[Boston-Area Action 9/11/2026] Show-Going Plans & New Show Announcements
Posted on September 11, 2026 at 10:37 am | No Comments
Alright, so the weekly Wednesday Boston-area shows thing became a Thursday thing became a Friday thing. I’m still recovering physically & emotionally from last weekend’s incredible DromFest out in Catskill, New York, and also from dental surgery (ouch) while juggling work & stuff. Someday maybe I will take a restful vacation.
So before the week ends, here’s a quick rundown of what’s on deck show-wise for the Boston area over the next handful of days, along with recent area announcements. Just ones that jumped out at me, things I definitely will/might go to alongside possible things of interest to friends (or their kids?). Far from all-encompassing. For the lists, scroll down beneath my ramble, or hit the right column on the Almanac over there –>
Not a lot planned for me personally this weekend, I think my ears (and teeth) need some time off, but I’ll probably swing by the ongoing Friday night Hilken/Melissa residency over at Notch Brewing (Brighton), which has guests Nature Machine & Bob Bradshaw this week. Tonight also has garage rock combo Cava over from Berlin at the Midway with locals Lupo Città, and Megan From Work with Julez & the Rollers and Circus Trees at Deep Cuts.
Tomorrow gives us this a couple of fests: The annual Jamaica Plain Music Festival at the Pineback Baseball Field in JP (duh), and the Moon Over Salem Fest up in, well, you can guess what city that’s in. Wu-Tang is at Xfinity Center that night, and DeVotchKa plays songs from “Little Miss Sunshine” at the The Sinclair, too. For a few more things going on this week, including this month’s edition of Which Side?: A Protest Music Teach-Out on Tuesday, check out the full list below.
Announcement-wise, a few things, including a dream team-up: freakin’ Caspian & Pile are playing together at the Paradise in December with the Infinity Ring. Tickets are already on sale, so get on that. Also very psyched for the reunion of Fuzzy at the October edition of the Earfull Series. Their drummer, David Ryan, is one of the featured authors, so he’ll be joining them for a few songs, along with singer/guitarist Chris Toppin, who hasn’t been on a stage with them in quite awhile. That’ll sell out for sure, especially with author Nick Flynn & Arto Vaun’s band rounding out the bill. Tix on sale Wednesday.
Also announced was the 3-day Julien Baker residency at the Middle East Downstairs in October. Tickets can only be snagged in person tomorrow at the MidEast box office, and there are probably already people lined up. I’m just gonna hold on to my fond memories of seeing her at ArtsRiot in 2018, and let people who can better deal with the crowds go to these. Although I would really love to hear those new songs. Hmm.
Other announcements that struck my fancy: Patrick Stickles of Titus Andronicus was switched in as opener for Hallelujah The Hills’ October show, Advance Base is playing at Deep Cuts in December, and at long last, Beirut returns to town to play at Roadrunner in April. Feels so far away, but what’s another half-year after waiting for seven?
There’s also a potential announcement that might get certain friends of mine very, very excited: Oasis has been teasing something, and they’ve shared a video on Instagram that includes references to “Gillette”, “Brady”, “March 11th”, and “1995”. They played Boston on March 11th, 1995. So, yeah, draw whatever conclusion from that you’d like. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
On to the lists. Comments, queries, corrections, omissions, leave a note. See you out there. Go to a show. See the band. As Hugo B. said a couple days ago, you never know if it’ll be your last chance.
