Pioneer Valley
Offering 'booze, blues and BBQ,' this joint is a gem. Truly great blues and jazz acts get booked in the lively bar, and the barbecue is finger-lickin'…
Must-see entertainment in Massachusetts
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South End & Chinatown
When Wally's opened in 1947, Barbadian immigrant Joseph Walcott became the first African American to own a nightclub in New England. Old-school, gritty…
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The Berkshires
The old church made famous in Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant hosts a beloved Troubadour series, featuring folk concerts by the likes of Tom Chapin,…
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Cape Cod
On the grounds of the Cape Playhouse, this vintage movie theater shows foreign and independent films. It's a true art house: the entire ceiling is covered…
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Boston
Boston’s skillful ballet troupe performs modern and classic works at the Opera House. The program varies every year, but at Christmas they always put on a…
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South End & Chinatown
This radical theater company strives to be at the 'intersection of art and social change' by offering provocative performances and fostering socially…
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Boston
This lavish theater has been restored to its 1928 glory, complete with mural-painted ceiling, gilded molding and plush velvet curtains. The glitzy venue…
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Pioneer Valley
Here's an independent, nonprofit theater that uses solar panels to help power the films. That's all good, but the real reason to come here is for the…
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Boston
The six-time Super Bowl champs play football in the state-of-the-art Gillette Stadium, which is just 50 minutes south of Boston, but it’s hard to get a…
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Beacon Hill & Boston Common
Each summer, the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company stages a major production on the Boston Common, drawing crowds for (free) Shakespeare under the stars…
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Barbara Lee Family Foundation Theater
Boston
Against a gorgeous, blue-water backdrop, the glass theater at the ICA is one of its coolest features and a venue for dance, music and other performance…
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Massachusetts
This company stages excellent small-theater productions of classics and modern works. It's a small venue known for top-notch acting. Excellent summer…
South End & Chinatown
Boston’s biggest music and dance venue, the Boch Center is comprised of two theaters that face off across Tremont St. The main stage is the enormous,…
Cape Cod
By night, park your car at the 1950s-era Wellfleet Drive-In, where everything except the feature flick is true to the era. Grab a bite to eat at the old…
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South End & Chinatown
There’s rarely a dull moment at the BCA, which serves as a nexus for excellent small theater productions. Over 20 companies present more than 45 separate…
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South End & Chinatown
Built in 1839, the Charles Playhouse was originally a speakeasy, later a jazz club and finally a theater. With its backstreet location and underground…
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Boston
At the New England Aquarium, this IMAX cinema plays mostly educational 3D films on a six-story screen (the largest in New England). Many shows have an…
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Payomet Performing Arts Center
Cape Cod
The center's theme – 'national talent on a local stage' – rings true, with performances by everyone from folk icons Arlo Guthrie and Ani DiFranco to…
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Cape Cod
The Cape Playhouse is the oldest operating professional summer theater (since 1927) in the US. Bette Davis once worked here as an usher, and some of the…
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Boston
The Modern Theatre dates to 1876 and showed Boston's first 'talkie' in 1928. Nearly a century later, the building opened its doors again as a venue for…
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South End & Chinatown
The colonial-style Wilbur Theatre dates from 1914, and over the years has hosted many prominent theatrical productions. These days it is Boston’s premier…
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Boston
A basement theater is somehow the perfect setting for the dark humor spewing from the mouths of this offbeat crew. No topic is too touchy, no politics too…
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South End & Chinatown
This beautiful beaux-arts-style opera house dates to 1903. A century after its construction, the theater was sumptuously renovated and reopened by Emerson…
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Boston
The funny guys over at Improv Asylum decided that Boston needed a few more laughs, so they opened this premier, stand-up comedy club in the Westin Hotel…
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Boston's Western Suburbs
The Lowell Spinners, a Class A organization, is a Red Sox feeder team. Locally, it plays at this park, which is north of the center on the Merrimack River…
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Nantucket
This former fried-chicken shack has evolved into a roadhouse for live jazz and blues. Actually, depending on who's on the island, these days it can cover…
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Pioneer Valley
Opened in 2018, the MGM casino complex features an outdoor plaza and events space centered on the refurbished state armory, a building dating from 1895…
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The Berkshires
This renowned company often updates the Bard's plays to a contemporary setting, which is a fun twist. The company stages plays in its three on-site…
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Cape Cod
Whether you're looking to take in a musical or learn the basics of landscape painting, the overflowing calendar of events at the Cotuit Center For the…
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Boston
This art deco masterpiece, restored by Emerson College, reopened in 2010. Originally a 1700-seat, single-screen cinema, it was owned by Paramount Pictures…
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Massachusetts
This club across from the train station is the best place on Cape Ann to hear live music, with performances six nights a week, plus a 'sea chantey' sing…
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Springfield Symphony Orchestra
Pioneer Valley
This respected symphony orchestra – New England's largest outside of Boston – does monthly performances at Symphony Hall. The repertoire is diverse,…
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South End & Chinatown
With 1600 seats, the Shubert is smaller and more intimate than some of the other Theater District venues, thus earning the moniker ‘Little Princess.' The…
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South End & Chinatown
Head to this dive on a dark side street to experience the gay culture of the South End before gentrification took over. A shaded-lamp and pool-table kind…
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Pioneer Valley
This balconied theater is one of the oldest movie houses in the USA (1890), and one of the most beautiful. It shows first-run independent films, plus…
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Boston
TD Garden is home to the NHL Boston Bruins, who play hockey here from September to June, and the NBA Boston Celtics, who play basketball from October to…
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Pioneer Valley
The town's top venue for folk, rock and jazz with performers from Judy Collins to Dar Williams. Table seating means the atmosphere is pretty relaxed,…
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Pioneer Valley
This restored movie house hosts big-name performances with everything from hot rock and indie bands to comedy shows. The Gilded Era decor is pretty fancy,…
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Boston
A white sail-like tent with sweeping harbor views, this is a great venue for summer concerts. It seats about 5000 people, so you can actually see the…
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Pioneer Valley
This striking concert hall is the region's largest venue, located on the University of Massachusetts campus. It offers a full program of classical and…
