Boston Guide to Mid-Sized Venues

Guide
Written By HDN Staff

Welcome to Hump Day News guide to mid-sized music venues: Boston and Beyond Edition. Looking for small or large venues instead? Get out there!

Have updates to suggest? Email us at info[at]humpday[dot]news.

 

The Mid-Sized Vehicles

What you lose in intimacy at medium-sized clubs, you gain in better sound systems and more national touring acts.

Arts at the Armory

191 Highland Ave #1c, Somerville, MA 02143

Web

Arts at the Armory
Somergloom 2024
Aug 23
Somergloom 2024
Arts at the Armory: Live Review
Fuzzstival Saturday
Fuzzstival Saturday

The local-ish music festival takes over Saturday at Arts at the Armory.

Fuzzstival Friday
Fuzzstival Friday

The local-ish music festival takes over Friday at Arts at the Armory.

Spiffy Washtiz
Spiffy Washtiz

Speedy Ortiz take their new album on the road at Arts at the Armory.

Pile’s Fair In Love and War
Pile’s Fair In Love and War

Pile celebrates the All Fiction record release at the old Somerville Armory.

 

Brighton Music Hall

158 Brighton Ave, Allston, MA 02134

Web

Brighton Music Hall
La Doña
Jul 14
La Doña
Brighton Music Hall: Live Reviews
We’re All In This Together
We’re All In This Together
 

City Winery Boston

80 Beverly St, Boston, MA 02114

Web

 

Crystal Ballroom

55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144

Web

 

Middle East

472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Web

 

ONCE

Pop-up venue; regular series at 0 Windsor Place, Somerville, MA 02143

Web

 

Paradise Rock Club

967 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

Web

Paradise Rock Club: Live Reviews
Qué Tienes?
Qué Tienes?
Nottingham By Nature
Nottingham By Nature
 

Regent Theatre

7 Medford St., Arlington, MA 02474

Web

 

Shalin Liu

37 Main St, Rockport, MA 01966

Web

 

Sonia

10 Brookline St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Web

 

Soundcheck Studios

150 Corporate Park Dr., Pembroke, MA 02359

Web

 

The Sinclair

52 Church St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Web

Tracks
Ty Segall: “Void”
Ty Segall: “Void”

Garage punk, sure. But the art core impulse is unmistakable here.

Blame Shifters: “Social Creeps”
Blame Shifters: “Social Creeps”

You keep waiting for the song to blast off.

Sonic Youth: “Expressway To Yr. Skull”
Sonic Youth: “Expressway To Yr. Skull”

Sonic Youth knew how to massage the feedback.

Amulette: “Bozé”
Amulette: “Bozé”

Mathprog from “Western, MA.”

Jlin: “Iris”
Jlin: “Iris”

Got that tremolo rocking on the synth sample, right?

Blondshell: “Docket” (ft. Bully)
Blondshell: “Docket” (ft. Bully)

Collaboration is fun.

Doug Paisley: “Life To Go”
Doug Paisley: “Life To Go”

The artist takes on a song by George Jones.

Muzzins: “We Can Be Together”
Muzzins: “We Can Be Together”

Like they say on The Bachelor: “I apprishiate you.”

Stirrup: “Chill Cot”
Stirrup: “Chill Cot”

Fractured experimental jazz going sixteen ways at once.

Britti: “Reach Out”
Britti: “Reach Out”

Straight outta New Orleans!

Genital Shame: “Taste Rot”
Genital Shame: “Taste Rot”

The metal’s so black they named it twice.

Frances Chang: “Eye Land”
Frances Chang: “Eye Land”

Moony psych indie rock is in the offing.

Trailer Swift: “Cross My Heart”
Trailer Swift: “Cross My Heart”

And hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.

Tiny Wine: “Replace It”
Tiny Wine: “Replace It”

A sweet sounding medium fi indie rock ditty.

Helado Negro: “Colores Del Mar”
Helado Negro: “Colores Del Mar”

A quizzical pop enchanter.

