- At several points during my week-long stay in Boston for Together's sixth edition, I found myself trying to put my finger on just what I liked so much about the festival. I've been to events several times its size, festivals that have energized entire cities, festivals that happen inside huge sports stadiums, festivals with all-star lineups. Together isn't any of those things, but it is an exceptionally executed event that keeps the focus just where it should be: on fun and intimate club parties.
Part of that is by design, and part of it is just circumstance: Boston's close proximity to New York means many locals leave home for the Big Apple, and also means that DJs often skip Massachusetts (though local promoters, including those involved in Together, are working to make Boston a destination of its own). It's a modest scene, a fact that makes Together a special treat for local dance music fans rather than something you'd travel for. But for an interested outsider, the close community in the Boston area gives Together an earnestness that makes it worth a visit anyways.
Take Middlesex Lounge. Perhaps the festival's premiere venue, the 120-capacity room hosted stellar sets from Andy Stott, Scuba, DVS1, Tom Trago and Martyn, all of whom seem invigorated by the close quarters. The dedicated crowds gave Middlesex a wonderful vibe that was only improved by an excellent sound system. The club was sort of a microcosm for the festival in general: you got sets from big-name DJs in rooms much smaller than they'd usually play, and nearly everything about the experience was tailor-made to fit the festival, down to a drink called "The Daniel Avery."
As a result of Massachusetts' puritanical licensing laws, shows at Together end early—1 AM on weeknights. But what initially seems like a drag actually turns out to be a boon. Together had a great sense of pacing, starting with just one or two events per night and eventually unfolding into Friday and Saturday's jam-packed schedule, where the focus on house and techno broadened into something more inclusive. A chilled-out live set from Palmbomen II, triumphant turns from the Discwoman crew (especially Rio Bamba and Volvox) and a loose and playful set from MikeQ offered something a little different on the weekend, and there were also pockets of drum & bass and dubstep elsewhere during the week. RA's showcase, featuring the motley crew of Mano Le Tough, Bob Moses and Project Pablo, was the most packed event I saw at the festival. A handful of underground afterparties kept weekend warriors going past sunrise, too, including a slow-burning Scissor & Thread affair with Frank & Tony on Friday, and a more ravey Saturday night appearance from South London Ordnance.
Few of Together's venues were as ideal as Middlesex Lounge—generally, they were rock or college bars temporarily converted into nightclubs—but they worked nonetheless. The cluster of venues on Mass Ave in Cambridge made club-hopping easy, though there were other events scattered throughout Downtown Boston, Fenway, Somerville and Allston. If you wanted to go to one of those events you might have to make a night of it, but they felt different from the rest of the festival anyway—either because they dealt in other genres, or in the case of Sasha at swanky Downtown joint Bijou, other crowds.
Together was originally intended to unite Boston promoters and give everyone a chance to shine, but in 2015 the core crew took a more careful, centrally curated approach, which resulted in a smoother festival (though there were still a few outlier bookings, Sasha included). This time the focus was purely on creative agency and DJ school Mmmmaven, which also hosted the daytime program instead of last year's far-away District Hall. The Mmmmaven office had a studio that hosted workshops, tutorials and talks (including an RA Exchange and a book reading from Michaelangelo Matos), plus a record fair hosted by Soul Clap. There was also a recharge lounge where festival-goers could stop, charge their phones, indulge in some free caffeine and mingle with other enthusiasts and organizers, which only underlined the community-oriented feel of the festival.
Last year, I noted the similarity between Together and Seattle's Decibel Festival, and highlighted the potential for Together to build and improve Boston's scene in the same way Decibel gradually revitalized Seattle's dance music community. Judging from the changes I noticed since last year—including how excited DJs were to play the festival, and recognition of Boston as a surprisingly great place for electronic artists to play—it looks like that process might have begun already. With consistent sound, good crowds, solid venues and a great lineup, I still can't quite narrow down exactly what made Together 2015 feel as great as it did. Maybe it's just a matter of getting all the little things right.
Photo credits: Nick Minieri