HRR Celebrates Dorm Sessions 11 at The Sinclair in Cambridge

Heavy Rotation Records (HRR) presents Dorm Sessions 11, the new release by Berklee’s student-run label. The compilation—a mix of folk, pop, R&B, electronic, and trap music by Berklee students and alumni—features Honeysuckle, the Trap Music Orchestra, Wessanders, Noé, Symone, Glow Team, and M+E.

HRR celebrates the release of Dorm Sessions 11 on Wednesday, February 10, 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 7:30 p.m.), at The Sinclair, 52 Church Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts. The show is $5 with student ID. General admission is $10. For tickets and information, visit BoweryBoston.com.

Attendees will receive a copy of Dorm Sessions 11 and a free bag of goodies from HRR’s sponsors. Stream or download a preview of Dorm Sessions 11 for free at Soundcloud.com/HeavyRotationRecords.

The label is hosting the showcase—its 16th Annual Epic Event—at an off-campus venue for the first time. “My goal with HRR is to offer an experiential class, allowing the students to pick the artists and promote the concert,” said Jeff Dorenfeld, HRR’s faculty advisor. “After 15 successful concerts on campus, the class wanted to take the concert to a venue they felt was more contemporary and engaging for the fans, and take on the challenge of promoting a show at one of the city’s premier venues.”  

The seven artists—selected from among 400 submissions to the label—will each have the opportunity to represent HRR this year performing at a major music festival, including SXSW, Lollapalooza, Osheaga, and CMJ Music Marathon.

HRR is a class that gives Berklee music business/management students experience in running an entertainment company. Under the guidance of Dorenfeld, former manager of the band Boston, the student staff oversees marketing, sales, web development, media, and A&R. Artists who have appeared on past HRR albums include Annie Clark (St. Vincent), Christopher Barnes (Gem Club), Shea Rose, Nini & Ben (HAERTS), Big D & the Kids Table, and members of Passion Pit (as the Peasantry). The label also serves as a springboard for careers in the music industry. HRR alumni have gone on to work at Capitol, DreamWorks, BMG, Universal, Live Nation, AEG Live, and YouTube/Google.

About the Artists:

Folk trio Honeysuckle—featuring student Benjamin Burns, and alumni Holly McGarry and Chris Bloniarz—blend older influences and traditional instrumentation with modern effects and inspiration. The group performed at the 2015 Newport Folk Festival and frequently plays in Boston and around the Northeast with bands like Boy & Bear and Grey Season. Honeysuckle currently has two releases, Live at Rockwood Music Hall, and Arrows. The band’s full-length debut comes out in March, supported by a grant from Club Passim’s Iguana Music Fund.

The Trap Music Orchestra is a 24-piece Boston-based group of students and alumni featuring four trumpeters, four trombonists, five saxophonists, three keyboardists, two drummers, two bassists, a guitarist, and three vocalists. Formed by Berklee alumnus Ryan Easter, the group performs arrangements of artists like Gucci Mane, T.I., and Shy Glizzy, as well as their own originals, while revering classic jazz orchestra culture and influences like Duke Ellington and Thad Jones/Mel Lewis.

Wessanders is the producer/DJ project of student Kai Felsman from North Carolina. Wessanders incorporates Southern hip-hop with elements of electronic music, and sometimes a taste of the world he has experienced. His goal with this project is to match originality with authenticity, and to match the feel of hip-hop with untouched sound design techniques and textures. Felsman’s other project, Kaiiak, offers more vocal-heavy productions.

Born in Paris and raised between Hong Kong and France, Noé is an alumna singer-songwriter striving to create entertaining yet thought-provoking music. Her indie-electronic band—including students Corbin Johnson and Adrian Forbes, and alumnus Mateo Gold—creates tracks worth talking about. Not Mad called her single “Lady,” “an unabashedly sexy, assertive and alluring attack on this seemingly undying and yet incredibly relevant sexual double-standard of condemning women and championing men.”

Symone is an up-and-coming pop/R&B artist from Houston, Texas, who relocated to New York after earning her degree in music business/management from Berklee. Her music ranges from slow, feel-good music to bumping party jams. Symone’s fire is fueled by the desire to empower individuals to pass along infectious positivity. She recently released a single called “Mood,” and will release her debut EP this year. Symone’s band features students Adrian Forbes and Jermaine Poindexter, alumnus Anthony Nembhard, and Jeffandy Alltogether.

Glow Team is a bass duo from Miami, Florida, featuring $UAREY and student TRU¢¢O. They have produced celebrated remixes, including for Ellie Goulding's “Burn” that landed them the No. 2 spot on dubstep.net’s best tracks of all time list. Aside from producing, Glow Team is gifted in knowing how to hype a crowd through their dynamic DJ performances. They have been invited to perform at music festivals including Life in Color, and have opened for Kill Paris and Antiserum, among others.

M+E, Moods Emotions, is the work of Boston-based alumnus singer-songwriter Luke Niccoli. Niccoli has opened for such artists as Martina McBride and Chris Isaak and received the BMI Foundation John Lennon Scholarship. M+E creates a uniquely catchy and sophisticated sound influenced by '90s bands Third Eye Blind and Dashboard Confessional, as well as modern pop artists Justin Bieber and Drake.

Margot Edwards is a manager in the Office of Media Relations. Media inquiries: medwards@berklee.edu