The Mighty Mighty Bosstones are an American ska band from Boston, Massachusetts. Their genre is ska, which is a musical style that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and combines elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walking bass line, accentuated guitar or piano rhythms, and a drum beat on the off-beat. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones have been playing ska since 1983 and are considered one of the most influential ska bands of all time.