It was a close, thrilling battle but Western Education have pulled it off and are MusicBoxPete's 2016 Artist of the Year, decided on by you the readers! The band based out of Lowell have been delighting listeners the last couple of years, and have made a big return this year with their brand new LP "Restless Dreams" that continues the band's sonic odyssey of synth based rhythms conjured upon a strong musical foundation of guitars and bass lines that give the songs a cohesive,

Lowell, MA based Western Education have just dropped their eagerly anticipated, brand new LP titled Restless Dreams. The three piece are beginning to come into their own as musicians, and expand upon on their sound demonstrated on their last LP "Let Your Secrets Out" that officially put them on the map with their indie synth vibe turning alot of heads and ears in the process. We start things out with "Running Wild", a song that strikes the perfect balance between the indie ro

Lowell, MA based singer songwriter Jon Kohen is gearing up to release a brand new EP on 3/30 titled "Curse The Darkness, Or Create A Light". If you're not familiar with his sound, Jon breeds a orchestral sound complete with string arrangements such as violin that create a classical atmosphere that breeds creativity and originality to the highest degree possible. He bears some similarities to Dan Masterson, another performer that I've covered to a great extent here on the site

Photo Credit: Christine Labbe Photography Lowell based post hardcore quintet Eyes on Satellites have just unleashed their latest single titled "Swan Song". The song is a careening, straightforward rocker that delves deep into the band's psyche with incredible vocals that run the gamut from low key and melodic, to piercing and ear shrieking that encapsulates their style quite well. You may remember the guys from last March whenj I reviewed their EP "Explorations", and I commen

Lowell based alt rockers Western Education are gearing up for a big show at the end of the month, October 29th to be exact over at Brighton Music Hall where they will be sharing the stage with Australia's own Strange Talk. Western Ed have been making some noise in the local scene as of late, with their recently released album "Let Your Secrets Out" solidifying their status as a local band that is at the top rung of the local scene right now as we speak. The guys craft some of

Lowell based rock outfit Soft Cactus will be rolling through town next Tuesday 8/4 when they hit up The Mid East Upstairs as part of their East Coast tour. The collective are touring behind their just released effort "In The Living Room" that has a breezy, jazz rock feel to it that offers up something different for the musical crowd gathered there in attendance, and seeks to expose listeners to a variety of different sounds that they're not accustomed to and puts them in a re

Lowell's own Western Education are gearing up to play a local show this coming Mon. 2/23 @ TT the Bear's in Cambridge. The guys have been running rampant throughout the local Boston music scene for the past year or so, all culminating with their album release show where I first saw them last year at The Mid East Downstairs, where everything came full circle for me. The band definitely established their presence and musical foothold that is starting to run circles and take sha

Lowell, MA based PVRIS are taking things to the next level with their own blend of alternative rock that is reflective of the band's musical influences. Think Paramore with a harder nosed edge to it, with a dash of subtle electronic melodies to balance the sound out and give it an identity to call its own. I stumbled across these guys completely by accident, and they really impressed me with their own individual and unique methods of creating music to an audience whose musica

Presenting to you today an interview with Lowell, MA's own The New Highway Hymnal! These guys have been generating huge buzz around town as of late, emerging as one of the preeeminent live acts around town that present a raw and unadulterated type of music not seen since the heyday of The Pixies. The guys were nice enough to do a chat with MusicBoxPete as explore the innermost regions of the band in depth, and go through the recording process of their latest EP "Reverb Room".

Lowell, MA's own Western Education has just released their newest effort titled Let Your Secrets Out. The full length album is a cohesive, expansive effort that takes their sound into a larger, more dense space than ever before where the audience is more open minded and accepting of a change of pace from the other types of music being produced today. The track opens up with "Peace", an electroriddled opus with some dense rock rhythms and Greg's dynamic vocals allow them to cr

Bringing to you another edition of Artist Spotlight today as we come across the sounds of Western Education! Hailing from Lowell, MA the band consists of Greg on lead vocals and keyboards, Georgio on guitars and backing vocals, Will handling bass and production duties, and Mark on drums and backing vocals. The band's sound is a hard nosed blend of fast paced alternative rhythms conjured upon a slight electronic wave that when combined, is a totally different ballgame and is u