Justin The J-Bird

08/18/2025

The 8/16 playlist! Hope you enjoyed the 55th Woodstock broadcast, re-aired for the 56th! Next week I'll be back with even more great live cuts.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

08/10/2025

The 8/9 playlist! See you next week for a re-broadcast of my 55th anniversary of Woodstock show, now 56 years to the weekend of that famous fest!

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

08/03/2025

The 8/2 playlist! Some new adds and a salute to Ozzy. Back next week with some new classical.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

07/31/2025

5.30.25
Wet @ The Sinclair

Thanks to the good folks at Pirate Promotions for getting me into this one! Wet is a group I’ve been only slightly aware of over the years and I honestly do not recall how they got on my radar. Pirate has been handling the promotion for the new album and as a result, I had a greater microscope on this release than I normally would have.

My understanding is there has been a change in the direction of this threepiece for this latest cycle, which definitely felt palpable in the way the other two musicians took their cues from the lead. They’ve been together as a unit for about a decade now so there is some understandable seasoning under their belt, and the fanbase reflected this. Sometimes its really nice to step into a show that isn’t normally your speed and just take in the experience of being something of an outsider. And I of course never say no to a free show.

Overall a fun show even if I could have done with a slightly less laid back pace at points. Speed and volume isn’t really Wet’s thing though, and expecting them to start rocking out was kind of unreasonable. I was expecting a cozy night and that’s what I got. And considering the next show on my calendar was Queens of The Stone Age, this was a welcome low key night.

07/27/2025

The 7/26 playlist! Had a lot of fun hitting the city with this one. See you in August for more general programming and a tribute to Ozzy.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

07/27/2025

The 7/19 playlist! Hope you enjoyed the new jazz. Sorry that this one aired a little early, never got a response as to why this happened.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

07/13/2025

The 7/12 playlist! See you next week with some new jazz. Or is it classical? Tune in and find out!

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

07/07/2025

5.10.25
William Tyler @ Warehouse XI

I think this gig takes the cake for the most unique show I’ll go to in 2025. A warehouse behind a bunch of restaurants in Union Square that functions as a wedding venue 95% of the time? Sure, why not. It’s almost unheard of me to not be familiar with a Boston venue, but I guess when you do more weddings at your place than shows…

Anyway, I’ve been a massive fan of William Tyler for over a decade now. I truly do not recall what my first exposure was but I want to say it was a track from his debut solo album in a mix on 8tracks - remember that site? I loved his clear musical genus of John Fahey and Leo Kottke, blended with electric guitar which is not really used in that “American Primitive” genre. There’s something about his guitar playing that speaks to my soul on a deeper level that only certain artists like Neil Young do.

Despite all this, I had never caught him live for various reasons. I don’t think he gets to Boston often, which might be a surprise or not given the tiny crowd. An empty warehouse was fitting for his recent sound collage experimentation, I just didn’t expect myself hanging with 30-40 other people (at maximum) seated in folding chairs.

As mentioned, much of the material drew from his latest release and was heavy on loops, pedal effects, and unorthodox methods of generating noise like using a handheld fan to create a drone across the strings. Of course the more conventional stuff was phenomenal, too. I don’t think I can describe how mesmerizing it is to watch someone of this caliber go into a total trance and create what feels like an entire orchestra with just some deft fingerpicking. It’s a lost art depending on the circles you might run in, and for my money William Tyler is one of the best guitarists I have ever seen. Few people can create a world and draw you into it all by themself, but this is someone who belongs to that selective crowd.

Incredibly grateful for this show, and for it happening to be a wonderful early birthday present to myself.

07/06/2025

The July 5 playlist! A 3 hour tribute to the Fillmore East. Join us next week for the first proper show of July.

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

07/02/2025

Hi all, here is the 6/28 playlist! Hope you enjoyed the classical show. Will be back this weekend with a tribute to one of the most legendary venues in rock... find out what it is this Saturday!

Expect new releases from underrepresented artists as well as deep cuts from bigger names, with plenty of other musical discovery sprinkled in. The theme and genre changes weekly, so you never know where the J-Bird may take you.

06/22/2025

Hi folks, no June 21 show because I guess the people at the station didn't air it. Trying again next week to get this classical show aired.