Boston Compass #147

An Independent Arts and Culture Guide

How to Celebrate Juneteenth in Boston: Black Bostonians Rallying for our Shared Experience

Actors’ Shakespeare Project Presents The Bomb-itty of Errors!

Boston has relied on the work and creativity of its Black population to thrive and grow since its foundation.

Juneteenth is a time to honor our ancestor’s lives, labor, and resistance, and there are plenty of opportunities to do so in the city this year! We’ve compiled some of them for you below.

“A New Afro Latino Beat Poet”- Boston Public Library, June 17th 12:30pm Visit the Boston Public Library on the 17th and experience a spoken word and musical performance from one of the most visible and talented young poets from Boston, Qadir Shabazz, whose meticulously delivered and thoughtfully-written poetry will be accompanied by the musical musings of Jazz instrumentalist Lone Sol. Spoken word poetry speaks for itself (literally), but experiencing a skilled wordsmith vibe onstage with a tuned-in musician will convince you that such an event is an entirely different experience of both Black art forms.

The Juneteenth Joy Festival, Hyde Park, June 18th 11:00-2:30pm Pull up to Hyde Park on June 18th for a day of Performances, exhibits, and vendors! Admittance is free. The Juneteenth Joy Festival organizers of the West Fairmount Hill neighborhood are well versed in creating meaningful community events with a focus on justice. They will also be hosting two Juneteenth Joy pre-events! More info can be found at Westfhcommunity.org, or their Eventbrite page for tickets to pre-events. continued on page 2…

After a pause due to the Omicron variant, Actors’ Shakespeare Project (ASP) continues its 18th season with a “reboot” of the regional premiere of The Bomb-itty of Errors. The production will be performed at The Charlestown Working Theatre (CWT) in Charlestown, MA. Performances run until June 26, 2022. This will be ASP’s second return to live theatre following the Covid-19 pandemic shutdown in March of 2020. ASP is delighted to present its next show at its home base.

The Bomb-itty of Errors has been on ASP Artistic Director Chris Edwards’ list of shows to program since he arrived to helm the organization in 2017. Edwards has a deep relationship with the piece, having performed in it on tour as well as directed it in both New York and Las Vegas. “Growing up in the ‘80s,“ Edwards says, “I was a child of the hip-hop cultural movement.

The art form was exciting and empowering. It gave me a creative outlet and helped me to express myself with passion. This play is a love letter to hip hop and an ode to Shakespeare. Using The Comedy of Errors as a framework, Bomb-itty takes that plotline, characters, and much of the language and “remixes” it. It’s a throwback to a time when hip-hop practitioners focused on ‘moving the crowd’ and bringing the community together for a celebration of life and a hope for a better future, no matter color, creed, or culture. We selected this title as part of this post-Covid season because we need a space to come together, laugh, and be joyful amidst the tumultuousness of the last two years. I have never worked on a show with such broad appeal as Bomb-itty, which is so important as we experience being together in a shared space again.”

For more information about the history and development of The Bomb-itty of Errors, visit: www.bomb-itty.com and www.actorsshakespeareproject.org

THIS PAPER IS AN ONGOING PROJECT OF BRAIN ARTS ORGANIZATION, INC., A 501(C)(3) NONPROFIT. PLEASE CONSIDER DONATING TO, VOLUNTEERING OR OTHERWISE SUPPORTING US: BRAIN-ARTS.ORG

Notes From the Crew Hello hello! I’m Prakhya (also known as @verifiedspicequeen) one of the newest faces here at BCN. I started writing here because I wanted a way of contributing to both the world and my local community at the same time. I wanted the two of them to integrate and make sure more people locally knew about what was going on around the world and vice versa. I started curating content on Instagram because I wanted to center the joy of learning about other cultures and especially highlight issues that most people haven’t heard of before. With my own family surviving religious violence during Partition in Hyderabad I became motivated to learn more about Indigenous and marginalized groups in the greater region and began to see patterns and connected threads. I started my journey here by talking to Boston about the Amazigh community and it was so great that the piece became so widely circulated and warmly received. I got to party it up with the Kurds in Providence for Newroz, ringing in the new year.

Weaved within that, was one of the most harrowing and powerful stories I could share about the Yezidi people who had faced 73 genocides. I was inspired by how Indigenous people from different parts of the region build stronger resistance together. As heavy as this work sometimes gets, I’m ultimately driven by learning about all the weird, funny, and whimsical aspects that make Indigenous cultures and religions unique and all the reasons they are worth preserving.

