The Rare Occasions

Drawing inspiration from each successive wave of garage rock, The Rare Occasions put their own dark spin on retro. A dizzying cacophony of angular riffs and dripping wet lyrics, the Boston-via-Providence quartet first formed in a Tufts University practice space three years ago. Since then, The Rare Occasions have performed for festival audiences at SXSW in Austin and CMJ in New York City, self-produced two critically-acclaimed EPs, and opened for internationally touring acts including Guster, Dirty Heads, Lupe Fiasco, AJR, and Knox Hamilton. Their blistering psych-anthem "Dysphoric" took home Song of the Year in the John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

The Rare Occasions first turned heads in Providence, Rhode Island when they won the WBRU Rock Hunt, headlined the Summer Concert Series at Waterplace Park, and performed in front of packed audiences at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel and The Met. Meanwhile, they have been able to build a dedicated following of Boston-area college students, playing on-campus shows, off-campus parties, and tearing through the club circuit. This spring, The Rare Occasions are widening their regional scope, bouncing around New York, Maine, and Connecticut. In the midst of all this touring, the boys have been mixing down a string of brand new singles, to be released this summer.