Alt-Indie’s Pole Star
We probably shouldn’t bandy around phrases like “one of America’s greatest living songwriters,” given the prolific grassroots music scene these days. But Stephin Merritt pretty much ran away with the title when he penned the three-volume concept album 69 Love Songs in 1999. The frontman of the indie pop band The Magnetic Fields – which formed in Boston in the early ’90s – has barely cooled his heels since. Most recently, Merritt and the full band have been chilling in the Berkshires for a two-week residency at MASS MoCA. It culminates this week in the world premiere of a staged performance of the new Nonesuch Records album 50 Song Memoir, which celebrates Merritt’s first half-century on the planet. The album takes place over two nights: songs 1 – 25 on Friday and songs 26 – 50 on Saturday, so mark your calendars appropriately. Or, hell, show up for the whole weekend. It’s a once-in-his-lifetime moment for Merritt – might as well make it one of yours, too.
The Magnetic Fields 50 Song Memoir: Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. $35-$55. General admission. The Hunter Center at MASS MoCA, 1040 MASS MoCA Way, North Adams. (413) 662-2111, massmoca.org.
— Hunter Styles
