Boston Musicians Find New Rehearsal Space in a Familiar Place
Boston musicians are getting a much-needed win after a steady run of losses in recent weeks and months. And there’s a ROCK 92.9 connection.
If you need to do some catching-up with this story, here’s a bit of background. The Sound Museum in Allston provided practice space for local musicians and artists for over 40 years. The building, located at 155 North Beacon Street, was purchased by developers last year. And while the bands who called the space home advocated for an exit plan, no concrete plan was put in place. This led to a few community movers and shakers stepping up and stepping in.
The Art Stays Here Coalition, — “artists, musicians, and advocates who, through coming together in one voice, work both to prevent arts and cultural displacement throughout Greater Boston” — moved quickly to secure a temporary space in Dorchester for displaced musicians. The move into the new facility was underwritten by the New England Musicians Resource Fund, who have been providing direct financial assistance to local musicians since the start of the COVID pandemic in 2020.
The temporary space is being operated by local nonprofit The Record Co. And the location of that temporary space? 55 Morrissey Boulevard in Dorchester, former home of the ROCK 92.9 studios.
Boston Musicians Find New Rehearsal Space in a Familiar Place
I’ve been following the twists and turns of this story for months, so I can’t tell you how excited I was to see that the old ROCK 92.9 studios are now being used by local bands to rehearse and create. The Boston Herald covered the story over the weekend. You can read their piece here and see some pictures of how the space has been remodeled to accommodate local artists.
Oh, and you’ll probably need a bit of context. Here’s a gallery I put together of 55 Morrissey back in August of 2022 before we moved out of the space and into our new studios in Waltham. I hope the bands and musicians now calling the building home are having as much fun there as I did.