Somerville mayoral candidate Willie Burnley, Jr. headlines Willie Fest at The Jungle on Saturday, 21 June 2025.

Goodkarma, Coe Street Co-op, The Plus Ones, and Castle Goblin bring the musical entertainment.

Ward 2 Councilor JT Scott digs the scene.

Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️ Hump Nights 〰️

Hump Nights

Jul 7

Monster slate at Jamaica Plain’s premiere music joint.

Jul 11

Build-Your-Own-Guitar Night at Deep Cuts.

Jul 12

An Allston Pudding x The 4th Wall collab at Capitol Theater.

Jul 13

The story of groundbreaking slide-guitarist Ellen McIlwaine.

Jul 24

Ryan Cassata tours new LP Greetings From Echo Park through Midway Cafe.

Aug 7

Somergloom returns with a three-day schedule.

Hump Nights

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Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix

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Hump Nights 〰️ Ace the Quiz, Win the Tix 〰️

The first of three Willie Fests. Fundraisers for the campaign of Willie Burnley, Jr., with music, magic, and mayhem. More coming in late July and early September.

Political fundraisers can be drab affairs, full of stuffed shirts and pantsuits jockeying for pole position with the candidate. Money buys influence; influence buys policy; and policy provides return on investment for the donor class. The cynical calculus of it all sucks the joy out of the room no matter how many martini glasses of “The Real Diehl” (the signature cocktail of the Geoff Diehl 2022 gubernatorial campaign) you serve.

If your campaign had a signature cocktail what would it be? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/776hi3kcnu
— Samantha J. Gross (@samanthajgross) August 10, 2022

If members of the donor class were present at The Jungle on Saturday night, though, they were keeping a low profile. Willie Fest I, a fundraiser for Somerville mayoral candidate Willie Burnley, Jr., was only charging $10 at the door. That kind of money will barely buy you a coffee these days, never mind a political policy or carve out.

What do you get for $10? Four bands, two stump speeches by JT Scott (Somerville Councilor, Ward Two) and Willie Burnley, Jr., hours of glorious air conditioning, and one Mortal Kombat arcade cabinet in the corner of the room. Not a bad return on investment in 2025. Like Scorpion always said: “Get over here!”

Castle Goblin opened with a set of solo electric strummers. The Plus Ones crammed six musicians onto the Jungle dais, plying the crowd with jazz pop melodies and brass section choreography. The throwback roots rock of The Coe Street Co-op traded off between originals and vintage classics. And Goodkarma closed the night on a note of emo-tinged pop punk.