Every week I send a "Things To Do In Boston This Weekend" email featuring all of the events in this post. I appreciate every signup!
Please add anything you would like to promote or that you think I missed in the comments.
FRIDAY - OCTOBER 16th
Boston Legacy FC vs Racing Louisville @ Gillette Stadium @ 8PM
College Night @ ICA @ 6PM Head to the Seaport for a night of creative art-making, unbeatable music, and stunning harbor views.
Vintage After Dark @ Arts at the Armory @ 6PM Come dressed in your best costume and enjoy a night market, cash bar, hair tinsel, Halloween activities, a live DJ, and more!
Ongoing - Small Mart Outdoor Market @ Davis Square Plaza @ 3PM Small Mart brings everyone’s favorite vendors, artisans, and makers in the open air, right off the Red Line. Ends 10/30.
Jacob Collier Performance @ MoS @ 8PM Seven-time GRAMMY Award-winning musician Jacob Collier will explore the intersection of music, creativity and science in an intimate fireside conversation, followed by a live performance.
Tusk: The Classic Tribute to Fleetwood Mac @ Hanover Theatre @ 7:30PM
Sin Bandera @ Wang Theatre @ 8PM
Ryan Beatty @ House of Blues @ 7PM With Girlsweetvoiced
Jpegmafia @ Roadrunner @ 8PM With Redveil & Matt Proxy
Bertha: Grateful Drag @ Paradise Rock Club @ 7PM Don’t miss the world’s first all drag Grateful Dead tribute band!
Desert Dwellers @ Brighton Music Hall @ 8PM With Entangled Mind & Skysia
DJ Habibeats @ Big Night Live @ 9PM
Walker & Royce @ Royale @ 10PM With Slaycey
AR/CO @ The Grand @ 10PM
Flow Sousa @ Mémoire @ 10PM
Don Was and The Pan - Detroit Ensemble @ The Sinclair @ 8:30PM
PEELINGFLESH @ The Palladium @ 6:30PM With Gridiron, Fatal Realm, Final Resting Place, & Grounds for Assault
Daley + Notebook P @ City Winery @ 7:30PM
SATURDAY - OCTOBER 17th
Revolution vs Chicago Fire FC @ Gillette Stadium @ 7:30PM
Boston Book Festival @ Copley Square @ 10AM The festival hosts author presentations, panels, and hands-on demonstrations at outdoor venues throughout the Copley Square area.
RoxTober Fest @ Maywood Street @ 1PM Rox-Tober-Fest is an intergenerational event to celebrate the neighborhood with live music, family activities, dancing, and complementary food.
Castle Island Oktoberfest @ Castle Island Brewing Co @ 11AM Get ready to enjoy a traditional Oktoberfest celebration at Castle Island with beer, food, music, and fun!
Small Mart: Halloween Edition @ Crystal Ballroom @ 11AM Expect a lineup of vendors bringing you the best in vintage, handmade, and artist-made goods leaning into the spooky, eerie, and seasonally inspired.
Style Exchange: Allston Thrift Market @ 12PM Come browse 50+ racks and shop your neighbor's closet!
After Midnite: ‘Scream 4’ Screening @ Coolidge Corner Theatre @ 11:59PM
‘Wild Kratts’ Live Show @ Hanover Theatre @ 1PM Dive into adventure with the Kratt Brothers as they combine live action & animation in this family-friendly show.
Beck @ MGM Music Hall @ 8PM With Ioanna Gika & Wayne Faler
Sylvan Esso @ House of Blues @ 7PM With Arushi Jain
Sugar @ Roadrunner @ 8PM With J. Robbins
Kidz Bop Daytime Party @ Paradise Rock Club @ 12:30PM
Club 90s: Michael Jackson Night @ Paradise Rock Club @ 9PM
Gilla Band @ Brighton Music Hall @ 7PM
Slapshot @ Big Night Live @ 12PM With Agnostic Front, Bold, DYS, Restraining Order, & Wisdom In Chains
Mo Lowda & the Humble @ Royale @ 7PM With Surf Hat
Restricted @ Royale @ 10PM
Parmida Keshani @ The Grand @ 10PM
Costa @ Mémoire @ 10PM
Zach John King @ The Sinclair @ 8PM With Jacob Hackworth
Hyperlinked: A Girl EDM + Hyperpop Party @ The Sinclair @ 9PM
The Dillinger Escape Plan @ The Palladium @ 7PM With Many Eyes, Johnny Booth, & Godseyes
Alice Smith @ City Winery @ 7:30PM
Noshows + Belle Blue @ City Winery @ 7:30PM
SUNDAY - OCTOBER 18th
Patriots vs New York Jets @ Gillette Stadium @ 1PM
Halloween Craft & Fun Fair @ The Cosmic Bush @ 10AM This family-friendly day includes 70+ talented local artists and vendors, special foods, games, craft-making, raffles, and more!
