"I know people from Vermont are here," Nico Muhly declared. "I can just smell it." In fact, the performers' families had come down from the 802 area code to watch Sam Amidon, Thomas "Doveman" Bartlett, and Muhly play together on Sunday evening. The three of them did not perform three distinct sets, instead performing their own songs and their collaborations in overlapping clusters, working out the set list as they went along, casually swapping......

Movies Indie Short Film Night, featuring movies by local filmmakers, including the premiere of "Absent Meaning," which vows that "Nothing is as hopeful as a suicidal Belarusian waitress turned punk rocker!" Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St., Brookline, 9:30 pm, $5. Politics The Iowa caucuses are today. Why should Bostonist worry about what's up in Iowa? Many reasons. First, this is former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney's first big test. Second, the New Hampshire primaries are......

Here’s a novel idea: if a music scene wants to prove its relevancy through an award show, why doesn’t that scene put in some effort? Boston’s ties to regional, up-and-coming, and national talent were on clear display Saturday evening at the Orpheum Theatre, as the 2007 Boston Music Awards honored many a bold-faced musical name. Metal poster boys Killswitch Engage took home Act of the Year accolades, while critical darlings Lori McKenna and Martin Sexton......

Bostonist just left the 2007 Boston Music Awards, and while we'll have ruminations on the awards ceremony for your Sunday reading pleasure, you can find below the crop of winners from the 20th anniversary ceremony, presented here in chronological order: Outstanding Funk/Jam Band of the Year: Westbound Train Outstanding Blues/Soul Act of the Year: Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves Outstanding DJ/Dance Act of the Year: DJ BC Outstanding Rock Band of the Year:......

Berklee and Essence have teamed up again this year to bring the best young talent out to compete in the Hip Hop Songwriting Contest. If you are, or know, an eligible teen (unsigned and between 15 and 18) the time is nigh. Deadline for submission is March 9. It's all for a good cause, helping to balance the message in hip hop music and giving young songwriters a stage and training, not to mention......

Why ramble? We've got shows to get out and see. We could put up a whole narrative about the state we were left in after NEMO and BeanTown Jazz swept through this weekend. But not now. Monday 10/2 Built to Spill with Helvetia Built to Spill delivers Indie Rock from when they first hit our radar on college radio and they actually were an indie band. They've been with Warner Bros. for what seems......

Fall seems to have set in, at least for now. the temperatures are dropping and people all over the metro have been forced to put their flip-flops away for some more sensible footwear. At least until it gets warm again in another week. Or so we hope. Music abounds again this week and we're listening. Tuesday, 9/12 Branford Marsalis Quartet Braggtown CD Release Concert Berklee alum Branford Marsalis created Cambridge-based (and Rounder distributed) Marsalis......

Usually we try to wax poetic about some sort of relevant piece of information. This week we're dropping all that fluff and jumping right into this week's set of picks – lots of good shows on tap for this week. Zydeco to classical, hip hop to electronica, and Bon Jovi. Monday 7/24: Wattstax with Eli "Paperboy" Reed & the True Loves Allston's Paperboy plays an opening revue for a screening of Wattstax, a film......

Apparently we're supposed to go to work this week. It's the first full week in July. We're not counting last week – there was enough time spent on various roof decks that it can't be called anything but lazy. This week the grind is back, but the music isn't taking a break. An eclectic mix make up this week's picks from indie rock to Elvis Costello to the Boston Typewriter Orchestra, they're not playing......

All we can say is at least it's not raining. The humidity, not so much the heat, has got everyone running on a pretty sluggish pace today. Perhaps after another TurboIce things will pick up. Or some sweet nerdy action in the way of the IT Band Bash – you know the guy sitting in the cube across from you who's a rocker at night? Oh, you don't, well he might be. If you're......

Not too long until these parties rock with the roof off. That is to say we're only a few weeks away from the official start of summer. The unofficial beginning came last week with Memorial Day. Put on your white pants and go see some of the last few shows inside before you rock each park, lake, and outdoor venue you can find in the greater Boston area. Wednesday 6/7 Cat Power Indie chanteuse......

It seems everyone is talking about bib numbers, their knees, or the New Balance they hope are broken in by the time Marathon Monday rolls around. There’s not much time to train for the treck past Heartbreak Hill, but it’s not stopping lots of people out there. These bands aren’t on the run. They’re kicking up the amps and pumping pure, sweet decibels of goodness into our ears all week long. Tuesday 4/11 Shumai Indie......

We're still groggy from the party last weekend, so all apologies for the slow delivery of this week's music selections. Bostonist is still working up to multiple lists, featuring your classical agenda over the weekend because we know you want culture and the rest of the best coming at you on Monday because, well, we know you want to rock. Monday, 3/27 Magnolia Electric Co. (Songs: Ohia's Jason Molina) presides over an evening of......

Lent, what a time to give something up. Over here at Bostonist Headquarters we're thinking hard what we're going to drop come Wednesday. It won't be our MP3 player and it won't be live music. Maybe with this, week four of the now weekly music pick running on Monday we're going to be able to give up our lack of coverage of the local music scene. With fingers crossed we're raising a pint to forty......

Here at Bostonist headquarters, the staff may not agree on whether Valentine's Day is legit or whether it is just the creation of a card company to create a profit, (mostly due to the relationship status of the individual), but we do love music and have compiled some suggestions for you and yours on this special day. Find below a few suggestions from our staff for your evening of love, like, or lust. Josh......

We live in an iTunes nation. It's easy to pull a track down to your pod for under a buck. Bostonist still longs for cover art, liner notes, and that masterwork that is a multi-track collection of songs we call an album. Listed here is our much discussed, unbiased by payola, top 25 albums of 2005. After the jump you'll find where some of us stand individually on the subject of the years best. (Apparently......

Back in early August, Bostonist advised the timely purchase of tickets to see Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, performing at TT the Bears on September 14. Clearly someone was listening because the show has long sold out and a frenzy of desperate Craigslist posts (buying, not selling) has since ensued. The story follows suit for Sufjan Stevens, playing with Laura Veirs at the Somerville Theatre on September 8. Fortunately, the lineup of highly lauded bands......