The Beaches, a Canadian alt-rock group, brought a vibrant and infectious energy to the Green Stage on Friday. Fresh off the release of their new single “Blame Brett,” a new take on the traditional break-up song, they played an electric set of funky and emotion-fueled songs. On the day of their performance, they released a new remix of the aforementioned song featuring The Aces, who played on the Red Stage the following day. The Beaches are preparing for the release of their third album Blame My Ex, set to be released on September 15th. The band, comprised of Eliza Enman-McDaniel on drums, Leandra Earl on keys and guitar, and sisters Jordan and Kylie Miller on lead vocals plus bass and guitar respectively, all sat down with me on Saturday to talk about their performance the day prior.

Henry: I caught your set yesterday, you absolutely killed it.

Henry: Coming from Toronto and being raised in the Canadian music scene, what would you say the biggest difference is to touring in the US?

The Beaches: So the Canadian music scene is a little different than in the States because we have a lot of we have a lot more funding in Canada. And again, it's a smaller market, right? The population of Canada is as big as the population of California. So you're dealing with the larger market in the States and one that's a little bit more separated, whereas Canada, although it's a big country like it, is very insular and there's a lot more funding. In Canada, radio stations also have to play 50% Canadian music, so it is a lot easier for artists of Canadian descent to achieve success because of all that support.

The Beaches: So yeah, for us personally, it's like we spent so long in Canada and working all the markets, and now and coming down here we're like, “Well, we have to be the same here, we can't expect the same results right away.” But we are excited and willing to work on it, and do fun stuff like this along the way.

Henry: Have you enjoyed touring the festival scene?

The Beaches: Oh my God, this is our first one of the summer? Second one? It has been incredible. We had the absolute best day at the show, it went so much than any of us had kind of expected for us.

Henry: What would you say the biggest difference is for you playing a show as a headliner at a venue versus playing at a festival?

The Beaches: Well, it's a lot of fun because it's kind of a year-in and year-out kind of thing, but you also get to experience all these other bands and connect with all these people. It just feels like a two-day party. And then you get to this place and it's exposure that you wouldn't have at your own headlining show, because everyone is there to see you, whereas at a festival you play for like 20,000 or 30,000 people who had never heard of us. So it's great exposure for sure.

Henry: If you all could carry one message through your music to fans who might see you at a festival for the first time, what would it be?

The Beaches: I mean, we kind of want to be everyone's best friends; we want everyone to feel welcome and like they’re a pal. I think you can hear that through our music; some of it is goofy, and some are playful, organic, earnest, and heartful.

Henry: And it certainly shines through on stage! Thank you so much for meeting with me.

The Beaches: Thank you for your questions!

The Beaches rock the Green Stage with their energetic alt-rock tunes

WRBB’s BellaJoli Gedeon and Henry Shifrin headed to Boston Calling to take some stunning photos of the performers. Check them out below!

The Linda Lindas (photo by Henry Shifrin)

Photos: Boston Calling

What happens when you put three of today’s most powerful and expressive songwriters in a little oasis in Malibu and tell them to create an album? Just ask boygenius about their newest release, 

The album is teeming with creative lyricism, strong vocals, and an indescribable sense of raw emotional strain.

Collaborators Julien Baker, Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus formed the supergroup in 2018 and released a self-titled EP to critical acclaim. Now, after the release of solo albums from all of the members, the band is back and better than ever.

The album begins with the track “Without You Without Them,” featuring an acapella three-part harmony, leaving off where the closing track from their prior release left off. The album then flows into three songs, each featuring one member on lead vocals, distinctly in the individual style of the individual members. The track “$20” in particular sounds fresh off Baker’s 2021 record 

The band reunites as a trio on the track “Not Strong Enough,” arguably their most collaborative song to date. This track features a unique bridge, featuring the members repeating the line “Always an angel, never a god.” The emotion in this bridge is raw, increasing in volume and anger, before climaxing into a strong belt while Bridgers screams in the background reminiscent of “I Know The End.”

Elite lyricism runs deep through the album, but the track “Cool About It” highlights some of their best work to date. The lines “I took all your medication to know what it’s like / and now I have to act like I can’t read your mind / I ask how you’re doing, and I let you lie” paint such a vivid scene of dealing with mental health issues.