First, imminent Boston-area shows of (my/your?) interest…
Friday, September 11th
The Hilken Mancini &
Melissa Gibbs Residency
Week 6 with guests
Nature Machine &
Bob Bradshaw
free @ Notch Brewing Brighton
Friday, September 11th
Old Tom & the Lookouts
Billy Dodge Moody
@ the Lizard Lounge
Friday, September 11th
Cava (Berlin)
Lupo Citta
@ the Midway
Friday, September 11th
Megan From Work
Julez & the Rollers
Circus Trees
@ Deep Cuts
Saturday, September 12th
Marlon Magnée
(of La Femme)
Freezepop
@ Brighton Music Hall
Saturday, September 12th
JP Music Fest
@Pineback Baseball Field, JP
Saturday, September 12th
Moon Over Salem
lineup announced, with…
Bad Idea USA, Belly Porba,
Big Time, Cape Crush,
Catnap, Couch Sex (reunion),
Earthlore, In/Shreds,
Jude Ivy, Pintail, & more
@ Cinema Salem
Saturday, September 12th
Mountain Movers
Blindspot
The Blind Morning
@ the Square Root
Saturday, September 12th
Danny Elfman
@ MGM Music Hall
Saturday, September 12th
Wu-Tang Clan
Bone Thugs-N-Harmony
@ the Xfinity Center
Saturday, September 12th
Devotchka
plays “Little Miss Sunshine”
@ the Sinclair
Saturday, September 12th
Brian Fallon & the Painkillers
(of the Gaslight Anthem)
@ the Somerville Armory
Saturday, September 12th
“Welcome Back My Friends”
an evening of
Emerson, Lake, & Palmer
(Carl Palmer with digital E&L)
@ the Cabot
Saturday & Monday
September 12th & 14th
Rush
@ TD Garden
Sunday, September 13th
Maidin (from NYC)
Arto Vaun
DJ Kathy Snax
@ State Park
Sunday, September 13th
Kim Gordon
Voyeur
@ the Paradise
Sunday, September 13th
Graham Nash
@ Boarding House Park, Lowell
Sunday, September 13th
Rufus Wainwright
@ City Winery
Monday, September 14th
Aldous Harding
@ the Sinclair
Tuesday, September 15th
Slow Quit
Muzzle
Lana Leone
7-11 Jesus
@ O’Brien’s
Tuesday, September 15th
Show Me The Body
The Whispers
Jivebomb
Holder
@ the Paradise
Tuesday, September 15th
Which Side Are You On?:
A Protest Music Teach-Out.
this month featuring
BVOCAL, La Chusma,
Shaw Pong Liu, Sidy Maiga,
Richie Parsons, Matt York,
& the Paid Protesters
@ the Burren Backroom
And now, recently announced Boston-area shows…
Wednesday, October 14th
The EARFULL series
writers reading,
songwriters performing.
with authors
David Ryan & Nick Flynn
and bands
Arto Vaun & Fuzzy
(reunited with original
drummer/author David Ryan!)
@ the Regattabar
Saturday, October 17th
Patrick Stickles
(from Titus Andronicus)
added as opener for
Hallelujah the Hills
@ Deep Cuts
Wednesday, Thursday, & Friday
October 21st, 22nd, & 23rd
Julien Baker & her band
three night residency
@ the Middle East Downstairs
Friday, November 13th
Madeon
Anamanaguchi
@ Big Night Live
Sunday, November 22nd
“Hollow Harvest”
a benefit for Pair Project
with Autumn Hollow,
Nate Perry & Ragged Company,
& the Jamie Walker Band
@ the Burren
Friday, December 4th
Caspian
Pile
The Infinity Ring
@ the Paradise
Sunday, December 6th
Advance Base
@ Deep Cuts
Monday, April 5th
Beirut
@ Roadrunner
[Boston-Area Action 9/3/2026] Show-Going Plans & New Show Announcements
Posted on September 3, 2026 at 10:20 am | No Comments
Hey, it’s (past) time for the weekly (supposed to be) Wednesday Boston-area upcoming & announced shows post. If I had gotten this done yesterday as I’d planned then I’d have reminded you to go see the Fixx, Colin Blunstone, & Peter Asher at the Somerville Theatre last night, or maybe catch the show over at Q Division. Alas, hopefully you went without my absent reminder.
For impending area shows of interest happening this week, I’ll start with tonight’s right-up-my-alley pairing of the rarely-seen Dumptruck with Mary Lou Lord at Deep Cuts. That’s where I’ll be, at least. Maybe Robyn at Agganis is more your speed? There’s also a pretty killer Tom Petty tribute going on at Lou’s in Harvard Square that I wish was on a different night. And jeez, Quicksand is playing, too. Another tough one to miss.
