Things to do in Boston this weekend, August 28th - 31st

August 27, 2025

Hello and welcome to the newsletter! Enjoy your labor day weekend, do not forget those who sacrificed to give us our 5 day 40 hour work week.

THURSDAY - AUGUST 28th

Museums at Night @ Harvard Art Museums @ 5PM
Get ready for an evening of art, music, food, and more! This event is free and open to everyone.

‘Wait Wait.. Don’t Tell Me!’ Live Show @ Koussevitzky Music Shed @ 8PM NPR’s oddly informative news quiz program is again live at Tanglewood, featuring special guest Paul Giamatti

Concerts in the Courtyard: Salin @ MFA @ 7:30PM
Enjoy MFA’s summer music tradition showcasing the hottest talents from Boston and around the globe.

Harborwalk Sounds @ ICA @ 6PM
Grab a drink, enjoy the cool ocean breeze, and hear some of Berklee College of Music’s outstanding musicians perform on the waterfront.

D4VD @ Roadrunner @ 8PM With Laundry Day

Hotline TNT @ The Sinclair @ 8:30PM With Sour Windows & Pet Fox

Dive Bar Night: Mortal Pong-bat @ Crystal Ballroom @ 7PM Crystal Ballroom turns into a classic dive bar and you’re invited to sit at the bar, have a drink, have some pretzels, watch TV, and listen to music.

FRIDAY - AUGUST 29th

Vinyl Nights @ ICA @ 5PM
A summer favorite returns! Enjoy an all-vinyl DJ set, selection of natural wines, and seafood.

Simple Plan @ MGM Music Hall @ 6:30PM With 30H!3, Bowling for Soup, & LØLØ

Thousand Below @ The Palladium @ 7PM With Aviana, True North, & Dreamwake

Blush @ The Lilypad @ 7:30PM With Sunshy & Circus Trees

The Femmes: Pop Punk Night @ Crystal Ballroom @ 8PM Join THE FEMMES, Boston’s all women and non-binary party band, for a night of your favorite pop punk songs!

SATURDAY - AUGUST 30th

Red Sox vs Pirates @ Fenway Park @ 4:10PM Promotion: Cabo Verde Celebration

Black Outside Block Party @ Downtown @ 2PM Party to great music and enjoy food and drinks provided by some of the best vendors in the city!

Coheed and Cambria @ MGM Music Hall @ 7PM With Taking Back Sunday & Foxing

SUNDAY - AUGUST 31st

Red Sox vs Pirates @ Fenway Park @ 1:35PM Promotion: Kids Run the Bases

Worcester Draglesque Festival Showcase @ JMAC Worcester @ 8PM Join Worcester’s finest talents for a celebration of drag, burlesque, and the long, rich history of these art forms!

Bonnie Raitt @ Koussevitzky Music Shed @ 7PM With Jimmie Vaughan & The Tilt-A-Whirl Band

ALL WEEKEND

FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Boston Jazz Festival @ Maritime Park This year, BJF features performances by some of the best jazz musicians in the the business! Enjoy a vendor market and beer garden on site for ultimate weekend relaxing!

SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Fenway Flea @ Time Out Market @ 12PM Swing by the lawn at 401 Park Drive to shop the curated selection of small business creations, vintage finds, records, art, collectibles, and more.

All weekend - Saint Anthony’s Feast @ North End
Celebrate patrons Saint Anthony and Saint Lucy with colorful parades, religious services, strolling singers, live entertainment and an abundance of great Italian and American food.

All weekend - The Spencer Fair The Spencer Fair is an old-time, traditional country fair including live music, farmer’s market, cattle shows, contests, kids tent, & more!

All weekend - Campfire. Music Festival @ Club Passim
See your favorite local artists and discover new emerging talents at this 25-year old Boston tradition.

All weekend - RPM Fest @ Montague Experience this heavy music and culture campout festival in Montague complete with games, challenges, fitness & wellness workshops, burlesque, and more non-stop themed entertainment!

All weekend - ‘Cat Fancy: A Feline Film Fest’ Film Program @ The Brattle The Brattle celebrates all things cats with a lineup of beloved films including ‘Flow,’ ‘Kiki’s Delivery Service,’ ‘Amelie,’ and more!

ONGOING

Ongoing - New England Renaissance Festival @ King Richard’s Fairgrounds Saturdays & Sundays* - King Richard’s Faire is the premiere fall entertainment event for all things Renaissance. Ends 10/30.

