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Boston Globe
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Boston Globe
15 outdoor music festivals around Mass. and Rhode Island to see all summer
Where: Franklin County Fairgrounds, Greenfield When: June 20-22 Vibe: There's a sense of regional pride here, and along with touring acts with a distinct Americana/indie-rock aesthetic, the festival is a showcase for some of the top acts from Western Mass. There's local food and beer, a variety of craft vendors, and activities for kids. Advertisement Who's playing: Mt. Joy, Courtney Barnett, Waxahatchee, Kevin Morby, MJ Lenderman & the Wind, Kathleen Edwards, Torres, La Lom, Danielle Ponder, Leyla McCalla, Illuminati Hotties, Balthvs, Futurebirds, Grace Bowers & the Hodge Podge, Mark Mulcahy, Olive Klug, Ocie Elliott, Winterpills, Mister G, bobbie, Kimaya Diggs, Silvie's Okay. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up Tickets info: Three-day pass: $218.50. Two-day pass: $169.84. Single-day pass: $110.35. Plus, VIP and camping options and discount passes for teens. Children under 12 are free. OUTLOUD Boston Where : The Stage at Suffolk Downs, Boston When: June 21 Vibe: A celebration of queer voices at a fraught political moment. Advertisement Who's playing: Kim Petras, Trixie Mattel (DJ set), Flo Milli, Rebecca Black, G Flip, Frankie Grande, Oompa, Big Body Kweeng, Hannah Rad, MATH3CA. Tickets info: General admission pit: $99.50. General admission lawn: $69.42. Plus, VIP options. Maliah Hobbs,5,(left) and her sister Maat Nazir, 3, enjoy their balloons as they play at the BAMS Fest in 2024. John Tlumacki/Globe Staff BAMS Fest Where: Franklin Park Playstead Field, Boston When: June 28 Vibe: The idea is to generate creative and economic opportunities for local artists of color, and BAMS has the feel of a vibrant block party. Along with a sampling of rap, soul, and R&B, there's a vendor village populated by Black-owned businesses, as well as an array of food trucks on Soul Food Row. Who's playing: Lalah Hathaway, Durand Bernarr, Little Brother, Mo-Phila, Amanda Shea, Cole Rodriguez, Kasia Lavon, Edo.G, Haasan Barclay, Jireh Calo, Roots Alley Collective, the Peacekeepers, DJ Deaf Tunez, DJ Whysham, DJ Bruno. Tickets info: General admission: Name your price, with a $10 minimum donation. Charles River Jazz Festival Where: Herter Park Amphitheater, Boston When: July 12 Vibe: Like a neighborhood hang where soft-sided coolers, reasonably sized strollers, lawn chairs, and even pets (on leashes) are welcome. If you're not bringing your own food, there will be local options. Who's playing: Keyon Harrold, Freelance, Christian Sands, Caio e Jess, Ivanna Cuesta, Berklee Institute of Jazz & Gender Justice Tickets info: General admission tickets are free, though registration is required for entry. There are also VIP options. Levitate Music and Arts Festival Where: Marshfield Fairgrounds, Marshfield When: July 12-13 Vibe: A family-friendly festival with jam-band leanings and a mix of national and Boston-area acts, plus live art, local artisans, activities for kids, and food trucks. Who's playing: Stick Figure, the Revivalists, Dispatch, Still Woozy, Thundercat, the Elovaters (on both days), Protoje, Dogs in a Pile, Josiah and the Bonnevilles, Mihali, Linka Moja, Tophouse, Aldous Collins, Hans Williams, Hush Club, Fai Laci. Advertisement Tickets info: Two-day general admission pass: $249. Saturday general admission tickets: $149. Sunday general admission tickets: $129. Plus, VIP and kids options. Bang on a Can: LOUD Weekend Where: Mass MoCA, North Adams When: July 31-Aug. 2 Vibe: Composers and musicians pushing the boundaries of experimental and avant-garde