Lenox — The Boston-based band Dispatch, backed by the Boston Pops Orchestra conducted by Keith Lockhart, will appear at Tanglewood on Saturday, August 31, in support of their latest release, 2021’s “Break Our Fall.” Americana artist Kaia Kater opens.
Critics and music industry professionals have placed Dispatch in the “indie/roots” category, a convenient pigeonhole that may or may not fit the band’s music. But it unquestionably fits the band’s business model, which admirably omits big record companies and top-40 radio in favor of building a following one fan at a time through touring, word of mouth, and file sharing.
Financial autonomy is ultimately the only kind of independence that really matters to a band of musicians, because it buys pretty much every other kind of independence you can think of. (Tanglewood founder Serge Koussevitzky would tell you as much.)
But let’s get our language of classification straight from the horse’s mouth: The band’s website helpfully states, “The songs on ‘Break Our Fall’ blend infectious roots rock with hints of reggae, folk, and blues.”
As for their independence from the pressures of a perennially corrupt music business, a 2005 documentary titled “The Last Dispatch” claims the band “redefined independent music history.” That is a bold claim, but what else are you going to say about the first band without major label support to headline Madison Square Garden—and sell it out?
In 2004, the band’s free “farewell” concert at Boston’s Hatch Shell drew a crowd of well over 100,000, making it (according to the band) the largest independent music event in history. Notwithstanding the precarious foundations of that claim (“independent” having innumerable definitions), a head count like that speaks for itself. It also forces the closure of Boston’s Storrow Drive on concert night.
Dispatch is known as a “roots” band, but maybe you have noticed that all musicians have roots in whatever music with which they grew up. Every band from The Beatles to Led Zeppelin played their own roots music. In other words, music with roots is not a genre.
News from the road is that Dispatch’s 2024 has been going well and will continue into the fall. They are playing regular band dates, as well as special performances with symphony orchestras (e.g., the Boston Pops).
A 2024 highlight for Dispatch is the “AMPlifying Democracy Fall Tour,” a series of shows intended to boost voter turnout in key battleground states. The band’s current tour will conclude in mid-October with shows at Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway.
Grenadian-Canadian singer-songwriter and banjo player Kaia Kater is known for blending traditional Appalachian music with contemporary folk influences. Born in Montreal, Quebec, and raised in Toronto, Kater creates music that weaves together themes of race, identity, and social justice.
Hear Dispatch at Tanglewood with the Boston Pops Orchestra on August 31, 7 p.m., with an opening set from Americana artist Kaia Kater. Tickets are available here.
