Summer Events at the BPL
Free Concerts in the Courtyard at the BPL will return for summer 2014. / Photograph by Olga Khvan
Who said you can’t make noise at the library? The very Instagram-able McKim courtyard of the Boston Public Library is readying itself to once again become one of our favorite summer oases in the city.
The BPL’s popular—and free—Concerts in the Courtyard series will kick off June 4, bringing lively musical performances to the otherwise tranquil Zen-like space. Performances will range from classical to jazz and world to folk music, with June’s performances featuring sets by Berklee students and alumni.
All the performances take place Wednesdays at 6 p.m. or Fridays at 12:30 p.m., so they’re an excellent way to wind down in the middle of your work week or relax during lunch.
While you’re there, impress your friends with this fun fact: The statue at the center of the courtyard’s fountain is a replica of Bacchante and Infant Faun by Frederick William MacMonnies.
The BPL’s architect, Charles Follen McKim, offered up the original sculpture in 1896, but the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union made such a huge hubbub about the “drunken indecency” of the staue that the library had to decline. The original was given to the Met in New York instead.
Since then, the replica was placed in the BPL, and the original found its way back to Boston and can now be found at the MFA.
Anyway, here’s the lineup for this summer’s Concerts in the Courtyard series at the BPL:
Wednesday, June 4, 6 p.m.: Daniel Rotem Trio, world, jazz
Friday, June 6, 12:30 p.m.: KeL, jazz, pop
Wednesday, June 11, 6 p.m.: Wambura Mitaru, funk, soul, R&B, jazz, hip-hop
Friday, June 13, 12:30 p.m.: Jenna Moynihan and Mairi Chaimbeul, folk
Wednesday, June 18, 6 p.m.: The Western Den, folk
Friday, June 20, 12:30 p.m.: Ahmad El Haggar, world
Wednesday, June 25, 6 p.m.: 3 Sudacas, Latin
Friday, June 27, 12:30 p.m.: Miriam Elhajli, folk
Wednesday, July 2, 6 p.m.: Kendall Ramseur, classical cellist
* Note: The BPL will be closed Friday, July 4, for Independence Day.
Wednesday, July 9, 6 p.m.: Cruzamente Quintet, jazz, Latin
Friday, July 11, 12:30 p.m.: Erika Van Pelt, pop
Wednesday, July 16, 6 p.m.: Amaryllis Chamber Ensemble, classical
Friday, July 18, 12:30 p.m.: Lindsay Straw, folk
Wednesday, July 23, 6 p.m.: Patrick Coman, blues, folk
Friday, July 25, 12:30 p.m.: Cardamom Quartet, classical
Wednesday, July 30, 6 p.m.: Susan Cattaneo, country, rock, soul, blues, folk
Friday, August 1, 12:30 p.m.: Properly Unprepared, jazz
Wednesday, August 6, 6 p.m.: Darlingside, folk
Friday, August 8, 12:30 p.m.: Boston Lyric Opera, opera
Wednesday, August 13, 6 p.m.: Caitlin Canty, folk
Friday, August 15, 12:30 p.m.: The Jason Palmer Quartet, jazz
Wednesday, August 20, 6 p.m.: Fernando Holz Band, jazz, world
Friday, August 22, 12:30 p.m.: Bill Lowe, jazz
Wednesday, August 27, 6 p.m.: The Ron Murphy Band, jazz
Friday, August 29, 12:30 p.m.: American Century Music, classical
Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St., Boston, 617-536-5400, bpl.org.
Want more summer? Of course you do.
Check out our June cover story, “Summer in the City.”
Plus: more summer series at local venues.
