🤠💃 We’re going full hoedown throwdown

☕ Get in loser, we’re going to Ralph’s. No, not the truck — the new storefront in Seaport! Then we’re going to hit the Ralph Lauren store next door after, K?

📦 It’s almost August, which means … it’s moving season. We’re looking to feature insider tips and the best life lessons from people who have moved *a lot*. Sound like you? Give us your thoughts! 

🥳 And everyone wish a big HBD to B-Side Member, Bailey W.! We hope you ~move~ into this next year, double-fisting a Ralph’s coffee and a new polo. ;) 

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Scoot your boots! While we definitely can bust a mean “Cotton Eye Joe,” line dancing currently has Gen Z in a chokehold — but it’s not all cowboy hats and boots. 

Here’s what to know:

📲 Why now? Blame TikTok. Line dancing has gone VIRAL over social media the last few years. You’ve probably seen Dasha’s “Austin (Boots Stop Workin')” routine or 5-year-old Miss Shirley teaching you to move on your FYP.  And young people want in on the craze. 

🪕 But it’s not always your typical country hits. Yes, 603 Line Dance is still playing OG beats like “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Jolene” at Loretta’s, and Blackout Country is bringing more Shaboozey-like pop twang sounds to West End Johnnie’s. But more dance companies are actually shifting away from the ~cowboy~ vibes. Take Rhythm Riders, which teaches soul line dancing in Mattapan and Hyde Park, or JP Line Dance, which swings over to Sabrina Carpenter, Eminem, even “The Fairly Oddparents” theme song. 

💃 Line dancing is fighting Boston’s case of FOBU. A.k.a. fear of being uncoordinated. Nowadays, no one is dancing anymore at the clubs, and some people think it’s because people are too afraid of messing up. But with line dancing, it’s low stakes to make mistakes — the steps repeat every eight counts, so you can just jump back in! 

👌🏼 Bonus: You don’t need a partner to swing ‘round and ‘round. Line dancing is traditionally not usually with a partner (though there are partner swing nights, like on Mondays at Loretta’s). You’re usually jiving by yourself in sync with the crowd. So if your friends can’t join, you could easily fly solo.

🤠 BTW, you don’t need to be a cowboy … or moneybags. Between playing different types of music, teaching people at all skill levels, and offering free or low-cost classes, line dancing is all about ~inclusivity~ and building a sense of community. Not to mention, there are events *every* day of the week across the city. So you can spice up your Monday nights with 617 Country’s queer line dancing nights at Jacque’s or Wednesday nights with Line Dancing Queens at McCarthy’s. See the full list here.

📍 Don’t know where to start? Try these this week:

🦖🥽 Your PTO may not cover a trip to the Cretaceous period, but the Museum of Science will. Life Chronicles is a 30-minute immersive VR adventure that takes you through 3.5 billion years of Earth's history — from the first signs of life to towering dinosaurs and the earliest humans. Bundle Life Chronicles with full-priced Exhibit Halls admission and save $10 on your Exhibit Halls ticket, then spend the rest of your visit wondering how you would've fared in the prehistoric era (answer: probably not great). Plan your visit or become a member today.

🌧️ Say goodbye to sunshine … and hello to thunderstorms. :( After Tuesday’s round of severe showers, we’re still due for some strong winds and a cold front on Wednesday that will give us … even more heavy rain. The bright side: These two days of wetness should help bring in a little over an inch of rain to lessen the drought. Plus, we’re supposed to see some gorg 70s weather this weekend that’ll make it all worth it. <3

😩 Local liberals are having some serious FOMO. While they’re amped up about young progressive candidates winning primaries across the country (think: Zohran Mamdani in NYC), Mass. libs are feeling just OK about our own Senate race. In case you’re new here, they’re faced with two options in September: 1. Incumbent Sen. Ed Markey, who’s progressive (but old), and 2. Rep. Seth Moulton, who’s younger (too moderate). Rep. Ayanna Pressley, do you copy?

🥡 Your next go-to takeout spot: Facebook Marketplace. No, seriously. People have been selling homemade food on Marketplace for the last couple of years — from chocolate chip cookies to traditional Korean stews — and the trend keeps growing. In fact, 30% of Marketplace users have ordered meals and bevs on the platform. One reason for the traction? It fills a niche for cuisines that are harder to find in the area. But but but … many of these vendors are flying under the radar, since you technically need a license to sell food out of your home … 

☕ This Somerville cafe is kickin’ it old-school. Nostalgia Vintage Café just opened this spring, and it’s your one-stop shop for sweet jet fuel and 90s throwbacks. Think: A Tupac ceiling mural, purple neon lights, Fluffernutter lattes, and DVDs for rent. Note: Though coffee prices aren’t from the 90s, it pours a solid cup from Onyx (a.k.a. the No. 1 Best Coffee in North America), and there are reasonably priced vintage clothing options, with $5 and $10 clothing bins for ya to dig through.

🍕 Did you know Regina Pizzeria was Boston's first-ever pizza parlor?! Founded in 1926 in the North End, Regina’s is still cookin’ their famous thin-crust pies in their OG brick oven, and they’ve kept the same delish formula ever since, even as they expanded across Greater Boston. Celebrate their 100th birthday at any of their locations!

Another Karen Read drama is headed for the big screen. This time, by our very own Matt Damon. 

ICYMI: This trial (and retrial) SHOOK New England the last couple of years, where Read was accused of drunkenly killing her boyfriend in 2022, and eventually acquitted of murder and manslaughter last summer. 

You’re probably thinking, “Don’t we already have a Karen Read flick??” Let’s do a headcount:

We already have a docuseries on HBO and a Lifetime film with Katie Cassidy (both pretty solid according to Boston.com’s Read reporter Abby Patkin). And there are four (!) more projects coming down the pipeline: a Prime Video series starring Elizabeth Banks, a Read-backed adaptation with LBI Productions, a Turtleboy film (lol), AND a Netflix docuseries … So this would be No. 7.

We don’t have a lot of info on Damon’s take other than that he and his production company are in the “very early days” of development. But for better or worse, we’ll be sat.

— Written by Kelly Chan and Emily Schario

🍿 Thanks for reading! $100 says there are going to be more Karen Read films than “Fast & Furious.”

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Museum of Science, for supporting local journalism and making "going back in time" a legitimate weekend plan.

😣 The results are in: 49% of readers are not convinced that the “fun agenda” is going to pass. One reader said, “The ghosts of Puritans past still hold power.” Free us!!!

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