Previews of Local Arts & Music Festivals

July 2025

Summer is herrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre.

7/12

Charles River Jazz Festival

Herter Park Amphitheater, Allston

Welcome to the new school. Everything about this festival screams fresh looks, musical innovation, and creative risk-taking. The young organizers behind the event have booked a young and dynamic lineup of performers who want to write their own chapter in the history of jazz. Artists like trumpeter Keyon Harrold, fusionistas Freelance, and Latin-loaded Caio e Jess combine elements of classic jazz, rock, hip hop, and Brazilian sounds in ways that defy genre. The Millennials and Gen Z didn’t kill Applebees, but they did create the Charles River Jazz Festival. Order yourself an Irresist-a-Bowlful of jazz at the intimate amphitheater of Herter Park.

7/12-13

Levitate Music Festival

Marshfield Fairgrounds, Marshfield

While the festival is located a few miles inland, you’ll still catch a whiff of salt in the air from all the Caribbean music on the bill. Reggae is sprinkled throughout the lineup, including the first night headliner Stick Figure, and Boston’s The Elovators, who are gigging on both days. Add to that a convivial mix of rock, pop, and jazz, and you’ve got a fine South Shore sample platter of sound. Camping for tents or RVs is also available at Indianhead Campground in Plymouth, round-trip bussing included, if you’re feeling adventurous.

7/19

SUPAPS Fest

Lincoln Park, Somerville

A punk bonanza in Somerville’s Lincoln Park, home to the Adventure Playground. The bill features a stacked lineup of premiere local noisemakers, including Nice Guys, Whyte Lipstick, Cantabbers, and more. Brought to you by the omnipresent Kids Like You & Me and generous grants from the Somerville Arts Council and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Don’t tell DOGE about this one. And the Morimoto family has a birthday party scheduled at the park the same day, so I hope little Morimoto likes punking ‘til he pukes!

7/26-27

Cambridge Jazz Festival

Danehy Park, Cambridge

The free jazz festival is celebrating its 10th anniversary. Sort of. The inaugural event took place in 2014; you have to fudge the math on account of years lost to the pandemic. The latest bill is blessed with a retrospective of the musical career of Terri Lyne Carrington, celebrated drummer, composer, producer, educator… and also the youngest person ever to receive a union card in Boston where she began her professional career at age 10. Her educator credits include Berklee College of Music. She’s just one of many musicians from the faculty tapped for performance duties on this Berklee-heavy bill by the college’s Executive Director and the festival’s co-founder Ron Savage.

7/27

Willie Fest II

The Rockwell, Somerville

Off the grid, on the Gritty. Art and politics can make for awkward bedfellows. To wit, Donald Trump anointing himself Chairman of the Kennedy Center Board. But when the marriage of art and politics is blessed by the power of the people, who can gainsay it? DSA mayoral candidate for Somerville, Willie Burnley, Jr., has teamed up with local chiptuners Battlemode to organize a summer series of fundraising art bashes, spotlighting local music, film events, comedy, crafts and more. The second of three Willie Fests takes place at The Rockwell. It’s going to be a “Hot Willie Summer.” You heard it here first, folks.