It's way more interesting if the audience doesn't alway know what they're going to get.

— Michael Fournier, co-founder Outer Frequencies

Three bands, three sounds, all original

After seeking a hard-to-find original music scene on the Cape, Outer Frequencies founders combined forces to create a non-profit venue for bringing together regional and local bands and Cape Cod.

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27 October 2025 – HARWICH, MA – The trio behind Outer Frequencies turned a passion for original music into a quarterly series of all-ages shows with three bands: a fresh burst of sound to Cape Cod.

What is Outer Frequencies?

Outer Frequencies runs a series of shows featuring three regional and local bands rocking the power of original music.

It sprang from a passion for live music and the punk scene shared by a husband and wife team—Michael Fournier and Rebecca Griffin of Yarmouthport—and their friend Vanessa Downing of Brewster. The trio connected over Downing’s band, then bonded over their lifelong live music experiences and a shared hunger for finding diverse and original live music on Cape Cod.

The result of those “what if” conversations now brings three bands together in one show quarterly at Christ Church Episcopal in Harwichport.

Where is Outer Frequencies?

Outer Frequencies plays at Christ Church Episcopal in Harwich – not the first venue that comes to mind when one thinks “punk or “alternative” – but the group says the atypical, all-ages venue fits with the history of independent music, which plays in VFW Halls, basements, and pretty much anywhere sound and people can meet.

Fournier says the ethos of punk puts everyone on the same field – and so an all-ages show in a venue like a church hall actually plays right onto that level ground of music.

What bands play at the shows?

By intention, each show mixes three unique bands with different styles, connected only by their embrace of original music. Fournier and his co-founders remember youthful shows with band after band all chasing the same sound – and he said the group wants something that suprises the audience. He said his group works to curate a combination that either blends … or jars.

They draw on Vanessa’s touring band and its networks, as well as Fournier’s music writer network for inspiration. The three bands in each show won’t all sound the same—if you don’t like one, well, just wait for the next set.

“If you don’t like the first band, wait a half-hour and the next band is going to sound completely different, ” he said.

What makes original and live music compelling?

At its core, these shows go back to the heart of it all – live music, original songs, and a very human experience, along with a culture of paper posters on telephone poles, plus a dollop of Instagram.

The series brings the thrill of finding the bands and the jolt of hearing something new, along with the experiential moment of feeling the throb of a bass riff viscerally in the gut, or the sensation of an all-around projection shared with others at the same time. The sound in your earphones can’t compare to live music, explained Fournier.

“It’s all part of the experience,” he said.

How do I find out about the shows?

Outer Frequencies also brings a bit of retro feel through its promotions using posters on paper pasted on telephone poles—just like pop-up concerts of yore. It also leans on Instagram and other social media to post in a 21st century way, merging past, present and future, just as the all-ages show mixes music fans of all generations.

Some things never change – and rockers just keep on rocking, said Fournier. The bands might have day jobs, but they travel and play because that’s the heartbeat of independent music.

“We love the interaction, we love to hang,” said Fournier. “And we love the music.”

The next show is November 7, to be followed by February 27 and May 09 2026.