Brookline and Boston music is largely dominated by Berklee students, a very prestigious and expensive college. How can local musicians work to claim their communities and scenes in spite of this? Youth filmmaker Matali takes a look at this local issue.
In the midst of the rich, thoroughly-gentrified town of Brookline is a somewhat barren music scene, consisting of high school students and alumni who have since moved to other areas in Boston. Many grassroots organizations in and around Boston are creating opportunities for musicians from all walks of life to create music, and find and build community. However, so many of these are dominated by college students–those privileged enough to attend and afford (to some degree) secondary education. This creates a divide between folks who have been in Brookline/Boston their entire lives and those who move there for college. It is still possible to build connections and community within music, even with this divide. And as the greater Boston area scene grows, there is hope that the Brookline music scene will as well.