“Artists and creatives have been making this place a lot more interesting”
Chris Porter On Lowell’s The Town and The City Festival’s Dedication To Local
Lowell
MUSIC NOTES: BONG PARTIES + HOME VIDEOS
“Our overall vision for the ‘Morning Coffee’ video was to combine spheres of creativity and good fun. Nothing real dramatic; we were shooting to make something humorous and light as well as visually stimulating."
SPECIAL FEATURE: SEX, DRUGS, AND FENTANYL
Among the nightmares of an unprecedented epidemic, sex work gets more dangerous for opioid addicts
MARCELA CRUZ AND THE R&B GRIND OF A LOWELL NATIVE IN BOSTON
“I just want to sing,” Cruz says. “But I have come to realize that we don’t live in a world now where you can just focus on creating and be able to make a living off of that. The business side is just as important.”
WHEEL OF TUNES: MANCHESTER ORCHESTRA
For our recurring series, the heavy alt-rockers talk signed Pinkerton vinyl, loud sneezes, and impulsive grocery purchases.
DESTINY SCHENECTADY
Since I’ve come to admire these resilient urban hamlets in the past decade or so, I have also grown disgusted with the attitudes that people often have about these places.
GUEST OP-ED: LAWRENCE AND THE NORTHERN FRONT
I know a homeless person who was told by a Beverly police officer to “go to Lynn.” In fact, he was even offered a one-way ride there. I met a couple from Saugus who lived under the Casey Bridge last summer. I asked them, “Why are you here?” They told me, “We are users but are trying to get back on our feet. The cops in Saugus wouldn’t let us stay camped out in the woods.”
THE GENTRIFICATION OF WEED (OR THE YEAR I DITCHED MY MASS MEDICAL MARIJUANA CARD)
I will no longer participate in the gentrification of weed after my card expires in February, and I apologize for wanting something so badly that it took me so long to see what was going on. I just wanted a good night’s sleep, man.
AMAZON OCTAGON
Mass pols stand ready to fight each other for the right to bribe a multinational
At least 17 Massachusetts cities and towns are now preparing to do battle with each other—and hundreds more municipalities nationwide—for the dubious “honor” ...
OLDSOUL: LOWER YOUR GUARD FOR THE LOWELL SCENE
That buzzy, warm, emo sound you hear? That’s oldsoul, and they’re on the brink of bursting out from Lowell's city limits.
