Boston Original Bands Initiative is a not-for-profit organisation with initial funding from Boston Town Area Committee. It aims to re-envigorating the original music scene in Boston.
Promoted by BOBI, the Queen of Spades pub in Boston hosts a regular monthly gig where on the last Saturday of each month (unless otherwise stated) four acts play their original music live. The first event on 30 March, 2024, was a roaring success. Entry is rising to £7 (£6 online) in 2025 with each act being guaranteed £25 plus 10% of the door takings. So with a bit of arithmatic you'll see we need at least thirty-five people to attend to break even. There's also a unique BOBI fanzine (Penny Dreadful) featuring articles about the bands and other unmissable stuff. Even if you're not, the fanzine (edited by the emperor of zines, Marv Gadgie) is a soveigner worth purchasing.
Tickets for all gigs can be purchased here.
The initial agreement at the pub was for six months but we have already secured a regular monthly spot until the end of 2025 and have bands lining up for the rest of the year's gigs (check out the GIGS page to see what's coming up - and what you might already have missed). It becoming a permanent fixture in Boston's events. If you are a band interested in playing your original music (no covers) or would like more information please use the contact form or use this email.
The BOBI team are all volunteers, currently made up of: Marv Jolly who edits the BOBI fanzine, Penny Dreadful (available at each gig) as well as his own fanzine Gadgie, and has been a promoter of (mainly) punk gigs in the past; Simon Barnabas of Tiny Forehead who was the mastermind behind BOBI and currently books the bands; the Hedgehog Reality duo of Liz Martin and Terry Martin, who is also co-founder of the Uncovered network, responsible for coding the websites and also DJs at the gigs and looks after the sound; finally Emma Aylett, editor of the fanzine Bitchin, who has come on board recently to help with promotion and social media. We do this because we have a passion for original music and want to give original musicians another venue where they can play (and receive some recompense for their creativity) and somewhere where discerning audiences can watch something new in a friendly and safe environment. Thank you for supporting us. Without you we cannot make BOBI a success. Please spread the word about what we are doing.