🥰👯 Meet your new Boston besties

It’s Thursday, Boston.

👎 Bad news: The new cast of “Dancing with the Stars” just dropped, but Karen Read is NOT on the list. 

👍 Good news: All Time Low surprised local emo fans with a free pop-up concert at Cisco Brewers in the Fenway on Tuesday, and our FOMO is REAL.

👀 What’s on tap today:

• COVID boosters are SO back

• Here comes the deal train!

• Boston’s song of the summer

Up first…

THE BIG MOVE

You survived 9/1. Now what?

You’ve got your keys to your apartment.  Next stop: The keys to the city. 

With move-in stress *hopefully* behind you, now comes to the fun part: actually enjoying Boston. Here’s how we’d settle into our new digs (and yes, this still applies to everyone!): 

📚 Get a freakin’ library card!!! We can’t stress enough how this free little piece of plastic can save you hundreds. And we’re not just talking about books. Think:

• $10 passes to the Museum of Fine Arts and ICA

• Free admission for four visitors to the Museum of Science, Aquarium, and Mapparium

• 50% ferry tickets to the Boston Harbor Islands

• $9 tickets to the Franklin Park Zoo

• Paddleboarding on the Charles (!)

• Free access to The Boston Globe, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal

• Check out the rest of the list here!

⭐ Bonus: If you’re a Boston newb, let us put you onto the BPL Passport Program. This premise: Visit all 26 BPL locations to get acquainted with Boston’s neighborhoods. Collect 10 stamps, you get a branded magnet; collect all 26 and get a deck of custom playing cards.

👯 Find your Boston buddies. We’re obviously biased to our community of B-Side Members, but there are plenty of buddy groups and girl gangs to go around. See:

• Make Friends After College FB group: The name says it all. Bonus: They have free meets up around town all the time.

• Boston Amigas: A space for local women and nonbinary people. Side bar: Their outings look ADORABLE.

• Boston’s dating app for finding friends. The Livvi app was born from MIT students, matching you into a small group chat of strangers … then gets you IRL.

• Boston Girls Who Walk: Love hot girl walks and yapping? That’s exactly the vibe.

🎓 Put your student ID to WORK. The deal gods have been working OVERTIME for college students with some sweet new deals this season. See:

• Eight Handel and Haydn concerts for $20 (total!). It literally comes out to $2.50 a concert.

• $10 lunch at El Barco. Fuel up on hearty sandwiches and shareable small plates Monday to Friday. 

• $6 sandwiches at Pauli’s. Your fave North End sammie spot is showing college freshmen some love this September, offering any of Pauli’s signature sandwiches for just $6, every Friday from 1-3 p.m.

• And of course, you’ve got the old reliables, like $9 Red Sox tickets, free entry to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, and more.

🗳️ And it wouldn’t be a B-Side newsletter without … Reminding you to REGISTER. TO. VOTE! The cutoff to register for the Sept. 9 primary was technically Aug. 30, but you still have loads of time to register before the Nov. 4 municipal election (deadline is Oct. 25!). Here are three ways to do it.

TOGETHER WITH MFA BOSTON

A night to groove and be moved

🎶🌃🌟Dance. Reflection. Collective joy. For one night only, you can find all of this at Kinfolk Courtyard: A Celebration of Black Folk in the MFA’s Calderwood Courtyard. On Friday, Sep.12, immerse yourself in the infectious energy of movement and art with a powerhouse lineup of We Black Folk artists including Jake Blount, Grace Givertz, Cliff Notez, and more. Inside the museum, experience the visionary work of artist Minnie Evans. You’re not going to want to miss this. Free tickets available starting Tuesday, Sept. 9 at mfa.org.

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

💉 Good news: You CAN get a COVID booster in Mass. ICYMI: Mass. had a pesky rule that wouldn’t let pharmacists administer vaccines unless they were greenlit by a special CDC panel, forcing CVS pharmacies to hold off on offering the shots. And given concerns about federal restrictions on COVID boosters, Healey took matters into her own hands with a standing order, giving local pharmacists the thumbs up to give people the jab. Translation: Thanks to the new order, ALL folks over five-years-old can get the booster, not just those over 65 and at risk for severe COVID infections.