Silents, Please: ‘Frankenstein (1931)’ Screening @ Somerville Theatre @ 2PM
For KING + COUNTRY @ Wang Theatre @ 7PM
Brand New @ Roadrunner @ 8PM
Sienna Spiro @ House of Blues @ 7PM With Summer Joy
Lauren Sanderson @ Brighton Music Hall @ 7PM With Xkylar
Battle of the Sexes: DJ Battle @ Big Night Live @ 10PM
Allison Russell @ Royale @ 6PM With Autumn Nicholas
Carly Pearce @ The Sinclair @ 8PM With Belle Frantz
Howley @ Crystal Ballroom @ 7:30PM
Scene Queen @ The Palladium @ 8PM With Wargasm & Bailey Spinn
Viva Las Elvis @ City Winery @ 7:30PM Featuring award-winning Dan Fontaine & Memphis Sun Mafia
Oh He Dead @ City Winery @ 7:30PM
ALL WEEKEND
FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Akaash Singh Stand-Up @ The Wilbur
FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Robert Kelly Stand-Up @ Laugh Boston
FRIDAY & SATURDAY - Caitlin Peluffo Stand-Up @ The Comedy Studio
SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Boston Veg Food Fest @ Reggie Lewis Athletic Center The festival brings together an amazing array of providers of 100% plant-based food and lifestyle products, notable speakers and chefs, and educational exhibitors in a fun and welcoming environment.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Wind Walkers @ The Palladium With True North & If Not For Me
SATURDAY & SUNDAY - Drop-In Artmaking @ MFA @ 10AM
Get inspired by artwork in the collection, then use the art materials provided to create a work of your own.
SATURDAY & SUNDAY - ‘Perfect Memory’ Installation + Workshop @ ICA This installation draws inspiration from the ICA and invites visitors to reflect how water shapes Boston’s past and future.
All weekend - Head of the Charles Regatta Since 1965, rowers have come from near and far to take part in the world’s largest Regatta. Make sure to check out the best viewpoints in the city!
All weekend - Olivia Rodrigo @ TD Garden With Wolf Alice
All weekend - ‘Theater of Magic’ Experience @ The Liberty Hotel Boston’s Theater of Magic at The Liberty Hotel transforms an iconic landmark into an intimate stage for world-class illusions, magic-themed cocktails, and five-star hospitality. Ends 10/31.
All weekend - Boston Palestine Film Festival @ Multiple Venues The Boston Palestine Film Festival presents compelling films with independent views of Palestine’s history, culture, and geographically dispersed society. Ends 10/25.
All weekend - Boston Asian American Film Festival @ Various Venues
BAAFF empowers Asian American filmmakers and showcases Asian American experiences and perspectives through award-winning films. Ends 10/25.
All weekend - ‘Fablecore and More’ Film Program @ The Brattle This curated program features fantasy and indie films that playfully reimagine traditional tropes into unique and fresh stories.
All weekend - Tchaikovsky & Simon in Concert @ Symphony Hall Hilary Hahn, one of the world’s great violinists, pairs with acclaimed cellist Seth Parker Woods in a concert of beloved Tchaikovsky pieces.
All weekend - ‘Late Nite Catechism: ‘Til Death Do Us Part’ Comedy Show @ Charles Playhouse After teaching countless students about the saints, venial sins, limbo and more, Sister is now offering up hilarious lessons on the Sacraments of Marriage and the Last Rites. Ends 11/22.
All weekend - ‘Taylor Mac and Matt Ray: Songs From Bark of Millions’ Performance @ Emerson Paramount Center An electrifying collision of performance, live music, and drag, this special spectacle celebrates queer history and provides space to contemplate the future.
All weekend - ‘Wicked’ Musical @ Citizens Opera House An ultimate Broadway sensation, this timeless musical looks at what happened in the Land of Oz…but from a different angle. Ends 11/15.
All weekend - ‘Operation Mincemeat’ Musical @ Emerson Colonial Theatre A stolen corpse, a fake love letter, and a wild true story tell how one secret mission changed the course of World War II - all packed into one hilarious true story. Ends 10/25.
All weekend - ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ Play @ The Huntington Theatre Don’t miss your chance to see Academy Award winner Aaron Sorkin’s stellar adaptation of Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork. Ends 11/8.
All weekend - ‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors’ Play @ Mosesian Center for the Arts Filled with clever wordplay and pop culture references, this 90-minute, gender-bending, quick-changing, laugh-out-loud reimagining of the gothic classic is perfect for audiences of all blood types. Ends 11/1.
All weekend - ‘The Rocky Horror Show’ Musical @ Company Theatre Just in time for spooky season, this deliberately kitschy rock ’n’ roll sci-fi gothic musical is more fun than ever! Ends 10/18.
All weekend - ‘The Covenant’ Play @ Calderwood Pavilion ‘Covenant’ is a Southern Gothic thriller about myth-making, moral panic, and the stories people choose when the truth is too inconvenient. Ends 10/17.
All weekend - ‘All My Sons’ Play @ Lyric Stage Inspired by a true story, Arthur Miller’s classic drama explores how decisions result in untold consequences. Ends 10/18.
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 10/25.
