Juliana Hatfield plus Lilito
Juliana Hatfield’s inimitable 35-year career has seen her an underground darling, a cultural emblem and a time-tested veteran whose tender singing and exemplary guitar playing is an iconic and enduring pinnacle of indie and alternative rock. In 1986, she co-founded beloved Boston indie-rock trio the Blake Babies with Freda Love and John Strohm, injecting a glassy pop sensibility and keen knack for melody into the East Coast’s vibrant underground rock scene, which included peers like Dinosaur Jr., the Pixies and The Lemonheads. After releasing three LPs and an EP with the band, in 1992 her debut solo album, Hey Babe, proved Hatfield a force in her own right. Its 11 tracks of melodic alt-rock portend the explosion of her singular blend of hard and soft (and also the cultural impact of grunge figureheads Nirvana, detailed in the album's song of the same name). That’s not to mention Hatfield’s crucial contribution as bassist and backing vocalist on The Lemonheads’ celebrated albums It’s a Shame About Ray (1992) and Come on Feel The Lemonheads (1993).
Since her commercial peak, Hatfield has released 16 solo albums of stirring originals and imaginative covers, delving further into her love of melodic pop and rock frameworks, and fine-tuning her unmatched vision. In 2001 she reconvened the Blake Babies for a new album, God Bless the Blake Babies, and in 2016 she collaborated with The Replacements’ Paul Westerberg under the band name The I Don’t Cares. She’s adorned magazine covers and played the country’s most celebrated rock clubs but at her core Hatfield is an artist and a technician — a skilled singer, songwriter and player whose influence and endurance is all but unmatched.