Things to do in Boston this weekend, July 17th - 20th

July 17, 2025

Hello and welcome to the Thursday newsletter!

THURSDAY - JULY 17th

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.

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

Maxwell Close Collective @ Berklee Performance Center @ 8PM This dynamic ensemble performs original works that fuse jazz, fusion, funk, and experimental sounds.

Cyndi Lauper @ Xfinity Center @ 7:30PM With Jake Wesley Rogers

Bilmuri @ Roadrunner @ 9PM With Driveways & John Harvie

L.O.L. @ The Rockwell @ 7PM Featuring One Mann Band, Lorena Ometto, & Leyva Band

FRIDAY - JULY 18th

Dynasty Drag Show @ Crystal Ballroom @ 7PM / 10PM Don’t miss a drag show featuring Boston’s own Du Dynasty, plus Plane Jane and Kori King from Rupaul’s Drag Race.

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

An Evening With Kelli O’Hara and Sutton Foster @ Koussevitzky Music Shed @ 8PM Together with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops, Sutton and Kelli pay homage to icons of stage and screen Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett.

Candlelight: Tribute to Simon and Garfunkel @ Old South Church @ 7PM / 9PM Enjoy Broadway classics reimagined by a talented string orchestra!

Russ @ Xfinity Center @ 7PM With Big Sean & Sabrina Claudio

The Last King @ The Palladium @ 6:30PM With Saved By Skarlet, As Aphrodite Fell, & more

SATURDAY - JULY 19th

ArtBeat 2025 @ Davis Square @ 11AM This annual multicultural arts festival showcases the City’s diverse and vibrant arts communities through an eclectic mix of music, dance, theater, food, performance, and interactive activities.

Watershed Block Party @ ICA @ 12PM Visit the ICA Block Party in the East Boston Shipyard and Marina for live music, performances, food tastings, art activities, and more!

‘Tosca’ Opera in Concert @ Koussevitzky Music Shed @ 8PM Hear Puccini’s brilliant yet tragic opera sung by an array of internationally acclaimed singers.

Shinedown @ TD Garden @ 7PM With BUSH & Morgan Wade

Thomas Rhett @ Fenway Park @ 5:30PM With Teddy Swims, Tucker Westmore, & The Castellows

Pixies Night 2 @ MGM Music Hall @ 8PM With Kurt Vile & the Violators

Lougotcash @ The Palladium @ 8PM With Bay Swag & Cash Cobain

SUNDAY - JULY 20th

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue @ MGM Music Hall @ 6:30PM With JJ Grey & Mofro and Dumpstaphunk

ALL WEEKEND

THURSDAY & FRIDAY - The Lumineers @ Fenway Park With Young the Giant, St. Vincent, & Hippo Campus

All weekend - Blueberry & Flower Festival @ Cider Hill Farm Enjoy live music, hard cider, family-friendly activities, hayrides, blueberry goods, cut-your-own bouquets and pick-your-own blueberries. Ends 7/27.

All weekend - Kôji Yakusho Film Programme @ The Brattle Featuring screenings of ‘Shall We Dance?,’ ‘Cure,’ ‘Perfect Days,’ and ‘Tampopo.’

All weekend - ‘Back to the Future’ Musical @ Citizens Opera House
Don’t miss the award-winning, sold-out theatre adaptation of the iconic time travel story featuring your favorite eccentric characters. Ends 7/20.

All weekend - ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ Musical @ North Shore Music Theatre Click your ruby slippers three times and step into the enchanting world of Oz with this dazzling all-new production of L. Frank Baum's beloved tale. Ends 7/20.

All weekend - ‘Evita’ Musical @ Reagle Music Theatre ‘Evita’ brings to life the meteoric rise of Eva Perón, one of history's most captivating figures in an inspiring story of ambition, love, and legacy. Ends 7/20.

All weekend - ‘Sweeney Todd’ Musical @ Regis College Stephen Sondheim’s musical masterpiece is a bold, chilling, and vibrant theatrical treat that never fails to shock and awe its audiences. Ends 7/26.

ONGOING

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 - 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 - Summer in the City @ Harborwalk Terrace This Boston tradition lets you enjoy sundrenched days, waterfront views, and breezy nights with live music and al fresco dining. Ends 8/28.

Ongoing - ‘Moonwalkers: A Journey with Tom Hanks’ Immersive Experience @ The Castle at Park Plaza NEW - Experience 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 - Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience @ Mercantile Center This captivating 360º digital art exhibition invites you to step into the universe of the Dutch genius, Vincent van Gogh. Ends 7/27.

Ongoing - ‘Sara Cwynar: Alphabet’ Exhibition @ ICA In this exhibition, multi-disciplinary artist Sara Cwynar examines the excess of pictures in today’s image-saturated culture through a vast archive of visual material, including self-made, downloaded, and found photographs. Ends 8/3.

Ongoing - ‘Believers: Artists and the Shakers’ Exhibition @ ICA The exhibition reunites a group of past works as well as new pieces created by artists who lived with, worked alongside, and were inspired by the lifestyle, architecture, and culture of the Shaker community. Ends 8/3.

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 - ‘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 - ‘Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking’ Exhibition @ Harvard Art Museums The exhibition offers rare insight into the Norwegian artist’s innovative techniques and the recurring themes across his paintings, woodcuts, etchings, and combination prints. Ends 7/27.

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.

Header image credit to Mike Norris on Pexels.