🎟️ These tickets are a steal

It’s Wednesday, Boston.

🍦 How much ice cream can you eat in eight hours? You can find out at this year’s Jimmy Fund Scooper Bowl. This beloved all-you-can-eat ice cream extravaganza is returning to City Hall Plaza from June 4 to 6. The best part? Adult tickets are only $20.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• A shorter Sumner closure

• The Senate budget just dropped

• Tatum ties it up

Up first…

ARTS & CULTURE

Lights, camera, discounts

The city is in bloom, and so is the local arts and culture scene. We’re firm believers that you don’t need to shell out serious dough to catch a good show. 

Here are several spring performances that won’t drain your wallet:

🫶 If Boston Calling ain’t in this year’s budget … Club Passim is back with its beloved Campfire Festival this Memorial Day weekend. The four-day festival brings together emerging artists and experienced performers for a weekend of nonstop tunes in Harvard Square. But unlike Boston Calling, Campfire Festival’s single-day and weekend passes are only $15 and $30, respectively. Students with a valid ID can also get in for free at the door. 

🎻 If you need a break from Boston’s hustle and bustle … The Boston Public Library’s Concert in the Courtyard series is quite literally an urban oasis. Starting June 5, a slew of local musicians and Berklee students will serenade attendees with free one-hour performances at 6 p.m. Wednesdays and 12:30 p.m. Fridays in the stunning McKim Courtyard. It’s the closest thing to having a hot Italian summer in Boston.

🎭 If you want to see a Broadway show without paying Broadway prices … “A Strange Loop,” a musical that tells the story of Usher, a Black, queer writer writing a musical about a Black, queer writer, is on stage through May 25 at the Wimberly Theatre in the South End. This show cleaned up during awards season, winning the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. Tickets start at just $25. 

🎫 If you want cheap tickets to the soon-to-be hottest show in town … The American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge — lauded for its productions going to Broadway — is breathing new life into F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel with “Gatsby.” This new musical’s run starts May 23 and has already been extended given the buzz. If you’re a student or under 25, you can grab a ticket in advance for just $30 by shooting A.R.T. an email, a phone call, or showing up to the box office. 

⚾ If you want to take things offstage … The Huntington’s production of “Toni Stone” — a play exploring the true story of the first woman baseball player to play professionally on a men’s Negro League team — is taking things IRL with several baseball-themed events. See: A kickball event for Huntington fans under 40 and a screening of “A League of Their Own” at the Coolidge. Bonus: If you’re under 40, you can see any of Huntington's shows for just $40. 

👀 Speaking of good deals … Starting today through May 14, Live Nation is offering a concert week deal where fans can access $25 tickets for more than 5,000 shows. Here are the artists you can see at a discount. 

QUICK QUESTION

🛍️ We’re working on a story and could use your input. Where do you generally shop for food, clothes, and beauty items?

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

⚠️ This just in: Some rare good news about the Sumner Tunnel. Shot: MassDot announced the Sumner Tunnel will be totally closed from July 5 to August 5 to continue its massive renovation. And yes, this is actually good news, since it’s a full month less than expected in their original plan. Chaser: That means they’ll be making up for lost time by implementing weekend closures until potentially Thanksgiving. But like last summer, there will be detour routes and free MBTA alternatives. 

💸 We’re one step closer to having a new state budget. The Mass. Senate just dropped a nearly $58 billion FY 2025 budget proposal, which, aside from a few flashy new initiatives, doesn’t stray too far from the House’s version. The Senate’s proposal includes no increase in year-over-year spending on the state’s shelter system, significant spending on education (see: a free community college program), and a $40 million plan to make state regional transit authorities free year-round (!). Now, they’ll have to hammer it out with the House before shipping it to Gov. Healey for approval.

⛺ Pro-Palestinian protestors are turning up the heat. At MIT, protestors reclaimed the encampment on Monday after the university’s president imposed a deadline of 2:30 p.m. for demonstrators to pack up and leave. Meanwhile, over 300 Harvard professors have signed a petition calling for the university to walk back its threat to place protesting students on involuntary leave and instead opt for meaningful negotiations. Plus, tensions continued to rise at protests and rallies at UNH and RISD.

❤️ Bostonians love Boston … minus a few things. That’s according to a new poll from the Boston Policy Institute. In the poll, 79% of respondents rated their quality of life as either excellent or good, and 57% of voters surveyed said Mayor Wu was doing an excellent or good job. (Note: White folks over 60 were more likely to rate their quality of life higher compared with people of color and Gen X-ers.) That said, a majority of respondents agree on their dissatisfaction with the city’s handling of some classic Boston problem areas, such as rising prices, housing, and transit. 

GIVEAWAY

Together with Eataly 

Enter to win two complimentary class tickets to a Pasta alla Carbonara Class at Eataly on June 6. To enter, just refer a friend and have them accept your invite by the end of the day on May 8. If you’ve already referred a friend to B-Side (and they’ve accepted), you're eligible! Full details below*

18+. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Limit one entry per person. See Official Rules & an additional entry option here.

ONE LAST THING

Jayson Tatum ties it up

If you’re feeling a little rusty on your knot-tying skills, Celtics star Jayson Tatum can help.

Tatum just dropped the long-awaited sequel to his iconic 2013 YouTube video, “TIE A TIE,” which features an approximately 15-year-old Jayson Tatum giving a tutorial on, as the name suggests, tying a tie, but not before about a minute of clipart images of different types of knots. 

The sequel, “TIE A SHOE,” which went live just last week, is a beautiful recreation of the OG, with Tatum displaying the same teaching prowess and passion on a fresh subject, with the addition of 1080p HD video quality. 

Our only critique: It could’ve used some clipart. 

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

👟 Thanks for reading! The third video on his YouTube channel? A video he made (seemingly) to promote his high school, titled “J TATUM MOVIE”.

💳 The results are in: B-Siders are all about the credit card rewards. Nearly 50% of respondents said that they’re all in on stacking their card rewards for the best deals. One reader said: “Accumulating points to pay for honeymoon flights! Churn baby churn.”

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