Melkbelly: “Precious Cargo”
Melkbelly: “Precious Cargo”

An uptempo post punk bone rattler.

Perennial: “Action Painting”
Perennial: “Action Painting”

Gobs of garage rock action.

Albums
FACS: Still Life In Decay
FACS: Still Life In Decay

The Chicago artcore band has work in the morning.

Angel Bat Dawid: Requiem For Jazz
Angel Bat Dawid: Requiem For Jazz

Angel Bat Dawid versus Mozart in a steel-cage match. Who you got?

Pile: All Fiction
Pile: All Fiction

Pile’s ninth album. Better than Beethoven’s Ninth?

Eddie Japan: Pop Fiction
Eddie Japan: Pop Fiction

Eddie Japan's elegant new wave pop opera, Pop Fiction.

Nighttime: Keeper Is The Heart
Nighttime: Keeper Is The Heart

Go back to the future with Nighttime’s time-traveling wyrd folk spectacle Keeper Is The Heart.

Horse Lords: Comradely Objects
Horse Lords: Comradely Objects

“Fusion” is a genre-descriptor that is constantly on the verge of utter uselessness.

Keeley Forsyth: Limbs
Keeley Forsyth: Limbs

Can we befriend the specter of silence?

Maneka: Dark Matter
Maneka: Dark Matter

Maneka writes a new chapter in rock n roll with its latest LP.

Living Hour: Someday Is Today
Living Hour: Someday Is Today

The gazey, dreampop excursion takes us into a languid interior dimension of emotional transcendence.

Kitner: Shake The Spins
Kitner: Shake The Spins

Kitner tells the story of life lived at the tail end of a boozy buzz, with another night of debauchery on the way.

Twen: One Stop Shop
Twen: One Stop Shop

Twen charts a course across the sound waves of trans-Atlantic pop on their LP One Stop Shop.

Iceblink: Carpet Cocoon
Iceblink: Carpet Cocoon

Ambient is no longer the province of purely theoretical sound experiments. Enter Iceblink.

Mamalarky: Pocket Fantasy
Mamalarky: Pocket Fantasy

A gooey, 12-stack musical layer cake, shotgun-blasted with rainbow sprinkles by a laughing clown.

NNAMDÏ: Please Have A Seat
NNAMDÏ: Please Have A Seat

NNAMDÏ ghosts his songs before they ghost him. But you’ll love Please Have A Seat anyway.

Already Dead: My Collar Is Blue
Already Dead: My Collar Is Blue

Already Dead remembers punk’s roots in political dissidence on their latest LP My Collar Is Blue.

Dear Nora: human futures
Dear Nora: human futures

The band out of Joshua Tree gets real about life, memory, and crustaceans.

Live Reviews
Club Dub
Club Dub

Dub Apocalypse come out for Tami-Fest II at Sally O’Brien’s.

Tom Yum Soup Is Good
Tom Yum Soup Is Good

Daniela Schächter Trio is not background music at The Mad Monkfish.

And The Winner Is…
And The Winner Is…

The Ghouls take the W in the Rumble Finals at Sonia.

Steve Albini Is Dead
Steve Albini Is Dead

Puppy Angst didn’t kill him at The 4th Wall.

Theremin. Period.
Theremin. Period.

Brontez Purnell wears a shirt at O’Brien’s Pub.

Home Again
Home Again

Oneohtrix Point Never goes home Again at Royale.

Drop The Charges
Drop The Charges

Circus Trees sway in the three-ring breeze at The 4th Wall.

I Want!
I Want!

Helado Negro sexes the symbol at The Sinclair.

My Plans Were Spoiled Years Ago
My Plans Were Spoiled Years Ago

The George Garzone Quartet laid four on the floor at The Mad Monkfish.

Next Stop, Finals
Next Stop, Finals

Gut Health top the bunch to win a Finals berth at Sonia.

