Koto Archives - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/tag/koto/ The proven voice in music since 2013 Fri, 05 Dec 2025 09:44:44 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.3 https://redefined.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/31135224/cropped-V-SOCIAL-2023-32x32.png Koto Archives - Vanyaland https://vanyaland.com/tag/koto/ 32 32 Koto’s live music venue in Lowell to close later this month https://vanyaland.com/2025/11/16/kotos-live-music-venue-in-lowell-to-close-later-this-month/ Sun, 16 Nov 2025 10:31:18 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10042667 The turnover on Lowell’s ever-changing Merrimack Street continues: Koto Lowell, a live music venue and “small bites” restaurant, is closing. The business revealed the news on social media this weekend (November 15), stating that it will shutter “for good” at the end of the month. The business opened at 76 Merrimack St. in July of 2024 as a sister location of Koto in Salem, Massachusetts, which is also a hybrid venue and eatery. The Mill City iteration of Koto spans […]

The post Koto’s live music venue in Lowell to close later this month appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> First Look: Koto is the latest addition to Lowell’s live music circuit https://vanyaland.com/2024/08/21/first-look-koto-is-the-latest-addition-to-lowells-live-music-circuit/ Wed, 21 Aug 2024 17:26:23 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10039339 On a brisk August evening, Neighbor fill downtown Lowell’s Boarding House Park with a bright fusion of funk and Americana. Barely two blocks away, Graveborn’s yowls seep out of Koto Lowell and tumble down Merrimack Street in contrast. If the bone-rattling riffs or metal musicians hulking Orange amplifiers down the sidewalk weren’t enough of an indication, the stages at Koto’s second location are open for business. After originally planning for a winter debut, the sister venue of Koto Salem launched […]

The post First Look: Koto is the latest addition to Lowell’s live music circuit appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Fest Intentions: Moon Over Salem announces inaugural lineup and details https://vanyaland.com/2024/07/08/fest-intentions-moon-over-salem-announces-inaugural-lineup-and-details/ Mon, 08 Jul 2024 17:20:44 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10038923 Here’s one “new moon” that even astrology haters won’t want to miss. Moon Over Salem, a noon-to-midnight music festival featuring over 35 Massachusetts artists, will debut on September 14 at seven venues throughout Witch City. The new event is the creation of Moon, a non-profit organization “dedicated to increasing access to underground music” in the Salem area. Organizers revealed a fraction of festival’s locally-focused lineup over the weekend (July 5) after teasing the event’s arrival at the end of June. […]

The post Fest Intentions: Moon Over Salem announces inaugural lineup and details appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Koto Asian Fusion brings three floors of live music to Lowell https://vanyaland.com/2024/01/09/koto-asian-fusion-brings-three-floors-of-live-music-to-lowell/ Tue, 09 Jan 2024 16:35:00 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10036833 UPDATE, August 21: Koto’s live music offerings launched in late July, later than originally predicted. Two of the three stages detailed here are currently in use; read the full update and get a look at Koto’s interior here. Witch City, meet Mill City.  This winter, Koto will cast a spell well beyond Salem, as the hybrid music venue and Asian fusion restaurant opens a new location in Lowell. Located at 76 Merrimack St. in the heart of the city’s downtown, […]

The post Koto Asian Fusion brings three floors of live music to Lowell appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Salem loses live music venue as Opus Underground closes for renovation https://vanyaland.com/2023/01/05/salem-loses-live-music-venue-as-opus-underground-closes-renovation/ Thu, 05 Jan 2023 15:33:52 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10032941 Opus Underground is leaving live music in 2022. The Salem bar and restaurant, which featured a treasured downstairs performance space, is undergoing a transformation this winter that will split the business into two new restaurants, marking the end of Opus as both an eatery and venue. Floor manager Derek Thompson confirmed the news to Vanyaland this week, saying there were “no foreseeable plans” for live music to return to 87 Washington St. Opus’ final day as a restaurant is this […]

