Bay Faction talks reclamation, reinvention, and defunct house show venues ahead of hometown headliner

This past fall, a friend of mine texted me excitedly from the barrier of a gig in London. 

Upon further prodding I did in fact know the band, a local legend turned myth. Bay Faction, one of the 2010s’ best kept indie secrets, had returned.

Known for their self-titled debut in 2015, the group made the rounds of Boston house shows and tastemaker internet threads alike. Their 2020 hiatus spanned nearly five years (and spurred this r/emo thread), along with the gutting of their discography across streaming platforms. Digital copies of Bay Faction became bootleg gold. In 2025, they resurfaced with thanks, for waiting and this year, Year of the Dog. 

I caught up with the group to discuss all things defunct venues, reinvention, and hometown love ahead of their headline set July 25th at NICE, a fest. 

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YLM: “Year of the Dog” is out now on streaming. Tell us a little about this project.

Bay Faction: “Year of the Dog” was recorded in two days but took 10 years to happen. We’ve gone so many places with our sound but this one was truly a return home. We love playing in a band, we love the simplicity of it. Aside from the story taking place in this EP, it’s significant to us because it’s so pure.  We all stood around in the live room of The Bridge in Cambridge, M.A. and just played together, straight to the console and recorded it live. 

This is a prequel to our self titled record. Its characters are redeemed (or killed) and it gave us a chance to tie up any loose ends in the Jasper story. This type of writing is our favorite because it allows for any number of possibilities. 

Credit: Zuzanna Blur

YLM: Recent single “2” is a bit poppier, more upbeat than previous releases, and feels modernized. Is this a new direction you’re going in? It is listed as “reggae” on streaming!

BF: I think we’ve all had a reggae phase at one point or another but I’ll have to tell our label about that tonight. We were trying to capture this ephemeral bliss of being on the cusp of love when we wrote “2.” It’s about our character Jasper falling for Whitney Miller for the first time. Unfortunately for him, they’ve never actually met and she doesn't know he exists. That being said, I think we’re gonna keep things on the sadder side for upcoming projects. 

YLM: How does it feel to be back in Boston? Your roots here run deep.

BF: Best city on the planet. So many memories here and it’s a pleasure to come back whenever we can. What better reason than for NICE?

YLM: Did you find any success in the DIY community here back in 2015? Where were your favorite spaces to play?

BF: The definition of success in the DIY community is nebulous at best but we had some really beautiful shows in basements during that time. Anything on Linden street was always a hit. Spots like the ER and Banana Hammock were personal favorites. I always felt bad for the people that lived in those houses because everything always seemed to be soaking wet after every show. My absolute favorites though were the places that only stuck around for a week or two before getting shut down. The experience of a brand new DIY spot testing its legs on a cold fall evening in 2015 is truly a lost pleasure. 

YLM: What drew you to NICE, a Fest? 

BF: It’s something to be proud of. Art and culture is something you have to fight for especially in the major cities of today.  Having a “scene” is a lost art and NICE is the clearest manifestation of one I’ve seen here. We’re honored to be a part of it. 

YLM: “I’m petrified when I’m 30 I’ll buy a .22…” Is there a sense of reverence in now nearing/being in your 30s and singing these lines? Did 30 feel a long way away? 

BF: 30 always seemed like a promised land to me, like when my friends turn 30, everyone will be OK and I’ll be able to think straight. That’s been true for the most part. I still love singing this song because it feels exactly the same as when we first wrote it, however buying a .22 and using it on myself in the back of a 90’s Toyota Camry isn't on my to-do and I’m happy to have mended that desire. 

YLM: “Rip Bayfaction” on Reddit went crazy five years ago. “death lobster” said, “They were so good and when they took down half their songs then disappeared it felt like being ghosted by someone.” Do you regret taking everything down in hindsight?

BF: 2020 truly was the era of ghosting, did we do it best? Hard to say. In all seriousness though, the only thing I regret is the desire to withdraw from the world. Once someone releases music and people decide to like it, it’s no longer your music, it’s theirs. I know that now but absolutely couldn't cope at the time. Taking it down didn't help by the way, it was never the answer. 

YLM: You can definitely tell there’s formal music training even on the earlier stuff. It’s gritty and raw, but still intentional and well-composed. Do you think that Berklee’s education helped you in the long run or not?

BF: It forced open our understanding of what is musically possible by making our baseline very high. I think the reason we changed genres so much is partially thanks to our education there. 

YLM: Are you hoping to re-establish a base here in Boston with a new generation of fans?

BF: Of course, we’d like to do some acoustic shows only around Boston and MA in general. 

YLM: Yellow Light Mag is based on the idea of either speeding up or slowing down when faced with an impasse in your twenties. Are you currently at any yellow lights as a band? 

BF: Everything seems to be green! 

Stream Year of the Dog here

Get tickets to NICE, a fest here