Lazarus reignites college rock’n’roll with MBTA tour

Lazarus reignites college rock’n’roll with MBTA tour Lazarus reignites college rock’n’roll with MBTA tour Eleni Despotopoulos, news correspondent October 14, 2026 Damien Nguyen André Lazarus swings off of a Green Line train metal pole to a crowd of cheering fans Sept. 25. The band performed with their musical gear, such as a drum set and guitar, on an active Green Line train from Boston College to Park Street stations. Is rock and roll dead? A college band is making every effort to prove that it’s not. Lazarus, a local rock band fronted by lead singer André Lazarus, is making waves in Boston with their new — and unconventional — method of performance.  “We’re just giving the city a little bit of stirring the pot here, you know?” said Lazarus, a fourth-year theater major at Emerson College. Made up of four college students all in their fourth year of undergrad, the band is made up of drummer Adrian Alvarado, an independent recording major at Berklee College of Music; guitarist Jamie Wang, also an independent recording major at Berklee and bassist Tristyn Liu, a music performance major at University of Massachusetts Boston.   After going viral on TikTok in July, Lazarus has taken the city by storm. But besides their upbeat rock’n’roll tunes, the thing that sets them apart from other collegiate groups in Boston is their choice of venue. The band embarked on a dynamic MBTA tour Sept. 25 to 27, setting out on the Green, Red and Orange lines on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively. The tour was conducted in an effort to “promote their upcoming shows and music,” Lazarus said. The Sept. 25 concert started at Boston College and wrapped at Government Center.  For performances like these, the group posts their location on social media, allowing fans to find them. Then they load onto the train, most often the first car because it has the most space, and begin to play for both attendees and unsuspecting commuters, Lazarus explained. Squeezing all of their equipment, including the amps, a drum set, guitars and a microphone, as well as all their fans into a train car hasn’t been easy, Lazarus said.  “We’ve had some issues with the police,” he said. “No one’s arrested me, but I’m getting a lot of questions this weekend, if I’m going to get arrested on an MBTA tour. I’m not. We actually have fewer issues on the train [than in other public areas].”  Although there were no arrests, the Friday show was shut down by an MBTA officer after barely 15 minutes. Despite his refusal to allow the band more play time, he held up the band’s Venmo sign to the delight and roars of the crowd.  “I think it’s good for the city,” said Evan Powers, a third-year mechanical engineering major at Northeastern. “Local art is what brings the community together. So the fact that it becomes so accessible, you don’t have to buy a ticket or anything, just builds toward what the community should be trying to achieve.” The band’s music fits its unconventional choice of venue perfectly: high-energy, exciting and fast-paced. It’s everything one could expect from band dedicated to rock and roll. Lazarus calls out to the crowd while his bandmates station themselves on the side seating Sept. 25. The band performed on the heightened area of a train, transforming the remaining portion into a makeshift pit. (Damien Nguyen) Although Lazarus has released only two songs, they couldn’t be more different. “Beauty Salon,” the band’s first single, is “a joking song about a MILF,” Lazarus said.  Conversely, “YOYO,” the latest single released by the band, has very personal undertones for Lazarus. “It’s actually about my mom. My mom’s name is Yo-Yo, and my relationship with her is like a yo-yo. It’s up and down, up and down. Most of the songs I write are about my personal life. All of them are truthful things about my relationships.” When asked if the song is representative of the music on their upcoming EP, however, the band let out a collective laugh. “No, it’s not. ‘YOYO’ is like a Happy Meal. And the other songs are more wild,” Wang said. “They’re more heavy and more funky. It’s something completely different.” The energy was infectious at the first of their three weekend shows.  “Every one of these shows is so dope, so much fun,” said Michael Coyle, a first-year education major at UMass Boston. “I think there should be more public performances like this. I feel like everybody gets a chance, especially students who, most of the time, are broke.”  The majority of the crowd certainly seemed to share Coyle’s opinion, as almost all attendees were dancing, cheering and smiling.  “I want to see some people go crazy,” Lazarus yelled into the mic, instantly being met with cheers. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Throughout all the noise, shutdowns and polarized opinions, Lazarus insists that their priority is the fans and the music.  “I’m just happy that we can make people feel better with music,” Lazarus said. “And we’re happy that we can build a community, where people can meet each other, and make friends and have a good time.” 0 Like This Story Share on Facebook Share on X Email this Story Print this Story Tags: concert music More to Discover More in Entertainment Review: ‘Coyote vs. Acme’ is two absurdist tales in one Review: Love Spells leaves crowd spellbound at the Sinclair Review: Mt. 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