The post Salem loses live music venue as Opus Underground closes for renovation appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Rock for HAWC reemerges with two Salem-based benefit shows https://vanyaland.com/2022/03/15/rock-for-hawc-reemerges-with-two-salem-based-benefit-shows/ Tue, 15 Mar 2022 14:17:27 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10029620 Of all the yearly music traditions that are slowly reemerging from a two-year slumber, Rock for HAWC might be among the most important. The annual benefit for Healing Abuse Working for Change (HAWC) returns to Salem this Friday and Saturday (March 18 and 19), pairing sets from homegrown rock artists with one of the North Shore’s greatest resources for domestic violence survivors. The sixth iteration of the event takes over Koto on Friday, featuring sets from Skytigers, Muck and the […]

The post Rock for HAWC reemerges with two Salem-based benefit shows appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> In Salem, Massachusetts musicians rally for another year of #BrookStrong https://vanyaland.com/2020/01/13/salem-massachusetts-musicians-rally-for-another-year-of-brookstrong/ Mon, 13 Jan 2020 10:46:59 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10017552 Koto has seen its fair share of worthy benefit shows over the years, but this January, the world of cycling is riding into the Salem restaurant and rock and roll venue. Honoring Brook Diedrichs, who passed away from colorectal cancer last year, the “Ride The Lightning” showcase on Saturday (January 18) aims to raise money for the Boston #BrookStrong Cycle for Survival team in his honor, organized by longtime friend and musician Lauren Recchia. The evening centers around Diedrichs’ passions […]

The post In Salem, Massachusetts musicians rally for another year of #BrookStrong appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Salem’s Rock for HAWC returns to Opus and Koto in December https://vanyaland.com/2019/10/22/salems-rock-for-hawc-returns-to-opus-and-koto-in-december/ Tue, 22 Oct 2019 09:33:18 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10014970 After many a venue change, it seems like Salem-based fundraiser Rock for HAWC is settling into Washington Street for the second year in a row. For the fifth iteration of the annual benefit show for Salem domestic violence agency Healing Abuse, Working for Change (HAWC), Opus and Koto are tag-teaming again on Friday, December 6 for one evening of electric and acoustic sets from Boston-area performers. Much like last year’s edition, the event will hold two concurrent shows across the […]

The post Salem’s Rock for HAWC returns to Opus and Koto in December appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Rock For HAWC’s rumble grows louder for its fourth edition https://vanyaland.com/2018/12/06/rock-for-hawc-rumble-grows-louder-for-its-fourth-edition/ Thu, 06 Dec 2018 18:11:49 +0000 https://vanyaland.com/?p=10000659 Sponsored by Studio 52. A community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community. In the three years since its launch, Rock for HAWC has quickly become a treasured, local-music-focused tradition on the North Shore. First established in 2015 by Radio Compass singer Angela Lee, each iteration of the annual concert raises money for Healing Abuse, Working for Change, a domestic violence agency in Salem, Massachusetts. This […]

The post Rock For HAWC’s rumble grows louder for its fourth edition appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]> Worshipper detail ‘Mirage Daze’, a heavy tribute to musical heroes https://vanyaland.com/2018/05/04/worshipper-detail-mirage-daze-a-heavy-tribute-to-musical-heroes/ Fri, 04 May 2018 16:22:21 +0000 http://vanya.wpengine.com/?p=178039 Studio 52 is a community artist space located in the heart of Allston, and is proud to support the Boston music scene and local artist community. Anyone who rode shotgun during Worshipper’s blitz to their 2016 Rock And Roll Rumble crown may have caught a few covers blasting out of the speakers of ONCE Ballroom. Now the Boston rock band is taking those tributes and putting them on record, releasing Mirage Daze this June 1 via Tee Pee Records. The […]

The post Worshipper detail ‘Mirage Daze’, a heavy tribute to musical heroes appeared first on Vanyaland.

]]>