—Prakhya

LAYOUT DESIGN:

Phoebe Delmonte: p.1, 4, 5 Hannah Blauner: p.2, 3, 7 Adrian Alvarez: p.6, 8 THIS PROGRAM IS SUPPORTED IN PART BY A GRANT FROM THE BOSTON CULTURAL COUNCIL, A LOCAL AGENCY WHICH IS FUNDED

BY THE MASSACHUSETTS CULTURAL COUNCIL, AS ADMINSTRATED BY THE MAYOR'S OFFICE OF ARTS + CULTURE

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1... …continued from page 1 -The Juneteenth Boston Committee 2022 Festivities The Juneteenth Boston Committee is spearheading a charge to raise the Juneteenth Flag over the state house on Friday, and has organized several events for the holiday weekend. On Friday the 17th, the 2022 March to Freedom will gather at 5pm at the National Center of Afro-American Artists at 5pm, and will continue to Nubian Square.

On the 18th, a family beach day is planned at Carson Beach from 1:00 to 7:00pm, and the evening of Juneteenth itself, they will host their first annual Juneteenth Royalty gala and King and Queen Ceremony, an event reminiscent of contest, pageant, and dance hall events that Black communities have been gathering for for generations. Tickets for the Gala are available at juneteenthboston. eventbrite.com, and the March and Beach Day are free to the public!

-Juneteenth Poetry Slam with Amanda Shae Didi Delgado, Nubian Gallery, 2164 Washington Street, June 18th 7:30pm Most of these events imply attendees being audience members- but if you’re a performer of the spoken word kind, this poetry slam is for you! Those who have registered will be called to perform live at Nubian Gallery and remotely online for the Boston poetry community. The organizer Didi Delgado is an essential read and top talent in the world of Boston spoken word. Didi’s is the head of operations for the Society of Urban Poetry and the leader of the 40 Acres and a School project, an organization coordinating the payment of reparations, Black food sovereignty, and community space, and is an invaluable asset to spoken word nationwide.

Food will be available for attendees. Don’t miss this chance to see a set of talented performers, or the chance to be one as well.

Visit tinyurl.com/juneteenthslam to register.

-Boston Arts Music and Soul Festival 2022, Franklin Park Playstead Field, June 11th 10:00 to 5:00pm If you caught our last issue, you already know this festival is a real one. BAMSfest has worked hard for sponsorship and media attention, and this has allowed them to swell to one of the biggest recurring events for local arts culture in Boston. Get ready for live painting, folkloric dance and song, RnB, Afrobeats, Rap, Black diaspora cuisine from Jamaica to Nigeria, and more. It’s an event by and for Black Boston, and with a young audience and affordable passes, it’s accessible to all. Find out more at BAMsfest.org!

-The Museum of Fine Arts Free Admissions Day: June 20th, 10:00am to 5:00pm The MFA is known for providing free admissions on certain holidays, and is offering it to all Massachusetts residents on the 20th!

Aside from a wealth of historical fine art and strong work by contemporaries, there will be several performances and conversations hosted by local organizers to visit as well.

Side Presents, a strong organizing team based in Roxbury, will be (side) presenting “The Most Estranged Fruits”, a multimedia production examining the failures of American democracy to uplift black people and serving as a celebration of Black artistry.

They will also be moderating a discussion with Black artists about the personal side of Artistry- self-expression, finding meaning, and confronting history in one’s own life and through art. Tickets are NOT available, because it’s FREE! Come through!

-The Embrace Ideas Festival, June 13th – 17th This festival organized by the King Boston program features five days of music, lectures, organizing, history, and celebration. It’s a valuable opportunity for Black Bostonians, Black families, and aspiring Black artists, activists, and professionals to gather and learn from their shared communities. Events will be hosted at the Institute of Contemporary Art, GBH Studios, Harvard Medical School, and more. Interested in dance parties? Check out DJ Real P perform. Want to hear one of the most prestigious Black Doctors in Mass discuss her experience? Dr. Thea James of the Boston Medical Center will be talking on the 14th. There’s a great deal to see, and both 1-day and 5-day passes are available at the event’s website, embraceideasfestival. org.

Capping off the week is the Juneteenth Block Party in Nubian square from 4-9pm, with a host of excellent music, dance, food, and a variety of local Black-owned vendors.

Nubian square’s history is a historical center of commerce, art, and protest for Black Bostonians, and it’s a fitting place for a jubilee and commemoration to revel in the progress we have made since our victory over the greatest act of violence America ever committed against Africans. Let this festival foster a recognition of our shared history, and a commitment to fighting the oppression of our people here and around the world.

