HOW IT ALL BEGAN:
     24 Hour Music was born in 2015 after a brainstorm between Burren owner Tommy McCarthy, the legendary radio host/music promoter Brian O’Donovan and Tom Bianchi.  At the time Tom was performing weekly at The Burren on Sunday evenings and worked as a sound Engineer for all of Brian’s Celtic Sojourn shows in the back room.  

     As the story goes… one evening after a Celtic show the three lads, with the vested interest in the love of live music, had a conversation that basically ended in “We should have shows in this backroom all the time”.  With the help and guidance of Tommy and Brian and another of Tom’s mentors, Tim Mason, 24 Hour Music was born.  

WHY "24 HOUR" YOU ASK?
     Well, there’s a very simple story.  Back “in the day,” let’s say mid nineties when Tom Bianchi was a younger 25 year old lad and living in a big ol’ house in Allston with an obligatory 5 to 8 housemates like the kids do, he earned the nickname 24 Hour Tom for his consistent status of being the last one standing.  Whether it be the local late night parties at, “Hugh’s Green,” the campfires of the Kerrville Folk Festival or even any given night his Baker Thomas Band plays, Tom has always been the last one to put down the bass guitar and give up the ship.  “24 Hour Tom” is a nickname that still sticks almost 30 years later.

     24 Hour Tom was a street performer in Boston from late last century until about 2006, entertaining unsuspecting commuters at Park Street Station and Quincy Marketplace.  Improvisation weaving in and out of songs was his specialty and has earned him respected reviews and quotes from The Boston Globe, Boston Herald, just about every local journal and a “Best Boston” was even created for him in the year 2000 by The Boston Phoenix, “Best Entertainment for a Buck.” (Yes, The Boston subway used to cost one dollar!)   He wrote local comedy songs for Bostonians like, Street Signs In Boston Suck, Tourists Only Want Pictures Of Cheers, Stay Behind The Yellow Line and The Day The Curse Was Reversed - The Story of the 2004 Red Sox World Series Victory which broke sales records for local Boston Single Distribution that year.

     After giving up busking Tom continued to play music touring the country as a soloist as well as hosting songwriter nights at about a dozen local venues, most notably Lizard Lounge Open Mic Challenge and of course The Burren Sunday Night Songwriter Series.   During this time Tom played session bass for dozens of performers live and in the studio as well as produced records for artists in studio and at home.

     The roots of 24 Hour Tom becoming 24 Hour Music start with The Burren Backroom, Tommy McCarthy and Brian O’Donovan.  Tom co-hosted The Sunday Night Songwriter Series with Danielle Miraglia for years and eventually became the sound engineer for Brian O’Donovan’s Celtic Sojourn Pub Series in the backroom of The Burren.  Tom and Danielle, then engaged and now married, had just returned from a humble cross country small venue tour where they passed through New Orleans on the way home.  The couple stopped for lunch on a Monday afternoon and were lured in by a James Brown, Prince, Michael Jackson cover band in the middle of the afternoon and never made it out of town.  They left New Orleans hungover but inspired.  

     Back at home after one of Brian’s shows Tom shared the story of their 3 pm New Orleans dance party with the idea that the Backroom should never be dark.  Tommy McCarthy has always been the strongest proponent of live music and community and basically turned to Tom and said, “Well, do it then.”  Brian agreed and offered all his experience and wisdom.  Tommy was amazingly generous sparing no cost to build a class sound engineer’s booth and sound system as well as hiring legendary Club Passim booking manager Tim Mason to help launch The Burren Backroom Series.  10 years, thousands of artists and spectacular shows later The Burren Backroom Series is running stronger than ever!

     Over the years 24 Hour Concerts has developed a great system for ticketing and keeping artist, promoter and venue in a loop to ensure the outcome everyone wants, a successful show and experience and the furtherment of live local music.  In 2022 after planting some seeds in conversation Tom had a meeting with SHK Music, a wonderful team of presenters already putting on shows locally.  The end result has been a 2 year relationship where SHK Music books world class artists and events in great rooms around town and 24 Hour Concerts ticket shows for them and lends a hand in getting the word out.  SHK started with events at the Boston Harbor Distillery located in a beautiful and historic building on Boston’s Waterfront and has since expanded to Warehouse XI in the newly booming Union Square neighborhood of Somerville, MA.  

     To sum it up, 24 Hour Music is basically a big ol’ hat that Tom Bianchi has been spinning around atop his head for almost 3 decades in Boston.  Need an Engineer?  He’s got ya.  Booking agent?  No problem.  Bass on a record?  He can do that.  Have a show that needs ticketing and don’t want to support the corporate beasts?  No problem.  EmCee?  He knows how to do that.  What hat do we need today?  Gotcha.

24 Hour Tom = 24 Hour Music.  To quote his legendary mentor Brian O’Donovan, “Live Music.  It’s Where It’s At!”