✊🏾🎨 This week’s got ART and soul

It’s Monday, Boston.

🍸 Now THIS is a proper girl dinner: If you order any martini at the bar at Tall Order from 5 to 7 p.m. — a Globe-approved cocktail bar — they’ll throw in an order of fries for FREE. The best $14 we ever spent.

🎂 Happy birthday to B-Sider Taylor Lee! Your work bestie Miranda Cecil says hi. <3 Have a great day! 

👀 What’s on tap today:

• Mother Nature is coming in HOT

• Bye bye, Boston Calling

• Mass. movie madness

Up first…

ARTS & CULTURE

This week’s gonna be a MOVIE

BAMS Fest is back and bigger than ever! This year, Boston’s beloved art and music soul festival centering Black and brown artists is bookended by Momentum, a week of programming bringing fashion, film, poetry, and MORE into the fold.

So crack open your calendars because we have the day-by-day rundown:

🎵 June 25 kicks things off with a local music showcase. Eight musicians will take the stage at The Sinclair for Authenticity: A Boston Lover’s Dream, including Western Mass. soul singer Kimaya Diggs and Boston R&B artist Aric. B. Tickets are $32, grab ‘em here!

👠 June 26 is for fashionistas and female DJs. Kick the night off at S.O.U.L.STICE: Play Playe Edition, a free bash at Emerson’s UnCommon Corner with DJs, yard and card games, and curated karaoke. Then, take your pick between Runway Heat, a fashion and design showcase from local designers at the Liberty Hotel, or She’s in the Mix, a celebration of female DJs with workshops, conversation, and tons of music. Tickets start at $20 for both.

🎥 June 27 is all about film and festivities. Head to the MFA for a showing of “May the Lord Watch” with the Roxbury Film Festival, following the rise, breakup, and reunion of North Carolina rap group Little Brother (who will be in the house for a post-show fireside chat!). Then, close out the night at Make ‘Em Sweat, the official BAMS Fest kickoff party with drinks, vendors, and tons of great music at Artists for Humanity. Tickets are $25.

🎶🥳 June 28 is THE BIG DAY. A.k.a. BAMS Festival, a full music fest at Franklin Park’s playstead field. This year’s lineup includes R&B artist Lalah Hathaway, rap group Little Brother (YUP, the same ones!), and singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr. And don’t forget about the art, vendors, and food. Tickets are pay-what-you-wish, but the suggested donation is $10. 

📚 June 29 will showcase poets and producers. The poets will be at Just Book-Ish for the Wordspeak Lounge, a night of poetry meant to uplift, heal, agitate, and hold from nationally renowned and local poets and authors. Tickets are $20. Meanwhile, the producers will be at the Stew Beats Showcase in High Street Place, making beats in real time to compete for cash prizes. Tickets are $20.

👏🏾 June 30, we’re going out with a BANG. Or should we say … a BAM? The Mayor’s Office is co-hosting a free screening of “BAMS Festival: A Local Anomaly,” at City Hall followed by a fireside chat with the fest’s founder. 

🎟️ Ready to go? You can check out the full schedule and buy tickets HERE. 

TOGETHER WITH THE ISABELLA STEWART GARDNER MUSEUM 

Mother Nature is moving into the Gardner 

🌸🪻🎶 Hope you like your art with a side of giant fruit and frog ASMR. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum is going full nature-core this summer — from Ming Fay: Edge of the Garden’s oversized cherries and seed pods to Flowers for Isabella’s lush look at art and horticulture. Outside, Yu-Wen Wu: Reigning Beauty, 2025 takes over the Façade, featured as a part of this summer’s inaugural Boston Public Art Triennial 2025, while Lee Mingwei’s Small Conversation fills the Courtyard with nature sounds. It all kicks off with an evening program honoring artist Ming Fay on June 26. Reserve your spot in advance and experience it while it’s in full bloom. 

CITY

Quick & dirty headlines

🥵 Mother Nature is coming in HOT this summer. Like, really hot. Mayor Michelle Wu declared a heat emergency in Boston through Tuesday (a.k.a. two or more days in a row with a heat index over 95 degrees for two-plus hours). It looks like Tuesday will be the worst of it, with a heat index up to 107 degrees. To beat the heat, the city has plenty of free cooling centers, splash pads, and public pools (reserve a pool slot here). Staying inside if possible and hydrating will also be CRUCIAL. 

🎶 Boston Calling is taking a “gap year.” The fest announced it’ll be taking a break in 2026 and swapping its usual Memorial Day weekend slot for the first weekend of June in 2027. So far, the festival’s organizers have been tight-lipped about the hiatus, but that’s not stopping speculation about declining ticket sales, safety complaints, and mismanagement, not to mention mixed reviews of past lineups. The announcement’s top comment? “Oh nooo where will Cage the Elephant play now??” Fingers crossed for an epic return … but maybe swap The Killers for Doechii next time.

