JP Jammerz

Pledge Pins serve cookies at Midway Cafe on Saturday, 13 April 2024.

Electric Street Queens, Orange Whip, and Christian Kids open the four-stack bill.

Let’s check in on the JP Music Fest.

The annual music shindig at Pinebank Field in Jamaica Plain is heading into its twelfth year. That alone is worth a tip of the cap, especially when you realize it’s an all-volunteer effort that’s bringing this jewel in the JP music calendar to life.

How does the fest get off the ground every year? Hard work by the volunteers, including Rick Berlin and the gang.

Sponsors – you’ve gotta have sponsors. Local businesses like the restaurant (and record shop!) Tres Gatos, the music venue Midway Cafe, pot shop Seed, among others, kicked in a little money last year and probably will again.

Fundraisers – you gotta have fundraisers. The annual Smell The Love fundraiser concert has become a minor tradition in its own right, and returned in February, along with a March show at the American Legion hall, and John Casey’s Bar Wars (a kind of battle of the bands, pitting local bar staff against each other on stage).

A location – you gotta have a location. Pinebank Field fits the JP Music Fest just fine, with ample space for the double stage setup the festival has rocked in recent years. Plenty of room to move around, grab a seat on the grass, enjoy a drink or meal from the food vendors. Just pray for good weather!

And bands, of course! Gotta have the music. The call has gone out for performing acts, so if your local, or local-ish, the JP Music Fest wants you on stage. Answer the call…

Hump Nights

May 3

Dogs On Shady Lane / Puppy Angst / Main Era

May 13

Solvent C / Captain Vampire / Cats On Film

May 15

Twig | Metal Tiger | Garrison Fortress | NEONACH

May 20

Flora Algera / The Cherry Fog / The Cheap Dates

May 23

Ryuichi Sakamoto: Opus

May 25

Three Sided Die | On Regret | Declaw | Sly Fang

Jun 1

Sapling / Orca Bones / Battlemode / The Jacklights / Double Star

Jun 29

Groanman / Waylon & Co.

Jul 3

Lesser Birds

The post punk duo Christian Kids is a collaborative project featuring Shawnie Brando (Bugs and Rats) and Mariam Saleh (Bong Wish).

At a Lilypad show last October the use of auxiliary samples gave the guitar and bass pairing a more electro ambience. There was a more straight up rock meets art punk feel on Saturday night, though with a drum machine in play you’re always going to sound a bit electro.

Shout out to the band members soundchecking separately and extra points for positioning themselves as far apart from each other as the stage allowed during the set. Had to edit the recap footage in post production to fit them both in the same frame!

A punk rock quartet with gobs of gumption. It’s Orange Whip! No, not the Milwaukee-based cover band. Which is all over Facebook. We’re talking the local Boston or whatever band with the Instagram handle @orangewhippppp, currently seven posts deep. Possibly a new project? There’s a lot of ‘p’s on that whip.

The whirling dervishes of proto punk, Electric Street Queens. You probably haven’t seen a show this aerobic in a while. Constant energy. But do those wigs get hot under the stage lights?

The three-piece Pledge Pins has that old time rock n roll feel. Sure, the pop tunes are sped up, fed through a dive bar PA, and played with garage rock attitude. But slow them down and these melodies are “Top 40 with Dick Clark” material. Which is awesome. Radio friendly or just friendly in general, with a fresh batch of cookies for all and sundry at the foot of the stage.

Yum!