Arts & Culture

For more than seven decades, the annual Newport Jazz Festival has brought generations of jazz musicians and fans together. This year’s festival, the 71st, held at Fort Adams State Park from August 1-3, drew 10,000 people daily to its seaside stages.

Residents and visitors in Great Barrington in western Massachusetts will spot a welcoming new face outside Mason Public Library.

The Boston Athenaeum wants to turn back time, and it needs the help of Bostonians to do it. In 2026 the historic private library in Beacon Hill will launch an exhibition of photographs by Constantine Manos inspired by his participation in the 1976 installation “Where’s Boston?”

Alan Mingo Jr. first fell in love with “The Wiz” while watching the 1978 film adaptation, a favorite of his mother’s, singing along with Diana Ross and Michael Jackson.

On Saturday, August 9, the four-hour David Chesnut Jazz Festival at the Eustis Estate at 1424 Canton Avenue in Milton will showcase local and national talent for a highly eclectic afternoon and early evening of music.

On a piping hot Wednesday in July, 39 Boston teens clad in matching red T-shirts took to the city streets for a series of high-energy flash mob dance performances. This choreographed performance wasn’t just for fun; it was a crucial part of their summer job. 

As cultural institutions around Massachusetts celebrate the 250th anniversary of the American War of Independence from British rule, Nipmuc artist Brittney Peauwe Wunnepog Walley encourages us to look back even further at what Indigenous folks were experiencing in Massachusetts 350 years ago.

Award-winning multimedia artist, musician and filmmaker Cliff Notez has been breaking genre and medium boundaries for years in their artistic practice. Fusing visual arts and music that pulls from hip-hop, folk and soul traditions, Notez tells stories in a unique and powerful way.

The joyful abandon of a friendship between two girls is the heart and soul of the poetic play “The Meeting Tree” by B. Elle Borders, on stage through Aug. 9 in a world-premiere production by Company One Theatre (C1) at the Strand Theatre in Dorchester.

In the midst of the MA250 celebrations exploring the history of the American Revolution and the establishment of the United States, Boston’s Museum of African American History (MAAH) has launched an exhibition exploring Black experiences during the revolutionary period.

In partnership with Greenway Business Improvement District (Greenway BID), the Rose Kennedy Greenway has further developed the Greenway ARTbeat, a season-long series of five public art installations, 50 programs and family-friendly activities in the urban outdoor space. 

During the summer, Bostonians take advantage of every opportunity to be outdoors, especially when it means a party. Outdoor dance parties around the city celebrate local artists, global dance styles and music ranging from R&B and salsa beats to old-school dance classics.