The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar and The Barrett Anderson Band are excited to announce a new weekly series, Blues & Roots Wednesdays, bringing live music back home to historic Harvard Square.
“Cambridge, our fair city, and I share deep roots, and I’m thrilled to find a new musical home at The Sea Hag,” says Massachusetts-based singer/guitarist, Barrett Anderson. “Good music and good food are two of our most basic, fundamental needs,” he continues, “What great joy they give us. I am so happy to revel in that every Wednesday night with my dearest musical friends, and Kari and her incredible team at The Sea Hag. We go way back together, and I can’t imagine all the fun we have ahead.”
Indeed, Anderson has strong connections to this scene. He remembers: “My first professional experience came when I was 15, backing up Muddy Waters’ band alums Pinetop Perkins and Bob Margolin at the original House of Blues on Winthrop Street. A few months after that I began busking, you’d often find me in Brattle Square or by the pit. This would have been mid/late 90s.” While still a teen, Anderson was a member of The Monster Mike Welch Band and Ronnie Earl & The Broadcasters (“Ronnie was my guitar hero. Then he was my teacher, then my boss. Now he’s my musical Father,” Anderson says), before eventually starting The Barrett Anderson Band in 2007.
Anderson won a Boston Music Award (2013 Blues Artist of the Year), was on the Billboard charts (2020’s live album Hynoboogie spent 3 weeks on the Billboard Blues Album chart, peaking at #6), and was nominated for a Blues Music Award (2023 Band of the Year with Anthony Geraci & The Boston Blues All-Stars), all the while playing nationally, internationally, and locally in Cambridge and the greater Boston area.
In addition to the musical roots, long-time locals may recognize Anderson from a decade serving tables and bartending at The Sea Hag’s sister establishment, Grendel’s Den, or from Abodeon, the mid-century modern shop started by his family.
Music starts every Wednesday at 6:30 at The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar, 49 Mt Auburn St, and there’s no cover. “We start while people are dining,” Anderson states. “It forces us to play dynamically, dig deep, and explore the space, creating music that doesn’t demand attention but rewards it.” He adds with a grin “We do get to turn up and demand attention too, we just have to time it right.”
Joining Anderson (vocals and guitar) are Paul Loranger (upright and electric bass), and Joey Pafumi (drums and percussion). “This is the core of The Barrett Anderson Band,” Anderson explains. “The full band has wonderful additional musicians, but for this gig tight and light was right. This gives us the flexibility to learn material fast and improvise easily on the spot, allowing for regular guests and specially themed evenings. We’re making sure that each week is rewarding and unique.”
The Barrett Anderson Band are digging deep into their Cambridge roots for the first string of shows, featuring local roots rock king Dennis Brennan as a special guest.
Blues & Roots Wednesdays at The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar
49 Mt Auburn St, Cambridge MA 02139
Music starts @ 6:30
Wednesday nights
What critics say about Barrett Anderson
From Jay Clestowski, Disciples of Sound: “Barrett Anderson continues to carry the torch that J. Geils left behind… HypnoBoogie demonstrates that some of the best grooves come out of the ‘dirty water’ and that’s where they belong.”
From JD Nash, American Blues Scene: “This Bean Town foursome packs enough raw energy on stage to power the whole of New England.”
From Chris Spector, Midwest Record: “Anderson has the chops and spark to make a real statement his own way. Hot stuff.”
From Jay Miller, The Patriot Ledger: “HypnoBoogie… is the kind of refreshingly vibrant, genre-crossing album that is a throwback to the days when rock ‘n’ roll acknowledged its roots in blues, but ventured wherever the spirit took it.”
What critics say about The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar
From Sheryl Julian, Boston Globe: “Harvard Square’s Sea Hag is the little sister to Grendel’s Den…”
From Kara Baskin, Boston Globe: “The team behind Grendel’s Den in Harvard Square has opened Sea Hag, replacing The Bouthouse. Wash ashore for fish and chips, Jamaican beef patties, arancini, crab dip, raw bar delights, and muffins…”
From Boston Restaurant Talk: “The Sea Hag opens in the former Boathouse space in Harvard Square.”
From Marc Levy and Rónán Fitzgerald: “Grendel’s Den owner Kari Kuelzer is expanding in Harvard Square, taking over the Boathouse location to open The Sea Hag Restaurant & Bar.”