music, LOUD Weekend amounts to an immersive, cutting-edge exhibition in and around a world-class contemporary art museum. Who's playing: So Percussion; Bang on a Can All-Stars performing a tribute to Ryuichi Sakamoto; Michael Gordon, David Lang and Julia Wolfe; Steven Schick leading a performance of Tamar Muskal's concerto 'Facing the Automaton'; Wolf Eyes and DJ Maria Chavez; Jeffrey Brooks; Jason Treuting; Ted Hearne; Tamar Muskal; Gemma Peacocke; Trevor Weston; Vicky Chow; David Cossin; Arlen Hlusko; Nick Photinos; Todd Reynolds; Maya Stone; Ken Thomson. Tickets info: $159 in advance for a three-day pass, $189 the week of and $259 for a 'preferred' three-day pass. Sierra Ferrell will perform at the Newport Folk Festival. Nina Westervelt Newport Folk Festival Where: Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I. When: July 25-27 Vibe: Not as folky these days as it looked in 'A Complete Unknown,' but with a far broader array of sounds and styles in a location you can't beat, right alongside Narragansett Bay. Who's playing: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kenny Loggins, Public Enemy, Maren Morris, Waxahatchee, Iron & Wine, Lucius, Big Freedia, I'm With Her, Jeff Tweedy, Goose, Geese, Dehd, Hurray for the Riff Raff, Big Freedia, Margo Price, Jessica Pratt, Lukas Nelson, Michael Kiwanuka, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Mt. Joy, Nova One, Sammy Rae & the Friends, the Deslondes. Advertisement Tickets info: Sold out, but available on the secondary market. There's also a waitlist at Lowell Folk Festival Where: Downtown Lowell When: July 25-27 Vibe: Small in scale but huge in reach, this long-running festival holds true to its vision as it enters its 38th year with a mix of folk music representing cultures from around the world. Who's playing: Beausoleil avec Michael Doucet, Cécelia, Crooked Road Revival, Lil' Ed & the Blues Imperials, Los Ricos featuring Sonia & Ismael, Red Baraat, Solas, Yeison Landero. Tickets info: Free, but donations are welcome. Laufey will play the Newport Jazz Festival. Steve Benoit Newport Jazz Festival Where: Fort Adams State Park, Newport, R.I. When: Aug. 1-3 Vibe: Jazz, of course, but also hip-hop, R&B, and soul at what bills itself as 'the grandaddy of all music festivals.' Hard to argue: this year marks the 71st anniversary of the event, which returns to its scenic home along Narragansett Bay. Who's playing: The Roots; Raye; Janelle Monáe; Flying Lotus; Willow; Dianne Reeves; Jacob Collier; Jorja Smith; esperanza spalding; De La Soul; Rachael & Vilray; Preservation Hall Jazz Band; Sofi Tukker; Nubya Garcia; Bela Fleck, Edmar Castañeda, Antonion Sánchez Trio; Christian McBride Big Band; La Lom, Luis Cato, John Scofield & Marcus Miller; Ron Carter Quartet; Terence Blanchard: Flow; Cymande. Tickets info: Friday tickets: $111.24. Sunday tickets: $111.24. All other configurations are sold out, but available on the secondary market. Rhythm & Roots Festival Where: Ninigret Park, Charlestown, R.I. When: Aug. 29-31 Vibe: A showcase for the breadth of modern American roots music in a park with playgrounds for the kids and a swimming pond for everybody, with food options including Cajun, Creole, seafood, barbecue, options for vegetarians, coffee, beer, and plenty of non-alcoholic options. Advertisement Who's playing: Little Feat, Trampled by Turtles, Blackberry Smoke, Molly Tuttle, the Wood Brothers, Lettuce, Asleep at the Wheel, Steve Earle, Duane Betts & Palmetto Motel, Donna the Buffalo, Mountain Grass Unit, George Porter Jr. & Running Pardners, New Breed Brass Band, Adam Ezra Group, Joe Louis Walker's Big Band, Della Mae, Steve Riley & the Mamou Playboys, Christine Ohlman & Friends. Tickets info: