The Billy Ruane documentary, The Road to Ruane, tells the tale of one of the biggest names from Boston's music scene in the '90s.
Every music fan has their salad days. For me, those days were the '90s. I started high school in 1991 and graduated from college in 1999. In other words, my most formative years--musically, culturally--took place during that golden decade.
That gave me a front-row seat to not only the early '90s Grunge explosion, but the burgeoning Boston music scene that was growing in parallel. WBCN, WFNX, and the bands they played became the soundtrack to my coming of age.
Boston acts held a special esteem. I listened to and rooted for bands like Buffalo Tom, Pixies, Morphine, and The Lemonheads. I didn't know at the time, but part of the reason that these bands were on my radar was Billy Ruane.
Billy Ruane Documentary: The Boson Scene Impresario On Display
Back in the day, I never gave much thought to who was putting on the shows I was going to. In the mid-'00s, Boston band Varsity Drag dropped a song called "Billy Ruane." It told the tale of a Boston scene legend; a name I'd heard but not known.
I did a little digging and found out that Billy Ruane wasn't just a big-time Boston show-booker: he was an absolute wild man. Not long after his passing in 2010, whispers of a documentary started circulating. Finally, the doc is seeing the light of day.
Billy Ruane Documentary: Screening at IFF Boston 2024
The Road to Ruane debuts on Saturday, May 4 at the Somerville Theatre as part of Independent Film Festival Boston 2024. Tickets and details are available here. The Billy Ruane documentary promises to tell the tail of one of the most colorful, complicated personalities in Boston music history.
Don't miss it.