The track “Letter To An Old Poet” is another highlight, containing a direct interpolation of the group’s previous song “Me & My Dog” within the bridge of the new track. While the melody of bridge remains the same, the band changed the lyrics to reflect new meaning – Instead of escaping reality, the band is now hopeful for the future, with the last line ending on a drawn-out sour note saying “I can’t feel it yet, but I’m waiting,” echoing the sentiment that resolution may be around the corner, but for now, they wait. The song ends without a proper final ending note, adding a tangible element of waiting for something that may not occur. This idea is taken one step further on the vinyl release for the album, which features a locked groove, meaning the last note of the song will keep playing continually until the listener removes the needle from the record. This symbolic element is what keeps boygenius fans coming back for more.

The album feels as though it was created directly for the die-hard fans of the group, featuring recurring symbolism from prior group work as well as callbacks to the creators’ individual releases. Sonically though, this is a new frontier. The songwriting skills of the group has only improved since 2018, and feels much more cohesive than their last release, highlighting each member’s individual development. Finding a hybrid between each of the members’ distinct styles must not have been an easy feat, but in this release, they’ve mastered the craft. The true genius of this album will keep fans happy for years to come (although hopefully they do not have to wait five more years for a second full-length release.)

boygenius is back and better than ever

The energy at Brighton Music Hall before Flo Milli came onstage was unlike anything I’d seen before. The young crowd was eager to see the Alabama-born rapper, and after opener Monaleo’s performance finished, the tension was high. When the lights dimmed and the intro to Flo Milli’s hit “Come Outside” started playing, the vibe shifted immediately. The crowd erupted to sing every bar: their dedication was unmatched. Even for Monaleo, the crowd knew every line of every song; even for the deepest cuts Flo Milli brought out, the crowd responded with the lyrics, surprising even the artist herself.

Flo Milli’s setlist interchanged new songs with her runaway hits fairly evenly – the second song “Roaring 20s” takes a sample from the Broadway musical 

, using the “If I were a rich man” lyric to introduce the song that uses a variety of expectations to illustrate her wealth. Milli takes her time to boast: “They never should’ve fucked up and gave me money / Came straight out of ‘Bama, now ain’t shit funny.”

This tour comes off of the release of Milli’s latest album 

, although the setlist also heavily drew from her first album 

, which went viral on TikTok. Flo Milli’s sound is nearly inescapable for the residents of today’s Internet, from trending YouTube videos of her performance at the VMAs to TikTok audios with millions of views. This trendiness was on full display when the intro to Flo Milli’s breakout song “Beef FloMix” began playing. This song, published on her SoundCloud in late 2018, went viral on TikTok in early 2019 and showcases Milli’s hallmark lyricism and clever wordplay. The song’s opening lines have practically become an anthem for the TikTok generation – “I like cash and my hair to my ass / Do the dash can you make it go fast” as well as the later line “Bitch, I’m guarded like an Obama / If they hit you, you gon’ need your mama.”

If the back half of the setlist is where some artists begin to fade, it’s where Milli begins to shine. She sang her hit “We Not Humping” with opener Monaleo, as well as her track “Conceited,” off her newest album. As the night began to wind down, Flo Milli played the track “19,” which tells the story of her rise to stardom at the age of… you guessed it, nineteen. It was a perfect display of her drive and commitment to the art of rap, with bars like “I got rich at the age of nineteen / They chasin’ dick while I’m chasin’ my dreams.” If anything, this performance proved that Flo Milli is dedicated, is willing to put in the work to become a household name in rap, and can expand beyond her younger audience, which has been mostly accrued online.

Opening act Monaleo. Photo by Henry Shifrin for WRBB.

For her final track of the night, Flo Milli sang her smash hit “In the Party” which was also a massive trend on TikTok in late 2019. This song shows how self-aware Milli is, with the bar “I just woke up and I broke the Internet (Oh my God)” referencing to her social media fame. The crowd went wild for this song, to put it lightly.

“In the Party” isn’t just a career-defining hit – it’s a hit that defines Flo Milli’s rap identity, showcasing her her trendy and dynamic beats as well as her creative lyricism and quick delivery. The crowd peaked at the perfect time for this closing song, screaming every lyric and adlib as if they were the ones on stage. Leaving the concert was emotional: Flo Milli’s stage presence was unmatched, and her thankfulness for the crowd’s dedication felt extremely genuine. Brighton Music Hall is an intimate venue, and seeing such a great talent in a small room was a very special experience. I left that room knowing I would never see this artist in such a small venue again – Flo Milli is meant to be on a big stage, and she will do so with ease. The way she commanded the crowd was awe-inspiring.

On her second album, Flo Milli implored her audience, “You Still Here, Ho?” Her performance in Brighton provided an answer loud and clear: they’re still here, and they’re here to stay.