Five Reasons to Leave the House This Weekend
PorchFest 2015. / Photo courtesy of Somerville Arts Council
MUSIC
Porchfest 2016
This Saturday, if you’ve grown tired of typical music venues, turn to an often-overlooked one—the porch. In Somerville, local musicians of all genres will strum, howl, and groove from porches across town, greeting the ears of pedestrians with fresh tunes. The Somerville Arts Council started the event in 2011 after a resident who had been to Ithaca’s PorchFest brought them the idea. Since then, the event has grown from about 50 musical acts five years ago to around 200 this year. “The thing I think is amazing about [Porchfest] is the diversity of the music. There’s everything from classical to jazz to electronic,” says Somerville Arts Council director Gregory Jenkins. “It’s one citywide festival of music. If you have 200 bands playing over six hours, that’s such a large, symphonic sound.”
Free, Saturday, May 21, noon-6 p.m., Somerville, 617-625-6600 ext. 2985, somervilleartscouncil.org.
Photo via Trump vs. Bernie Facebook Page
MAKE COMEDY GREAT AGAIN
Trump vs. Bernie
Catch comedians Anthony Atamanuik and James Adomian star as Trump and Sanders in this cackle-worthy parody of two presidential candidates. In the New York Times, arts writer Jason Zionman praised the show after he saw it in October, writing, “James Adomian, a virtuoso comic with a gift for impersonating cranks and eccentrics (his Jesse Ventura is a classic), played Mr. Sanders masterfully (with a Brooklyn accent that’s a croaky delight) and Anthony Atamanuik impersonated Mr. Trump with pursed lips and haywire nonchalance.”
$20, Saturday, May 21, 7 p.m., The Wilbur, 246 Tremont St., Boston, 617-248-9700, trumpvsbernie.com.
Image Courtesy of Oliver Best Markets
SHENANIGANS
1st Annual Boston Thumb-Wrestling Competition
Think you have what it takes to thumb down the competition and become Boston’s reigning thumb-wrestling champion? Step up to the plate at Pop Allston this weekend and put your digit strength to the test. The tournament will go down in a classic wrestling arena—a thumb-sized ring built by the marketing director of Oliver Best Markets, Evan Gillis. The winner will take home a $50 gift card to Vivant Vintage and a championship belt, plus bragging rights of course. “It’s pretty quirky, it’s pretty wacky, it’s pretty fun, and that’s what our market is supposed to be about too,” says Oliver Best Markets owner Justin Pomerleau.
$1 donation suggested, Saturday, May 21, noon-6 p.m., Pop Allston, 89 Brighton Ave., Allston, 857-228-8565, facebook.com.
Fitz and the Tantrums. / Photo by WME Entertainment
FESTIVAL
EarthFest 2016
Radio 92.9 is bringing acclaimed indie pop bands Fitz and the Tantrums, Joywave, and the Strumbellas to Boston for its annual free music festival at the Hatch Shell this Saturday. The winner of the Radio 92.9 EarthFest Battle of the Bands will do the honors of playing the first set of the show, presented by Whole Foods and hosted in conjunction with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Eco-friendly vendors and an interactive activity called Kid’s Planet will be ongoing during the festival.
Free, Saturday, May 21, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., DCR Hatch Memorial Shell, 47 David G. Mugar Way, Boston, 617-822-9600, myradio929.com.
Photo courtesy of Lawn on D
SUMMER
Opening Day at Lawn on D
Lawn on D, an outdoor recreational space in South Boston, opens for the summer this weekend with no shortage of free events. Saturday afternoon, there will be a children’s festival, complete with a New England Aquarium Tidepool and Boston Frosty soft-serve, followed by a concert at 7 p.m. headlined by Boston’s own MB Padfield and Never in Vegas. The fun doesn’t stop there—expect more free activities Sunday, from a jazz brunch featuring Berklee College of Music Student Jazz Ensembles to an outdoor screening of Fever Pitch.
Free, Saturday, May 21, and Sunday, May 22, Lawn on D, 420 D St., Boston, 877-393-3393, signatureboston.com.