---------- RORY LAMBERT-WRIGHT

MASSACHUSETTS MINUTE VINTAGE LEE TAKES A “SHOPPING SPREE”

Roxbury’s Vintage Lee has been a staple within Massachusetts’ bubbling Hip-Hop scene for years now. Following the success of her single “Hennything’s Possible” which was featured in NBA 2K18, and more recently, Season 2 of HBO’s Euphoria, Vintage is looked up to by many creatives across the Bay State. The first half of 2022 has been good to her thus far, as the self-proclaimed “Roxbury PiMP” has already unearthed two new singles – “BRB” and “Shopping Spree”.

The latter, “Shopping Spree”, is the reason she finds herself across the pages of this month’s edition of the Boston Compass Newspaper.

Sitting just north of three minutes in length, “Shopping Spree” is a summertime bop that begs for warm weather. With production

by Tee WaTT, Kill, and TEAO, Vintage Lee’s beat selection remains well-polished, as the Boston rapper routinely glides atop bouncy, euphoric instrumentals. Though vibrant in nature, there are moments when listening to “Shopping Spree” where I found myself yearning for something more. Now, don’t get me wrong, this track is certainly well-executed, however I do wish that more risks were taken to achieve the final outcome. What we ultimately received was very reminiscent of previous components of Vintage’s discography, and as she continues to offload unreleased material, I am hopeful that we’ll witness more sonic development.

Bringing the visual for “Shopping Spree” to life is MA videographer, Reko. Over the last couple of years, Reko has continued to add

to her visual portfolio, working alongside some of the most promising talent that the state of Massachusetts has to offer. Following recent collaborations with Saint Lyor, Neemz, and StashtheWave to name a few, Reko has molded herself into one of the best sources with respect to finding out what’s popular right now in Massachusetts’ local music circuit.

With the release of “Shopping Spree” now resting in the rearview mirror, all that’s left to do now is sit back and see which direction Vintage pivots towards as the year moves forward. With her previous album Draw 2 being more than two and a half years old at this point, it may be time for the Roxbury PiMP to deliver a new body of work for her dedicated listenership. Only time will tell.

-------------------------------------------------- SHAMUS HILL

In the service of transparency, The Boston Compass wants to acknowledge that the owners of City Feed and Supply have long supported the paper by providing distribution and advertising related financial contributions.

On the brink of federal union recognition, workers at Jamaica Plain’s City Feed and Supply grocery store and café continue efforts to engage owners in the collective bargaining process. City Feed Unite (CFU), which formed in early 2021, is seeking pay scale transparency, higher wages and paid training, and more authority in generating workplace policy. With a mail-in ballot vote cast in late May, members of CFU are hoping for official recognition from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), the federal government’s union regulatory entity. The Boston Compass spoke with Emery Spooner and Daniel Tracey of City Feed Unite, as well as with a volunteer organizer from the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), CFU’s ally, about the union’s recent history and future direction.

“The past few months have definitely picked up a lot of steam,” said Tracey.

“We finally had a clear majority to get the [union membership cards] sometime in late February or March. It took like a year of change. A lot of work from Emery.” Spooner, who has worked at City Feed since February ’21, said conversations among employees began last April, when the owners removed their $2/hour hazard pay with a two-day notice.

“They didn’t consider people who are already struggling to pay bills, and now they have an unexpected reduction in their wages.” Spooner said low wages mean high turnover, which has been challenging to union efforts. “Thinking back on it, there were ten or eleven people at the meeting and there are, like, three [of those] people that still work at City Feed. So, it’s been a changing cast of people who have been involved because it’s been kind of unsustainable for people to stay at this job.”

Shortly after initial talks, CFU sought guidance from organizers representing the Industrial Workers of the World. IWW encouraged them to improve working conditions through individual meetings with owner David Warner, as well as through letters and petitions. “We had a majority of staff sign on to a petition for paid Narcan training in October or November ’21.

We also wrote a letter about covid safety because we weren’t getting the mandated sick pay that was required by the state for covid related absence.” CFU’s demands also include policy development regarding workplace harassment, which became more important after a customer was assaulted during a closing shift.

