music

Beginning in 2003, Jen Matson showcased her photography at the Boston Arts Festival, a fine art event founded in 2003 by then-Mayor Thomas Menino. When the city decided to cancel the annual gathering in 2015 during Mayor Marty Walsh’s tenure, Matson stepped in to save it.

Boston Jazz Fest is a free event taking place on Friday and Saturday, Aug. 30 and 31 at Maritime Park in the Seaport District.

Bernice Johnson Reagon, a civil rights activist who co-founded The Freedom Singers and later started the African-American a capella vocal ensemble Sweet Honey in the Rock, passed on recently at the age of 81.

When Naomi Westwater was approached to restart the Boston Chapter of We Make Noise, a global music education nonprofit, they thought about how their own skill set would align with the needs of the community. Naturally, Westwater, a Cape Cod-born musician, turned their eye toward music, envisioning a festival by and for women, queer and gender-nonconforming artists.

Hip-hop turned 50 last year, and to celebrate the genre’s milestone, Boston’s own STL GLD held a concert downtown in partnership with the city of Boston. The group estimated that the inaugural, free 10-hour event, featuring hip-hop giants like Earthgang and Dead Prez, drew upwards of 2,000 visitors to City Hall Plaza for a fun — and safe — day. It was a success on all counts.

Shemekia Copeland was drawn to music from an early age and began singing at just 3 years old. “It just made everything feel like it was right,” the blues musician said in an interview.

The arts in Massachusetts have taken on a new role from culture creator to healthcare solution. In June, Art Pharmacy and Mass Cultural Council, along with Mass General Brigham, announced the launch of the first statewide arts prescription in the nation.

The iconic live music venue and cornerstone of the Boston music scene since 1976, Great Scott is making a highly anticipated return just up the street from its original location, at the intersection of Harvard Avenue and Cambridge Street in Allston.

Christopher Wilkins, music director of the Boston Landmarks Orchestra, has been working to get Black female composer Julia Perry’s work onto stages for years. Legal challenges and Perry’s lack of heirs and a will have kept her intellectual property, including published and unpublished compositions, tied up.

Through its ParkARTS program, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department enlivens pockets of green space across the city, bringing arts workshops, concerts, movies and puppet shows to city-run parks year-round, with a more concentrated calendar in the summer months, all free of charge.

Ruthie Foster’s career spans three decades. The blues musician has released nine studio albums, five of which were nominated for Grammy Awards, played stages in dozens of states, and received seven Blues Music Awards and a Living Blues Critics’ Poll Award.

In 2016, Fred Woodard envisioned bringing more jazz music to Dorchester and Roxbury by organizing a day dedicated to the genre.