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Recently, I caught up with Tom Bianchi, the current head of the Burren Backroom Series at The Burren pub, in Davis Square, Square, Somerville.

Doug Holder: Tom, how has it been for you as a musician to live and or work in Somerville?

Tom Bianchi: Well, I’ve been making music in Boston/Cambridge/Somerville since 1996, performing at The Burren since about 2000 and curating The Burren Backroom Series since 2011. If this wasn’t a great town to do this in I suppose I wouldn’t be able to do it. We live in a great city with a great community that is very supportive of and hungry for live music. You can spin vinyl, load up a CD, make a mix tape, but nothing replaces being in a room with a great crowd of people all experiencing the energy of humans playing instruments in rhythmic unison and acoustic harmony.

DH: The Burren is an iconic Irish bar in Somerville. What do you think makes it unique?

TB: Boston runs deep with Irish music and community. What makes The Burren so special in the Celtic community is the influence and experience Tommy McCarthy and Louise Costello have brought to Davis Square. Whether on a big stage or sitting around a session table, they have played Irish music all around the world and created a haven for it at The Burren.

Also, short years after The Burren opening in 1996, legendary curator of Traditional Celtic Music, Brian O’Donovan began presenting the best Trad Irish artists and bands in the community in The Burren Backroom. Brian would bring in bands you would normally have to see in theaters in to our humble pub setting for very intimate shows. There’s really nothing like it. We lost Brian last year which is a huge blow to the community, but alongside Brian’s wife, Lindsay O’Donovan, good friends like Shannon Heaton and The Burren of course, we are working hard to keep the torch burning with the Brian O’Donovan Legacy Series

DH: Tell me about the Burren Backroom Series that you have taken over… What innovations are you bringing to it?

TB: After being the sound engineer for Brian O’Donovan shows – primarily on Wednesday evenings, – Brian and I got to chatting about the other nights of the week in the backroom. The Burren had late night entertainment, but the dinner time slot was mostly wide open. The backroom was simply taking in some spillover from the front room dinner crowd. It made sense to start a music series. The Burren tapped me for it and I started with one or two nights a week. These days I will often have 10 shows a week on the calendar including Brunch, Lunch and Dinner shows on Saturdays and Sundays. It’s a ton of work, but it’s been a blast. The Burren has also added a great sound system, green rooms and many other perks for artists and the fans who come to see them.

DH: What genres of music will you present?

TB: I have no genre boundaries really. I field the requests for shows as they come in. I certainly try to book great music no matter the genre, but what I really try to do is get a feel for good folks who simply want to play great music, mostly local acts with some great national and international acts peppered in as I can.

DH: Why should we attend your series?

TB: Many reasons. If you,

– love live music

– want to support friends and family

– want to see your favorite acts in a spectacular room with great sound and good eats and spirits

– want to support independent artists

– can’t spend $100 a ticket to go to big corporate shows

And as Brian O’Donovan always said from the stage, “Live Music! It’s Where It’s AT!”