First wave punk was an experimental sound coming out of England in the mid to late 1970s. As a faster and harder offshoot of rock and roll that was popularized in the 50s . Many bands like Bad Brains and The Stooges contributed to the early sounds of what is now considered punk.
The East side of the United States hailed many bands that started to take over the soundscape in the early 2000s. This came with a large shift in the music scene, moving away from melodic screaming / fast guitars, which took place for most of the 90s. From Hardcore punk bands separated music styles into distinctive branch genres: Hardcore, Screamo, and Punk. Boston comes into the equation with an explosion of bands from all genres and sub-genres exploding in popularity.
The creation of web media sharing made music much more accessible to listeners across the country, able to hear these bands past local shows or music shops. Myspace, Instagram and YouTube were all platforms that aided in the rise of fame of this sub-genre. Music shops are vital to any music scene. Armageddon became a pillar in the community for their selection of rock music in Boston and is located very close to the high school in Harvard. “Armageddon Record shop” has been open in their Harvard location since 2010 and their Providence location since 2000.
Boston is home to many famous venues many of which I have attended such as The Middle East , Boston, and As220, as well as community centers, which have been vital to the culture of hardcore in the East Coast. Many bands in the area have taken the area code 617 and used it as a branding symbol. “Haywire” Is a band in the Boston area that represents this perfectly using morals like sobriety, companionship and family all over there songs and branding.
Recently, they headlined a festival called “For the children”. It was a children’s donation show played at Big Night Live. The show generated close to 500 toys for children in need, which were all donated. This reflects the good-for benefits that come from the Hardcore community.
The Boston city council has made house shows and smaller venue incredibly difficult to host shows. With many fines being slapped on the homeowners. A famous house venue named “Al Dios” closed in late 2023 due to Pressure from the Providence council
Outside of simply music, many of these punk shows are also charity shows, especially now. Donations of money made to local relief causes and food/school supplies are donated from shows as well.
