This week in Freak Scene, Glen Fant of Fantastic Productions and the band Recent History has begun sharing the spotlight with a new member of the team: his son Harlan Fant, who’s 12.

Glen Fant was in seventh grader in 1997 when his band Goodbye Blue Monday got booked to play a street fair in his New Jersey hometown. Now Fant’s son has a similar opportunity.

Harlan Fant, a rising seventh-grader at John F. Kennedy Middle School in Northampton, is slated to play with his band Sparc Sept. 19 at Flo Fest, the return of the Florence street fair. It’s the culmination of a summer the Fants are spending immersed in music: Harlan is playing with Sparc and attending an arts camp at Deerfield Academy, and he’s occasionally joining his dad as a member of Recent History, Glen Fant’s alt-rock covers band. (Glen Fant is also a member of Easthampton’s True Jackie.)

“I think it’s an opportunity to get a lot closer,” Harlan says on a recent video call.

For Harlan’s dad, it’s a chance to pay forward a moment of mentorship that set him on his way nearly 30 years ago, when a friend’s father booked Goodbye Blue Monday to play the Caldwell street fest.

“It was a huge moment for me,” Fant says. “And thinking about myself as a musician and performing and stuff like that, it really empowered me in high school to book a bunch of shows in New York City because I lived in the suburbs. So I want to be a part of something that empowers young people to do that and have that sort of experience.”

The Fants have been making music together since Harlan was little, when Glen Fant found that the easiest way to play guitar around the house with a toddler in the mix was to play songs they could sing together: Beatles covers, Queen, eventually Green Day and Smashing Pumpkins. From there, Harlan gravitated toward playing guitar himself, and has taken lessons on and off at Downtown Sounds and then at the Northampton Community Music Center.

Earlier this year, Harlan formed Sparc with Henry Bassette, Jude Kent and Willie Staub: friends from school and a summer ensemble program at the Northampton Community Music Center. Fant plays guitar and bass and sings in the group, which so far plays covers mixed with the smattering of original tunes they’ve begun writing. Harlan also started playing onstage with his dad in Recent History, which often plays brunch shows featuring full albums from the ’90s, including the Singles soundtrack and, in September, a tribute to Weezer’s self-titled 1994 LP, the Blue Album. (Recent History perform Aug. 7 on the Brookfield Town Common, and Aug. 22 at the Irish Cultural Center in West Springfield. Sparc open both shows, which are free and run from 6-8 p.m.)

“He’s really good at playing guitar and keeps the rhythm and doesn’t — if he messes up, which everyone does, he’s learned to keep going, and that's one of the biggest things,” Glen Fant says. “So, I know there’s not going to be a train wreck having Harlan onstage.”

Playing with his dad, helping out with posting flyers and even making merch on the family’s 3D printer has introduced Harlan to the idea that being in a band means more than simply playing songs. He’s also responsible for scheduling rehearsals for Sparc, which can be logistically complicated, especially in the summer. The band practices in the Fants’ basement, where there’s a drum kit and bass and guitar amplifiers. While Fant will sometimes fill in for a member who can’t make it to rehearsal, he’s careful not to impose himself on what Sparc is doing.

“When I was younger playing in my friend’s basement, his dad came down, and he was a really sweet guy, but he would come down and sort of give us unwanted advice,” says Fant, a former high school history teacher in Boston. “I don’t ever want to leave Harlan in a position where he’s saying, ‘Get out of here, old man.’ I’m trying to give them a lot of space for that.”

As someone who balances playing music and booking shows with a job in educational publishing, Fant is also serving as a role model for Harlan in another way as the middle school student considers how he wants music to fit into his own life.

“I don't think it's going to be the main thing in my life,” Harlan says. “But like, my dad works like a person, and then he also plays in a band.”

Upcoming Concerts

Easthampton psychedelic jam rockers the Giant’s Harp (as seen in Freak Scene #64) perform Aug. 7 at 6:30 p.m. as part of Food Truck Friday at Abandoned Building Brewery in Easthampton.

Unbeknownst to me until just now, New City Brewing in Easthampton is hosting trivia, live music and other events, including Florida New Grass quintet the Wire Jays Saturday, Aug. 1, the Frost Heaves & Hales with Nicholas Collins and Rough Edges Aug. 8, Austin singer-songwriter Kris Schultz Aug. 9, Honky-Tonk Tuesday with Lexi Weege (who promises free red beans and rice) Aug. 11, Last Devotion and 2/3rds the Bird Aug. 21 and Soul Magnets Sept. 6 (tickets). Expect a $10 cover at most shows.

The Iron Horse in Northampton hosts Alejandro Escovedo & the Electric Saints Nov. 12 (tickets) and NRBQ for a pair of shows Jan. 1 (tickets) and Jan. 2 (tickets).

The Parlor Room in Northampton has added Rogê playing a Secret Planet show Sept. 24 (tickets) and Angela Hassan Sept. 26 (tickets).

The Space Ballroom hosts Charlie Parr Nov. 18 (tickets), while Drag Talk play the adjacent Cellar on Treadwell Sept. 26 (tickets).

Agnostic Front play Oct. 16 at Counter Weight Brewing in Cheshire (tickets).

Infinity Music Hall in Hartford hosts Virginia jam band Kendall Street Company Oct. 10 (tickets), Gaelic Storm Oct. 23 (tickets) and Samantha Fish Nov. 19 (tickets).

This Week’s Shows

The full concert calendar is available here for paid subscribers.