As far as the rest of the weekend goes, I’ll be away again (I’d never miss a DromFest), but you should totally hit the Hilken & Melissa-curated weekly free Friday evening show at Notch Brewing (Brighton), where Mike Gent (the Figgs) & Chris Colbourn (Buffalo Tom) will be playing. I’d be there if I was here, then maybe at the Peter Hook show at the House of Blues afterwards (the Sox aren’t in town, so it’ll be less of a cluster down there).
It kills me that I’m missing the return of The Specific Heats on Saturday, who are celebrating their new record with the help of Adult Learners at the Lilypad. Monday brings a post-DromFest area appearance from a couple of ace, and long-absent, bands: Via & Nice Strong Arm. They’ll be playing Deep Cuts with openers Astral B.itch. Will I be too exhausted from my weekend away to make it out? Time will tell.
Announcement-wise, details on newly-booked shows from Hedge, Little Barrie, Dinosaur Jr., another chance to catch the Specific Heats, and more can be found below, and in the longer list over in the right column over there –>
As always, corrections and your own personal recommendations are not just welcome, but encouraged. Leave a comment with what I missed. I do not judge. At least not out loud.
The lists…
First, imminent Boston-area shows of (my/your?) interest…
Thursday, September 3rd
Dumptruck
Mary Lou Lord
@ Deep Cuts
Thursday, September 3rd
Robyn
Avalon Emerson & the Charm
@ Agganis Arena
Thursday, September 3rd
The Hardest Part:
A Tribute to Tom Petty
@ Lou’s, Harvard Square
Thursday, September 3rd
Reverend Horton Heat
Messer Chups
@ City Winery
Thursday, September 3rd
Quicksand
Bane
Soulblind
@ the Royale
Friday, September 4th
The Hilken Mancini &
Melissa Gibbs Residency
Week 5 with guests
Mike Gent (the Figgs)
& Chris Colbourn (Buffalo Tom)
free @ Notch Brewing Brighton
Friday, September 4th
Peter Hook & the Light
play New Order’s “Get Ready”
@ House of Blues
Friday, September 4th
Zola Simone
Shallow Pools
TWAM
@ Deep Cuts
Friday, September 4th
Lily Allen
performs “West End Girl”
@ MGM Music Hall
Friday, Saturday, & Sunday
September 4th, 5th, & 6th
Esperanza Spalding
@ City Winery
Saturday, September 5th
The Specific Heats
(record release show!)
Adult Learners
@ the Lilypad
Saturday & Sunday
September 5th & 6th
James Taylor & his band
@ MGM Music Hall
Saturday, September 5th
Violent Femmes
@ Cape Cod Melody Tent
Sunday, September 6th
Violent Femmes
@ South Shore Music Circus
Monday, September 7th
Nice Strong Arm
Via
Astral Bitch
@ Deep Cuts
Tuesday, September 8th
John Fogerty
Steve Winwood
@ the Pavilion
And now, recently announced Boston-area shows…
Thursday, September 17th
(rescheduled from 9/3)
The Grownup Noise
@ the Condon Shell, Medford
Saturday, September 19th
Roslindale Porchfest!
including a show with
The Specific Heats
& Frisson
@ Roslindale, duh
Saturday, September 19th
Doss
Moon by Moon
Birdbath
Intac (solo)
@ somewhere in Brighton
(ask a punk)
Saturday, September 19th
Andy California
Nnnice Guys
The Swettes
Pledge Pins
@ Lou Ann David Park
in Somerville
Thursday, October 8th
The Movielife
Travis Shettel (Piebald)
True Crime
@ the Somerville Armory
Thursday, October 22nd
Declaw
Hedge
Dagwood
Something Sneaky
@ Deep Cuts
Friday, October 23rd
Little Barrie
@ the Lilypad
Wednesday, October 28th
Small Pond
Otis Shanty
Bus Crush
@ Deep Cuts
November 28th
Bim Skala Bim
@ the Cut
March 13th
Dinosaur Jr.
@ the House of Blues
Catskill, here I come…