Three-day passes: $269.06 (without camping), $219 without camping. Friday-Saturday passes: $180.41. Saturday-Sunday passes: $184.41. Single-day passes: $102.06, Arcadia Folk Festival Where: Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, Easthampton; Academy of Music, Northampton When: Aug. 22-23 Vibe: Like a Saturday in the woods at a bird sanctuary, with top-notch folk music for a soundtrack. For the second year, there's also a Friday night component at the Academy of Music in Northampton, this year featuring 'The Basement Tapes,' a songwriter tribute to the songs of Bob Dylan & the Band to benefit the Mass Audubon Society. Who's playing: Josh Ritter and the Royal City Band, Amy Helm, Steve Poltz, Red Baraat, Viv & Riley, BettySoo, Cloudbelly, Rachel Baiman, Jerron Paxton, Little Roots, Kissing Other Ppl, Old Hat String Band. Tickets info: Friday night: $49.86 and $38.90 after fees, Saturday general admission: $79.99 for adults, $49.99 for teens, children 10 and under are free. RPM Fest Where: Millers Falls Rod & Gun Club, Montague When: Aug. 29-31 Vibe: Loud and rugged: RPM Fest is also known as a 'Heavy Music Campout,' and tent camping is both free and encouraged, even for single-day ticket-holders. The festival features food trucks and local craft breweries. It's also all-ages, and children under 12 get in free. Advertisement Who's playing: Ghoul, Conan, Horrendous, Midnight, Royal Thunder, Starkill, Chained to the Bottom of the Ocean, Witching, Aversed, Ancient Death, Mean Mistreater, Duel, Crop, Somnuri, Flummox, Face First, Coma Hole, Morgued, Goblet, Warm, Borracho, Concrete Ties, Vantablack, Mares of Thrace, So Hideous, Carnwennan, Held Captive, VRSA, Low., Deranged Youth, Troll Milk, Slob Drop. Tickets info: Early bird weekend ticket: $125.52. Friday ticket: $45.49. Saturday ticket: $75.49. Sunday ticket: $60.49. Plus, options for vehicle and RV camping passes. Seisiún Where: The Stage at Suffolk Downs, Boston When: Sept. 6-7 Vibe: This is the first year for Who's playing: Dropkick Murphys, the Pogues, the Hold Steady, Glen Hansard, the Waterboys, Stiff Little Fingers, Lisa O'Neill, Cardinals, the Scratch, the Rumjacks, Just Mustard, Mairead, John Francis Flynn. Tickets info: Two-day bundle: $223 for general admission pit, $178 for general admission lawn. Single-day tickets: $150.99 and $123.35 for general admission pit, $118.32 and $101.49 for general admission lawn. Plus, VIP options. FreshGrass Where: Mass MoCA, North Adams When: Sept. 19-21 Vibe: Old-timey: it's a roots-revival rave-up tucked into a contemporary art museum that used to be a factory. There are jam sessions (you can bring an instrument) and musician-led workshops, as well as activities for kids. Who's playing: Greensky Bluegrass, Old Crow Medicine Show, Valerie June, Serra Hull, Alison Brown, Jaime Wyatt, Lee Fields, Catfish in the Sky, the Brothers Comatose, El Laberinto del Coco, Michael Daves & Jacob Jolliff, Mr. Sun, East Nashgrass, Mike Block Trio, Reed Fohel, Kitchen Dwellers, Sam Grisman Project & the Freshgrass Allstars, Cimafunk. Tickets info: Three day general-admission pass: $213 (adult), $153 (students) and $83 (children between 7-16). Kids 6 and under are free. New England Metal & Hardcore Festival Where: Palladium Outdoors, Worcester When: Sept. 20 Vibe: A day-long immersion in all things heavy, featuring beloved veterans (including the final show from Bury Your Dead) and up-and-coming bands. Who's playing: Lorna Shore, Cannibal Corpse, Bury Your Dead, All Out War, Madball, Bayway, the Black Dahlia Murder, Kublai Khan TX, Full of Hell, Gates of Hell, Shadow of Intent, Despised Icon, Peeling Flesh, Teeth, Vomit Forth. Tickets info: General admission: $134.16.
