Popular Protest Music Series Continues in 2026 at the Burren in Somerville

Which Side?: A Protest Music Teach-Out will return in the new year with an evening of music, story, and solidarity at the Burren Back Room on Tuesday, January 20. What began as an experiment in combining protest songs, performance, and dialogue has grown into a unique monthly community gathering — a place for artists and audiences to reflect, recharge, and raise their voices together.

Inspired by the book Which Side Are You On?: 20th Century American History in 100 Protest Songs by journalist and author James Sullivan, the series uses the work as a jumping-off point for live music and discussion about how songs have served as voices of resistance, advocacy, and change. Each month, participating musicians perform one song inspired by Sullivan’s book alongside one of their own original or contemporary protest songs — bridging past struggles and current ones.

The series has featured notable Boston area musicians including Ezra Furman, Naomi Westwater, Joe Gittleman (of The Mighty Mighty Bosstones), Robin Lane, Will Dailey, Chad Stokes (Dispatch), Veronica Robles, Kemp Harris, Ryan Walsh (Hallelujah the Hills), Dave Champagne (Treat Her Right), Thea Hopkins, Laurie Sargent and many more — each bringing their distinctive voices to the conversation. Abundant footage from the performances is being archived on the series website: www.whichside.boston.

The January gathering will include a fresh lineup of performers, including Leon Beal, Sarah Borges, Avi Jacob, Caleb McCoy, Adam Sherman with Dinty Child & Elizabeth Steen, and Wesley Stace, each backed by the house band The Paid Protesters — Ed Valauskas (music director), Anthony Kaczynski, Paul Buckley, Mike Oram, Magen Tracy, and Eric Salt. 

Produced by Joyce Linehan, Jon Lupfer, and Sullivan, the 90-minute program combines live performance, commentary, and audience participation, creating a space that’s equal parts concert, teach-in, and community meeting.

“We are overjoyed that the ‘Which Side?’ series is demonstrating the profound power of community in these politically divisive times, “ Sullivan stated. “In this series, we’re finding comfort in our collective activism, reminding us that music is an important counterbalance to the prevailing impulse to tear down, rather than build up.”