🔍 It was the verdict heard ‘round the world. The Karen Read trial might be over, but the internet discourse is NOT. Since the verdict came in, many folks surrounding the trial have spoken out, including multiple jurors (one walked the Globe through her mindset), the case’s controversial lead investigator Michael Proctor (who wants his job back), and John O’Keefe’s friends-slash-key witnesses who called the outcome a “miscarriage of justice.” Meanwhile, folks who had nothing to do with it (including Canton’s own Bill Burr) chimed in with their takes as well. 

🧋 It’s a great week for a *little treat*. And there are TWO new spots for you to get one. First, Park City, the 30,000-square-foot “adult playground” in Southie, is open for biz with drinks, live music, and a truly wide-ranging menu of lobster rolls, fried chicken, gyros, noodle bowls, and more. It’s open Friday through Sunday but additional details are still scarce. Meanwhile at The Foundry, Boston’s first Ube-themed cafe, Kuya Jay’s Ube Kafe, just opened. Think: Ube lattes, matcha, cookies, cakes, and more, all delightfully purple-hued. This latte looks incredible.

THINGS TO DO

Weekday plans

🥵 Watch a hot new bombshell enter the … dining room? That’s right! Capo in Southie is giving the people what they want: A “Love Island” watch party TONIGHT at 8 p.m.

😘 Get a little … smutty. Love romance novels? What about writing your own? Read My Lips is coming in hot with this intro to romance writing workshop on June 25. Learn the key pillars for a romance read, then get the juices flowing with some writing prompts.

😛 Visit Cambridge’s foodie Super Bowl. Taste Cambridge is BACK June 25 where you can sample alllll the food and drinks from the city’s best restaurants. Think: Roxy’s, Gufo, Veggie Galaxy, and more! 

💃 Slay the house down boots. Pride Month + Aeronaut’s monthly drag night = this queer icons drag show on June 25 hosted by Dykelangelo(!). Pro tip: Take 20% off your ticket if you’re a B-Side member. <3

👯 Win the award for best wingperson. Let’s just say, if you help find your bestie love at this LGBTQ+ pitch-a-friend event on June 25, you’re a first-round draft pick for maid of honor/best man. And even if you don't … there will be dogs.  

🎸 Pretend Boston Calling never ended. Co-Pilot is coming off their Orange Stage debut with a FREE outdoor performance at Cambridge Crossing’s summer night series on June 26. Expect lawn games, food trucks, and good vibes. 

🐷 Skip your Thursday meal prep. ‘Cause we’re going to Pig Beach’s whiskey dinner and tasting on June 26. It’s honestly a sweet deal: A $50 ticket gets you a welcome cocktail, three tastings, and a BBQ dinner (and includes tax and tip!).

🕺 Dust off your dancin’ shoes. You’ve got TWO outdoor dance parties on June 27: 1. Cambridge city-wide dance party with a sick light show. 2. Boston’s Donna Summer disco party (there will be roller skating!).  

QUICK QUESTION!

🎬 Which of these is the BEST movie filmed in Massachusetts?

ONE LAST THING

Mass. movie MADNESS

If you said “Good Will Hunting” is the best Mass. movie ever … you and thousands of Boston.com readers are on the same page.

The iconic film is the winner of the site’s Mass. Movie Madness bracket, where it beat out the likes of “Jaws,” “Little Women,” “Legally Blonde,” “The Holdovers,” and way, way more to take the crown, ultimately schooling “Jaws” with a 57% to 43% vote. Check out the whole bracket here.

But while we could’ve guessed “Good Will Hunting” would take the W, we definitely didn’t predict the bracket would make it on Late Night with Seth Meyers: “The website Boston.com is hosting a ‘what is the best Boston movie’ tournament-style bracket,” he joked, “and they’ve asked that you please stop writing in ‘ya mother’s sex tape.’” Thank you, Seth.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🎬 Thanks for reading! “Legally Blonde” didn’t even make it past the first round?! Come on!

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, for supporting local journalism and bringing culturally rich experiences to our city. 

🌡️ The results are in: 46% of readers say their AC units are already in — Gia can’t relate. One reader who doesn’t use AC at all wrote in one of the wilder Boston takes we’ve heard: “We wait all year for some heat so might as well enjoy it.” 

🎼 🎟️ Don't forget to grab your tickets to Best Day Ever, our Aug. 2 food, music, and shopping par-tay at Artists for Humanity!

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