The meaning of the word “punk,” in 2015, is something that can be debated endlessly by those with stakes in the underground, or in the rhetoric of music description. A primer in what it could refer to was put on this weekend by the Boston-based arts nonprofit Brain Arts Organization, sponsors of the annual punk-rock throwdown Hassle Fest.
This year represented the festival’s seventh installment, and the three days of shows — at the Cambridge Elks Lodge and Out of the Blue Too Gallery in Cambridge, and Brighton Music Hall in Allston — ran smoothly, an impressive feat for any event with more than 40 acts and a face-painting area. Schedules were finessed to keep a substantial portion of each night’s bill open to those under 18, a crucial gesture that showed how the underground depends on the next generation; Brighton Music Hall’s space was reworked to fit a smaller second stage in the back, so as to limit downtime between sets.
Maura Johnston / Boston Globe
A collection of videos and pics from Day 1 of Boston Hassle Fest 7 – Gauche (their first show outside of native DC!) + World Cup (Boston) + Listening Woman (Boston).
Captured by Ethan Long, Shuggy Sugarman/Fat Shuggy and Sam PunkrockHobbit Jem Hadge.
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