• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • HOME
  • NEWS+OPINIONS
    • NEWS TO US
    • COLUMNS
      • APPARENT HORIZON
      • DEAR READER
      • Close
    • LONGFORM FEATURES
    • OPINIONS
    • EDITORIAL
    • Close
  • ARTS+ENTERTAINMENT
    • FILM
    • MUSIC
    • COMEDY
    • PERFORMING ARTS
    • VISUAL ARTS
    • Close
  • DINING+DRINKING
    • EATS
    • SIPS
    • BOSTON BETTER BEER BUREAU
    • Close
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CANNABIS
      • TALKING JOINTS MEMO
      • Close
    • WELLNESS
    • GTFO
    • Close
  • STUFF TO DO
  • TICKETS
  • ABOUT US
    • ABOUT
    • MASTHEAD
    • ADVERTISE
    • Close

Dig Bos

The Dig - Greater Boston's Alternative News Source

BARRENCE WHITFIELD: THE OLD SOUL OF BOSTON’S ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Written by NINA CORCORAN Posted August 11, 2017 Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC, Notes from the Scene

Photo by Drew Reynolds

 

Walk around the city and it’s obvious Boston’s average age leans quite young. According to a census as recent as last year, 33.2 percent of the population is 25 to 44 years old. The next closest age range, 19 and under, comes in second place with 21.9 percent. It’s a city that draws younger people in each year, likely because of the universities and colleges—but it then floods other cultural stamps, like the city’s music scene. On the surface, that can seem like a good thing. Consider what the elder demographics offer, though, and it’s very clear not.

 

To be honest, it’s hard to find bands in Boston that veer older than those demographics. Even then, finding bands comprised of people in their late 30s or early 40s feels virtually impossible. The music scene favors Berklee grads and art school dropouts who are committed to pursuing their bands. But nestled within Boston’s music community is Barrence Whitfield, a legend all his own who will never market himself as such. After all, he’s not trying to make it to the big leagues. He just wants to sing the blues from the heyday of rock ’n’ roll.

 

The 62-year-old vocalist sings a combination of American soul, R&B, and rock, the three of which combined in the 1980s for his band Barrence Whitfield & the Savages. At that time, he was working at famed record store Nuggets in Kenmore Square. Colleague and guitarist Peter Greenberg formed an instrumental rock band with bassist Phil Lenker and drummer Howie Ferguson. Once Whitfield began singing impromptu around the record store, they realized not only what a remarkable talent he had but what a crucial part his voice was to the band. Charged with a love of ’60s R&B and crunch blues punk, the band found their stride, and a sea of fans followed.

 

 

That was over 30 years ago. It’s 2017, and Whitfield is still slaying. Last October, Audiotree, a popular video performance site that invites bands in to perform in their studio and then uploads the sessions for viewers to discover new music, invited him and his band into the studio to perform. It’s 32 minutes of contagious joy. You can’t help but watch Whitfield stretch his voice, and after you do some reading, his origin story explains why his voice still reigns supreme decades since he began using it professionally.

 

Whitfield grew up in New Jersey where he sang in a gospel choir. While that explains the vocal range, it’s his time in a funk band that explains the bigger groove beneath his tone. After he enrolled in Boston University in 1977, he stuck around Boston to see what it had to offer him, and from then on he became a part of Boston’s music scene. He’s released a steady stream of albums over the years—13 records, to be exact—but they were marred by a few being issued in France and a 16-year gap between 1995’s Ritual of the Savages and 2011’s Savage Kings. His latest release, 2015’s Under the Savage Sky, landed on our Best Local Albums of 2015 list in DigBoston. His music bursts with liveliness that reaches back to his earliest days. And live, it feels even more rejuvenating.

 

Best of all, Whitfield’s live shows tend to get wild. It’s not unexpected to see him pour champagne on himself or bust out some moves. We would tell you what else is possible, but it’s best to see it yourself at the Sinclair this Friday instead. Barrence Whitfield and the Messengers, his new group, will perform with their spirits high. It’s best to grab a glass, raise it in the air, and dance until your spirits get just as high as theirs, celebrating the work of a musician who broke out of one of Boston’s most famous record stores to start recording some records of his own.

 

BARRENCE WHITFIELD AND THE MESSENGERS, DENNIS BRENNAN BAND, JESSE DEE. FRI 8.11. THE SINCLAIR, 52 CHURCH ST., CAMBRIDGE. 8PM/18+/$16. SINCLAIRCAMBRIDGE.COM

NINA CORCORAN
+ posts
    This author does not have any more posts.

Filed Under: Interviews, MUSIC, Notes from the Scene Tagged With: 2017, Barrence Whitfield & the Savages, Boston, Cambridge, Dennis Brennan Band, Dig, DigBoston, Interview, Jesse Dee, Music, Notes From the Scene, Nuggets, rock, The Sinclair

WHAT’S NEW

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Massachusetts Bill, Victim Advocates Call For Coordinated Date-Rape Drug Response

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

Report: Fewer Youth Transition Out Of Massachusetts Foster Care System

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

State Wire: Activists Urge Congress To Raise Debt Ceiling, Resist Spending Cuts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Dancing On Banana Peels: Life On Lifetime Parole In Massachusetts

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

Justice Department Completes Vetting Of Rachael Rollins

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”

Primary Sidebar

LOCAL EVENTS

AAN Wire


Most Popular

  • AG Investigating BPD To Determine If “Gang Unit” Engages In “Unconstitutional Policing”
  • Over Yondr: Are Cell Phone Pouches At Shows Liberating, Dangerous, Or Annoying?
  • Deep Cuts Brings Sandwiches, Craft Beer, And Live Music To Medford
  • Family Of Woman Killed By Commuter Rail Sues MBTA For Crash Records
  • Daring Greatly: TikTok Star Alden McWayne (aka Gucci Pineapple) On Scheming And Dreaming

Footer

Social Buttons

DigBoston facebook DigBoston Twitter DigBoston Instagram

Masthead

About

Advertise

Customer Service

About Us

DigBoston is a one-stop nexus for everything worth doing or knowing in the Boston area. It's an alt-weekly, it's a website, it's an email blast, it's a twitter account, it's that cool party that you were at last night ... hey, you're reading it, so it's gotta be good. For advertising inquiries: sales@digboston.com To reach editorial (and for inquiries about internship opportunities): editorial@digboston.com