Two Out of Four
Two Out of Four

The Ghouls fly to the Finals at Sonia.

A Big TV Program
A Big TV Program

Yoko Miwa is ready for her closeup at The Mad Monkfish.

The New Thursday
The New Thursday

(t-t)b phone home at Silhouette Lounge.

Marathon Monday
Marathon Monday

Dwelley crosses the finish line at The Jungle.

JP Jammerz
JP Jammerz

Pledge Pins serve cookies at Midway Cafe.

Ain’t No Democracy
Ain’t No Democracy

Tiny WIne stares into the eclipse at Silhouette Lounge.

The 1st Annual Christian McBride Festival
The 1st Annual Christian McBride Festival

Christian McBride isn’t in Arlington, Texas at the Regent Theatre.

270 Volts of Electricity
270 Volts of Electricity

Wire Lines grab the third rail at the Middle East.

What’s In The Suitcase?
What’s In The Suitcase?

Gut Health travels heavy at the Middle East.

Ready, Set, Go
Ready, Set, Go

Sunshine Riot rains down on you at the Middle East.

Portland Calling
Portland Calling

J. Graves plays the faves at Deep Cuts.

Bougification
Bougification

Good & You? names their EPs with numbers at Union Tavern.

Mancala Up
Mancala Up

This Day In History never forgets at Deep Cuts.

Sitar? I Hardly Know Har!
Sitar? I Hardly Know Har!

Elephant Stone slips back into the dream at The Rockwell.

Flight of Whiskeys
Flight of Whiskeys

Donna Byrne Quartet jazzes the lounge at The Mad Monkfish.

Respect Boston
Respect Boston

Edo.G, Big Shug, and Akrobatik hip the hop at the Middle East.

Dan’s Back From Theater Shit
Dan’s Back From Theater Shit

Jiddo humps the night at Silhouette Lounge.

The Last Laugh
The Last Laugh

Jerry’s Got Jokes gets the last laugh at Midway Cafe.

Land Ho!
Land Ho!

Dwayne Haggins subs the terranean at Lizard Lounge.

Ex Are My Copilots
Ex Are My Copilots

Ex Pilots fly ex planes at Silhouette Lounge.

The Backyard
Bent Shapes: Feels Weird
Bent Shapes: Feels Weird

From the Archives, Feels Weird doesn’t feel weird at all.

Interview: Lord Jeff
Interview: Lord Jeff

A chat with Lord Jeff from the Archives.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Quiz Time! The Hump Nights giveaways get an upgrade.

Interview: Arms and Sleepers
Interview: Arms and Sleepers

A chat with Arms and Sleepers from the Archives.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Hump Day News reflects on what the site fucked up (and did right!) in 2023.

One Door Closes, The 4th Wall Opens
One Door Closes, The 4th Wall Opens

Andrew Stern; interview with DIY venue 4th Wall organizers; and more.

AER079: You Can Be A Wesley
AER079: You Can Be A Wesley

An Ampeater Review of You Can Be A Wesley from the Archives.

Just Ask Ansel
Just Ask Ansel

The nation’s leading incel advice columnist on love and life.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Hump Day News kicks off Hump Nights.

Sharon Is Carin’
Sharon Is Carin’

The nation’s leading wellness goddess on living better.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Hump Day News supports Bandcamp United on May Day and every day!

Interview: Sammy Yager of Birthdays
Interview: Sammy Yager of Birthdays

A chat with the Sammy Yager of Birthdays from the Archives.

Just Ask Ansel
Just Ask Ansel

The nation’s leading incel advice columnist on love and life.

Interview: Shoney Lamar and the Equal Rights
Interview: Shoney Lamar and the Equal Rights

A chat with the busking bluesman of Boston & company from the Archives.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

‘Change or die’ is the motto. Better than ‘change and die.’

Interview: Great Waves
Interview: Great Waves

A 2009 interview with Great Waves, an indie Americana act out of the Northwest. And a message for Ashley’s dad.

HDN Staff
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