Boston Globe
15-05-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Boston needs more tourists. Are Michelin stars the way to get them?
in 1900 by a French tire company to inspire more road trips, is a sign that your city's culinary scene has arrived — worthy of mention in the same breath as restaurants in New York, Paris, and London. Some cities don't need to pay for Michelin to show up; others like Boston and Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The reason Meet Boston can even do this is because the not-for-profit organization has a gusher of money flowing from a three-year-old surcharge on hotel rooms in Boston and Cambridge that generates tens of millions of dollars a year to boost tourism. Advertisement So what's the best way to spend that money? Some would like the agency to invest more in homegrown grassroots festivals and programming to develop the next wave of signature events that draw visitors from all over New England and beyond. Think the next generation of the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular, Boston Calling, and First Night. Advertisement Meet Boston does dole out money to community-oriented events, but the disparity of those investments can be huge. Established events can receive $100,000 or more from Meet Boston, while programs like the This year, BAMS Fest founder and executive artistic director Catherine T. Morris spoke onstage at BAMS Fest in 2023. Katy Beth Barber Morris was inspired by Philadelphia's BAMS Fest drawing tens of thousands of attendees over the years, Morris felt like it was the right time to take things to the next level. Weeks after the Globe began asking questions about Meet Boston's funding formula, Morris learned she would be receiving $100,000. It's not $450,000, but she considers it a good start. 'I initially was like, yes!' Morris said. 'So the investment is growing, but I also had mixed emotions regarding what more [money] could do.' Meet Boston's budget has ballooned since 2022, Advertisement That's a huge step up. Before the new levy, Meet Boston — formerly known as the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau — The money has enabled Meet Boston to more than double the size of its staff to about 65 people, spend more on marketing, launch a grant-making programming that gives out roughly $4 million a year, and bankroll initiatives like bringing the Michelin Guide to Boston. But the fact that Meet Boston has money to give out isn't widely known. Some organizations, like the JerkFest is an annual celebration of Caribbean cooking held each year at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. Mark J. Hunt 'I had no idea,' said Susan Chinsen, who works at ArtsEmerson and founded the festival in 2008. The process, she added, felt a 'little exclusive.' Now that she knows the grants exist, Chinsen plans to seek $50,000. That money would allow her to fly in more filmmakers and actors to promote their films at the festival, which draws a few thousand attendees every fall. She thinks more out-of-state visitors would come if she could partner with hotels to offer weekend packages. Even on a shoe-string budget, Chinsen has been able to get Hollywood talent to come to Boston, including George Takei, of Star Trek fame, and Oscar-winning director Ang Lee ('Brokeback Mountain' and 'Life of Pi'). Advertisement Carole Copeland Thomas, a longtime Meet Boston board member who chairs the Multicultural Committee, acknowledged the organization can do a better job with outreach. Over the past two years, Meet Boston has spent nearly $11 million supporting events, and of that, about 25 percent has gone toward multicultural events. 'Clearly, there are new opportunities to let more groups in our city know who we are,' Copeland Thomas said. 'Like any dynamic organization, Meet Boston always strives to represent the full potential of our destination by engaging with diverse communities, events, and organizations that help to drive the travel economy.' Typically, money from the special tourism tax district is supposed to go toward large-scale events that drive overnight stays, especially during periods when there aren't a lot of tourists, like wintertime. Community events don't tend to generate hotel nights. I get why hotels and Meet Boston — its board is stacked with hotel executives — favor visitors who can stay the weekend here, but there's an inherent bias in that strategy, one that gravitates toward established events. Meet Boston has the power to change that dynamic, and it has sometimes done so, putting six-figure resources into Perhaps now more than ever these multicultural gatherings — many of them rooted in neighborhoods of color celebrating the city's diversity — need substantial support at a time when other sources are drying up. Advertisement Another framework to consider is how the The afterparty at the end of the Embrace Ideas Festival in 2023. Vincent Alban For The Boston Globe When I talked to Meet Boston chief executive Martha Sheridan about the bureau's grants, she said the strategy is evolving. 'We don't have unlimited funds,' Sheridan said. 'We are going to have to really figure out a way to get more bang for the buck if you will, and make sure that we can spread the wealth enough but not so much that our investments aren't meaningful. It's a balancing act.' Meet Boston is betting big on the Michelin Guide shining a spotlight on the region's restaurants. Yet the whole thing can feel like a 'Will those Michelin chasers be going to the small mom & pop ethnic, up-and-coming or tried-and-true spots? Probably not,' wrote Jacqueline Church, owner of Boston Chinatown Tours, As federal and corporate funding grows scarce, Meet Boston can meet the moment to help more local events grow and spread tourism dollars into more neighborhoods of Boston. Not doing so is a lost opportunity. Advertisement Shirley Leung is a Business columnist. She can be reached at