🪖 Boston is bracing for a potential National Guard deployment. Yep, just like what’s happening in D.C. … Federal officials hinted troops could take over South Station, citing crime and safety concerns (though the data suggest otherwise … ). But even in the event it’s all talk, Mayor Michelle Wu says the city is actively preparing for it. In other dystopian news … there are reports Trump’s admin is planning an immigration enforcement blitz in Boston in the coming weeks, leaving many international students and immigrant parents on edge.

🚂 Now arriving: The DEAL train. We can’t stomach a $400+ one-way first-class ticket on the new Acela trains, but we’re feasting on Amtrak’s Northeast September sale. The deal: Score up to 30% off regular coach fares on any Northeast Regional trains traveling between Boston and D.C. We found a one-way ticket from Boston to NYC for just $35! The deal is valid for travel from Sept. 8-30 — you’ve just gotta book by Sept. 5. So get to it!

🌴 The tribe has spoken: A “Survivor”-themed cafe is coming to Boston. The hit TV show announced the “Survivor Ultimate Fan Cafe” will open up shop at The Greatest Bar in the West End on Sept. 23 (the day before the 49th season premiere). Imagine: A Polynesian-fusion menu designed by a “Chopped” champion, show watch parties, and yes, trying your hand at challenges. But like any themed-experience, it’ll cost you: Entry starts at $30, with a $10 food and bev credit during your 90-minute res. Want in? Be the first to know when tickets drop here.

THINGS TO DO

Midweek plans

⛵ B-Side x Sofar At Sea | Friday, Sept. 5 | 7:30 p.m. | Our indie-rock sailboat concert sold out weeks ago, but our partners at Sofar Sounds released 20 tickets this morning! One pair is going to a lucky B-Side Member for free ($64 value) — enter here to win! 

🍻 Peroni Bocce Tournament | Saturday, Sept. 6 | 5:30-8:30 p.m. | Remember our Bocce Vita bocce tournament ticket deal? FIVE tickets will go to five lucky B-Side Members at half price. Enter here to win! Pizza, gift card prizes, and raffle entry are included. 

🏩 Speed Dating at Castle Island | Monday, Sept. 15 | 6:30-8:30 p.m. | $38 non-Member | $30 B-Side Member | Start your week off with a flurry of first dates at our speed-dating event with Boston Single Mingle. Members get a free drink along with an $8 discount. 

🥯 B-Side x Sustainable Swaps at Faneuil Hall | Saturday, Sept. 27 | 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. | Quincy Market 2nd floor | FREE | Trade sweaters for new fall clothes thanks to Sustainable Swaps, listen to local music, and grab a FREE PopUp Bagel at our massive fall swap. 

At B-Side events, members get perks like discounted entry, free drinks, B-Side swag, and more. Stay tuned for more meetups, and become a member to get your perks! 

POP QUIZ!

👀 Before you read on, we have to ask: What do YOU think was Boston’s song of the summer?

ONE LAST THING

Boston’s song of the summer

If you ask us … it was “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday.” But if you ask Spotify what Boston’s song of the summer was, it was "Ordinary" by Alex Warren. (Based on vibes, we think we’re still right.) 

Spotify's editors handpicked a list of the summer’s top tracks based on streaming data, cultural impact, and editorial insight, according to Axios. These were Boston’s top five songs:

1. "Ordinary" by Alex Warren.

2. "Manchild" by Sabrina Carpenter.

3. "back to friends" by sombr.

4. "Love Me Not" by Ravyn Lenae.

5. "Shake It To The Max (FLY) – Remix" by MOLIY, Silent Addy, Skillibeng & Shenseea.

And this probably won’t come as a shock after reading said list: Summer 2025 was the least danceable, lowest-energy summer for music in the last decade. A sign we’re still recovering from last year’s Brat summer.

— Written by Emily Schario

🕺 Thanks for reading! Let’s be real: An EDM remix of “Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday” would go SO hard.

💜 Special shoutout to today's sponsor, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city. 

💼 The results are in: 36% of respondents said they go into the office three to four days a week. We’re worried this reader might be held hostage: “I love commuting two hours a day to sit in my cubicle and take Zoom meetings! The best part; no windows!” Blink twice if you’re OK!

🍩 Doughnut note: The folks from Daily Provisions want to clarify that the free cruller deal for students this week is for the first 100 students on each day of the deal.

💃 Keep up with us @BostonBSide on IG, TikTok, and Twitter. Send comments and suggestions to [email protected] or [email protected].