Ongoing - Open Market @ SoWa @ 11AM One of the largest open-air farmer and artist markets returns this summer season! Ends 11/15.
Ongoing - Jack-O’-Lantern Nights @ Stone Zoo Experience the magic of autumn after dark as Stone Zoo transforms into a glowing wonderland filled with hundreds of illuminated pumpkins, larger-than-life sculptures and family-friendly Halloween fun. Ends 10/31.
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 11/8.
Ongoing - ‘Discovering King Tut’s Tomb’ Exhibition @ Saunders Castle at Park Plaza From breathtaking golden artifacts to a state-of-the-art VR journey into the pharaoh’s tomb, this interactive exhibit is a unique chance to step into the wonders of Ancient Egypt. Ends 10/18.
Ongoing - ‘Music America’ Exhibition @ Wang Theatre Featuring more than 100 legendary artifacts, ‘Music America’ traces 250 years of music history, from early folk song books and hymnals to contemporary musical production.
Ongoing - ‘Split I Second’ Exhibition @ MIT Museum Bringing together scientific instruments and artworks spanning 340 years, this exhibition invites visitors to consider how we can measure time inspired and driven by natural cycles, with human interventions which shape our notions of the concept itself. Ends 1/4/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Sinister Streets & Salem Stories’ Guided Tour @ Peabody Essex Museum Join the museum for a behind-the-scenes guided tour that pairs its most popular, haunting walking tour with an inside look at objects from the PEM collection. Ends 11/6.
Ongoing - ‘Suzanne Jackson: What Is Love’ Exhibition @ MFA The first retrospective devoted to the artist’s career, the exhibition celebrates Suzanne Jackson’s groundbreaking vision of the natural world and connectedness. Ends 1/18/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Maverick Kings’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition focuses on three celebrated rulers of the 18th Dynasty, known as ancient Egypt’s “golden age,” exploring their lives and legacies through art, statues, and other ancient artefacts. Ends 12/6.
Ongoing - ‘Öyvind Fahlström: Are You Happy?’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition explores Öyvind Fahlström’s career through a range of playful multimedia works known for their audience participation and biting political commentary. Ends 2/27/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Naoko Matsubara’s Woodblock Worlds’ Exhibition @ MFA Featuring the artist’s bold, expressive woodblock prints, the exhibition traces Naoko Matsubara’s illustrious career through specific geographical locations - Kyoto, Boston, Toronto, and Tibet. Ends 5/16/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Donna Ferrato: ‘Living with the Enemy’ and the Power of Women’ Exhibition @ MFA Pioneering photojournalist and women’s rights activist, Donna Ferrato presents a series of vivid photographs that portray women’s private, professional, and political lives, emphasizing their enduring strength, as well as the need for protection and empowerment. Ends 2/28/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Picasso, Miró, Dalí: Unbound’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition introduces the imaginative world of three famous artists’ books or ‘livres d’artiste,’ where original sketches, thoughts, and experimental techniques are showcased in extraordinary and unexpected ways. Ends 1/24/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Reality and Imagination: Rembrandt and the Jews in the Dutch Republic’ Exhibition @ MFA This exhibition draws on the MFA’s collection of Dutch art and Judaica to explore the different ways Jewish communities interacted with the artistic culture of Holland in the 1600s. Ends 11/29.
Ongoing - ‘90 YEARS’ Exhibition @ ICA NEW - This special anniversary exhibition revisits nine exhibitions and initiatives from the ICA’s extraordinary history, tracing the museum’s evolution alongside the ever-changing landscape of contemporary art.
Ongoing - ‘To My Best Friend’ Exhibition @ ICA Drawing from more than 50 artworks from the collection, this exhibition highlights a consistent interest in formal and material experimentation through works by historically underrepresented and women artists. Ends 12/31.
Ongoing - ‘Cynthia Daignault: Valley’ Exhibition @ ICA See how Daignault disassembles the monumental scale of traditional history painting in her intimate, episodic paintings in this special multi-panel installation. Ends 1/18/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Leilah Babirye: Wedding of Naki and Naki’ Exhibition @ ICA Ugandan sculptor Leilah Babirye premieres a new body of ceramic and wood sculptures inspired by the idea of the queer wedding. Ends 1/18/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Pınar Öğrenci: Glück auf in Deutschland’ Exhibition @ Harvard Art Museums Centering around the construction of postwar German identity in industrial regions, this exhibition invites visitors to reflect on memory, labor, and belonging. Ends 10/18.
Ongoing - ‘The Book of Esther in the Age of Rembrandt’ Exhibition @ ISG Museum This exhibition illuminates how the ancient story of a Jewish heroine became a source of inspiration for people across faiths in the 17th-century Netherlands. Ends 1/18/2027.
Ongoing - ‘Isamu Noguchi: I Am Not A Designer’ Exhibition @ Peabody Essex Museum As one of the 20th century’s most critically acclaimed and genre-blurring artists, Noguchi created a remarkable design legacy encompassing sculpture, lighting, furniture, ceramics and designs for public spaces, which are explored in this major retrospective. Ends 1/3/2027.