Ongoing - Open Market @ SoWa @ 11AM Sundays* One of the largest open-air farmer and artist markets returns this summer season! Ends 10/26.

Ongoing - Artisan Market @ Rose Kennedy Greenway @ 11AM Saturdays* Run by Somerville Flea, this summertime market features talented area artists, crafters, and independent designers. Ends 10/25.

Ongoing - Summer Market @ Seaport Seaport’s summer bazaar returns with a mix of popular returning artisans and new entrants, all offering a unique assortment of products from clothing to home décor, pet goods, food, and much more. Ends 9/21.

Ongoing - Downtown Boston Arts Market @ Summer Street Plaza Thursdays & Fridays* - Located in the heart of the city, the Arts Market features artisans, crafts people, and local creative talent selling their wares in Downtown Boston. Ends 10/24.

Ongoing - Farmers Market @ Copley Square Fridays* - The largest market in the city, Copley Square Farmers Market offers a cornucopia of local produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, and prepared meals, as well as some non-edible products. Ends 11/25.

Ongoing - Charlesgate Farmers Market @ Emerald Necklace Conservancy Sundays* - Come out to support your local farmers, small businesses, and musicians. Ends 10/5.

Ongoing - Boston Lights: A Lantern Experience @ Franklin Park Zoo
Prepare to be dazzled by the magic of all-new lantern displays, immersive walkthroughs, enchanting interactive displays and Instagrammable moments at every turn. Ends 9/30

Ongoing - ‘Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks’ Immersive Experience @ The Castle at Park PlazaExperience the story of humanity’s reach for the Moon in a 360° immersive journey through space and time narrated by Tom Hanks. Ends 8/31.

Ongoing - ‘Monsters of the Deep: Between Imagination and Science’ Exhibition @ MIT Museum Using historical prints, this exhibit traces the scientific process of observing, measuring, and describing that turned whales from monsters into mammals. Ends 1/2026.

Ongoing - ‘The Visionary Art of Minnie Evans’ Exhibition @ MFA Experience Minnie Evans’ imaginative and intricately detailed drawings inspired by the artist’s religious beliefs, interest in mythology and history, and the landscapes in her native North Carolina. Ends 10/26.

Ongoing - ‘Rachel Ruysch: Artist, Naturalist, and Pioneer’ Exhibition @ MFA NEW - This exhibition brings together 35 of the finest works by pioneering Dutch artist Rachel Ruysch, whose still life paintings invite viewers to reflect on the beauty of the natural world and women’s role in 18th century Netherlands. Ends 12/7.

Ongoing - ‘Van Gogh: The Roulin Family Portraits’ Exhibition @ MFA Displaying 23 works by the artist, this exhibition explores Van Gogh’s tender relationship with one family who became subjects of his groundbreaking portraits. Ends 9/7.

Ongoing - ‘Qi Baishi: Inspiration in Ink’ Exhibition @ MFA Renowned for his modernization of Chinese ink painting, Qi Baishi’s works convey rural sentiments with bold landscapes, lifelike animals and plants, and lively and amusing figures. Ends 9/28.

Ongoing - ‘Deep Waters: Four Artists and the Sea’ Exhibition @ MFA Weaving together artworks by four artists made over centuries and across the Atlantic, this exhibition follows a genealogical thread united by the sea. Ends 11/9.

Ongoing - ‘Rituals for Remembering’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition brings together works by influential Cuban artists María Magdalena Campos-Pons and Ana Mendieta whose art explores the notions of displacement, exile, and nature as transformative tool. Ends 2/15/2026.

Ongoing - ‘Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden’ Exhibition @ ISG Museum The Gardner Museum springs to life with the large-scale sculptures of Ming Fay, constructing a space of wonder that calls on visitors to view the world around them with new appreciation. Ends 9/21.

Ongoing - ‘Jung Yeondoo: Building Dreams’ Exhibition @ Peabody Essex Museum Photographing ordinary families and individuals, Artist Jung Yeondoo’s work invites viewers to take a closer look at those strangers we don’t notice and imagine their dreams. Ends 1/25/2026.

Ongoing - ‘Draw Me Ishmael: The Book Arts of Moby Dick’ Exhibition @ Peabody Essex Museum ‘Draw Me Ishmael’ is the first exhibition focused on the book arts of the hundreds of editions of Herman Melville’s Moby Dick - the most persistently pictured of all American novels. Ends 3/29/2026.