electronic music and arts festival in Massachusetts, in the United States. First held in 2010, it comprises a week-long program of events at venues around Boston and Cambridge, focused on Central Square in Cambridge.[1] The festival's motto is "Music, Art, Technology", and musical events and performances are accompanied by a program of daytime discussions, art exhibitions, and film screenings.[2]
Together Boston has held events at many venues in Boston and Cambridge, including The Sinclair, The Middle East, House of Blues Boston, Royale, Paradise, Great Scott, Middlesex Lounge, Goodlife, and Phoenix Landing. Artists may appear together for label showcases or as a part of a typical club night roster.[3]
Accompanying program
Discussions/Panels/Lectures
In 2016, Together Boston launched an app containing a guide to the festival week. Meetups for 2016 commenced with a discussion on [4] again in partnership with the Dutch Government. Tech huddles continued all week as well, again at the tech hub named Danger!Awesome. The talent behind the VJ Competition held a free tutorial on[5]Ableton and VJing. The record fair was guest hosted by producer Martyn.
Boston Mayor Marty Walsh "Dropping the beat" at District Hall
2015 Seminar highlights included visiting author Michaelangelo Matos discussing his book The Underground is Massive, an "RA Exchange" podcast with Martyn, and an official Ableton session with Ellie Herring. The Cambridge-based makerspace Danger Awesome held its concurring events, like the Cryptoparty with Massachusetts Pirate Party and a music hackathon. There was also a unique international component as the festival hosted many Dutch guests from Utrecht. The result was an official proclamation from Boston's Mayor Marty Walsh honoring the contributions the Dutch have made to international culture.[6]
2014 the daytime events transformed into two locations: The Mmmmaven Project educational program in Central Square and District Hall, Boston's brand-new home of innovation in Boston's Seaport District. The Recharge Lounge featured Integrating live performance in Ableton and demonstrations of creative collaboration with ToUch Performance Art.[7] Meanwhile, District Hall held the "Ableton Spaces," which included demonstrations of Ableton's push controller, vocal processing with Natasha Kmeto and How to Make Music with Plants featuring Data Garden from Philadelphia.[8]
Also at District Hall were the "Together Talks", featuring four themed days of discussion. Day 1, "Community Day" featured Boston Mayor Marty Walsh "dropping the ceremonial first beat"[9] and a discussion with Boston-raised superstars Soul Clap.[10] Friday was Technology Day which featured VSnap, Cadenza and Groupmuse.[11] Saturday then became "Music Day" with presentations from Harvard University, MassArt and famed "technomusicologist" Wayne Marshall.[12] Finally, art had its place on Sunday May 18 with multiple presentations from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a segment on augmented wearable fashions from the Rhode Island School of Design[13]
2013's panels included a discussion on artist representation in the digital age with Josh Bhatti of Bowery Boston, Carter Adams of the Windish Agency and Michael Walsh of XLR8R,[14] a panel on copyright law in the modern era moderate by Andy Sellars of Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society[15] and a Q&A with meme celebrity Scumbag Steve.
Demonstrations from 2012 included a Drum Production workshop hosted by iZotope and a panel called "Needles vs Buttons," discussing the differences between vinyl DJing and Digital DJing. As well as more general music and creative industry panels such as "Beyond Ramen: Surviving as an Artist" and "War Stories from the Start-Up Front".[16]
Film screenings
Together Festival also screens films related to music throughout the festival week,[17] typically at independent cinemas around Boston and Cambridge. Some films focusing on German artists have been screened at Boston's Goethe Institute.
Get Together
2012 Get Together
The festival also includes Get Together, a daytime farmers market-style trade show, where retailers sell various products related to music culture, especially a wide range of second-hand dance music vinyl records. In 2013, Get Together moved outdoors to the become the World's Fair,[18] featuring live music, DJ stages and local street food vendors. The Soul Clap record fair, added in 2014, has since become an ongoing seasonal event in Cambridge.[19]
Annual Compilations
Together releases an official free annual compilation of tracks composed, mixed, and mastered by Boston-based musicians, including both individual tracks and a master mix of all tracks.[20]
In 2014, Together Boston partnered with Boston label Zakim Recordings to produce a vinyl edition of the compilation, with 6 of the tracks featured on a special-edition 12" release.[21]
Reception
Together Boston has been gathering acclaim since its inception. In its first year, Metro Boston reported that "reaction is positive from the community and business groups involved."[22] In 2011, the Boston Globe reported that "with an increased focus on a slate of daytime panels, discussions, and technology demonstrations, the organizers want to engender a dialogue about music."[23] 2012 saw Red Bull Music Academy documentation with future Best Album Grammy-winner Todd Edwards[24] and Chicago Juke legend DJ Rashad.,[25] while music website Earmilk said: "Together creates a nightlife with smart undertones for people to gather around to try to find something a bit more transcendent, surrounded by cool, interesting people."[26]
In 2013, Together received a lengthy, well-written review from tastemaking music magazine XLR8R: "Together remains a festival by Bostonians for Bostonians, a fitting labor of love for a city in need of as much love as it can get."[27] And also from the Boston Globe: "This year’s programming further emphasizes the art and technology aspects of Together’s larger mission."[28] The following year, the Globe said: "The focus of the week is not just music, but also the art and technology that makes Boston such a thriving, creative place to live at the moment."[29] The same year, Fact Magazine said "Together Boston is rapidly positioning itself as one of the United States’ best events for forward-thinking music."[30]
In 2014, new Boston Mayor Marty Walsh chimed in on the festival before dropping the ceremonial "first beat." "Lineups like these garner national and international attention," the Mayor said, "which helps us strengthen Boston's reputation as a cultural destination."[9] And the reputable international music magazine Resident Advisor gave the festival a 4.5 out of 5-star review in 2014. "Together showed what a dedicated community can accomplish even with factors like that stacked against it, and it made the city seem vibrant, fun, and hungry for good music."[31]
In November 2014, Together Boston was awarded "Best Festival" in Boston by The Boston Calendar.[32] The Boston Calendar organizers called the event "ahead of its time."
Thump, Vice Magazine's dance music channel, reviewed the festival[33] at its sixth iteration. "The sixth edition of Together ... was a reminder of how much Boston still has to offer for the tribes of dance music fans who live here." And: "Despite its size, Together pulled off an impressive range of sounds from across the electronic spectrum."
Resident Advisor again visited to review the event.[34] "With consistent sound, good crowds, solid venues, and a great lineup, I still can't quite narrow down exactly what made Together 2015 feel as great as it did. Maybe it's just a matter of getting all the little things right."
Previewing the festival, Resident Advisor called Together 2016 a global destination in their "Top 10 Music Festivals[35]" feature.
In 2016, The Boston Globe wrote of the event:[36] "The core notion of the festival ... isn’t just to provide a good time, but to illustrate the fertile mix of art and technology intrinsic to current-day Boston, a city that celebrates its visual artists and musicians even as it cultivates a fresh identity as a hub for technological advancement."
After that year, Resident Advisor said:[37] "The festival's seventh year was its best yet, primarily through refinement: rather than growing larger and more sprawling, Together has narrowed its focus. Every day of the week, there was at least one—and often several—things to look forward to."
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