According to Spooner, the response from the owners has been disheartening. “There was no response until the week that we went public with our union. Despite having a vast majority of our staff sign on to this letter, we got the [Narcan] training like five months after we sent our letter of intent [to unionize] to David.” Following an all staff meeting in February ‘22, Spooner said that Warner pulled a number of employees into one-onone meetings to discuss, and explicitly told Spooner that if they were not happy at the job, they should quit. In addition to these conversations, according to Spooner, the owners disseminated information to staff about union formation. “There was some misleading information, such as ‘dues are 15-20 dollars a month.’ Our dues through the IWW are 6 dollars a month, and they don’t come out of paychecks.” Spooner continued, “[our union is] worker led, worker organized. The repeated misinformation that it is a third party seeking to tell our coworkers what to do is really untrue and misleading.”

Owner David Warner declined to comment for this article.

What is next for CFU? According to a volunteer IWW organizer who requested anonymity, citing concern over future employment discrimination, the NLRB will count the workers’ ballots on June 14th.

“These ballots are formalizing it as far as the federal government is concerned.

When the original letter of intent was presented, there was no guarantee that an official NLRB election was going to be necessary. Pavement, Forge, Bloc, and Diesel have voluntarily recognized their employees’ unions without using an official NLRB election. But in our specific case, the employer said they would not voluntarily recognize the union. So, we functionally had to get the government involved. This is where the NLRB ballots come in.”

According to Spooner, customers have been generally supportive. But City Feed’s owners, as well as some of its patrons, have expressed concern over the potential economic impact of a collective bargaining agreement. Said Spooner, “any collective bargaining agreement that is ratified has got to be terms that both the workers and owners agree to. And so, David isn’t going to sign something that puts his business in jeopardy and we’re not gonna sign something that puts us out of our own jobs.” Spooner noted that law requires management to provide financial evidence if they claim they cannot support the union’s wage proposal. “So we’ll get to see what they can afford and what can be worked out, so that it is sustainable for the business. Maybe it’s a long term raise system. How do we know what they can afford unless we get a seat at the table?”

—--- STEPHEN GRIGELEVICH

ANALOGUE ADVERTISING I can honestly say I’ve never heard anything like Sukikirai before. It’s an E.P. dropped

by Mei Semones on May 6th. Mei is an J-pop artist who sings in both English and Japanese, partially thanks to her mom, who made her practice Japanese 15 minutes a day when she was growing up. She recently graduated from the Berklee School of Music.

Her music has an innovative bedroom pop sound with a strong jazz influence.

The E.P. has three songs: Ippo, Sukikirai, and Kemono. All of the songs combine Semones’s melodic voice with a mid tempo guitar and skillfully played string instruments that express emotion so profoundly you don’t need to know what the lyrics of the songs are. Since Semones sings in Japanese, most of her listeners don’t know what they are about. Kemono is my favorite track off of the E.P.. There’s a sense of simultaneous sadness

and childlike nostalgia in the song that just makes me want to reminisce in a cleansing way. I haven’t heard string instruments and guitar sound so collaborative outside of the country music genre.

I got to talk to Semones about the inspiration behind the E.P. and the process behind its creation. She was signed to Green Line Records, a record label run by Northeastern students, last fall. I was most enchanted by her explanation about the song “Kemono”.

Kemono means beast in Japanese. The song is a narrative about being chased by said beast, in a metaphorical sense.

“I had an experience where I just wanted to hide from everything after I came back to Boston. After Covid I was super anxious and nervous about seeing people again, and I wanted to just hide. But no one’s even looking for me. So that’s the story of the song

I guess.”

One of the lyrics in the song is “playing a solitary game of hide and seek”.

In order to write her songs, she usually starts with the chords (the harmony), then adds the melody, and then adds the lyrics.

“Writing lyrics is the hardest part for me.

A lot of the time I don’t have a plan for what the song is gonna be about really. I start writing, and then it just ends up being about something. Sometimes I look back at songs and think ‘I have no idea what I was saying’”.

After she’s done writing the songs, she passes it along to her band, who write their parts for their instruments and help her arrange the music. She said that her band knows exactly what she wants in her music.

“I wouldn’t be able to make the music that I make if I wasn’t playing with the people that I’m playing with, ya know?” said Semones.

Semones gave huge credit to Kai Tsao the former Head Engineer at Green Line Records (now graduated), for making her E.P. what it was.

“His engineering and music and mastering have had a big impact on how my music sounds. It sounds more put together than my last E.P.” She described how much attention to detail he gives to producing. How he thinks about things like the placement of the mics, and generally makes recording and mixing the songs an easy process.

Semones is currently working on new music inspired on some new techniques that she learned, including arpeggio fingerings and new voicings that plans to record this summer. In a few months, she will be moving to New York City to continue to work on her music, tour, and teach.

------------------------------- GANNOPY URENA

SURVEIL & CONTROL

AFFECTED ACCENT PINCH POINTS - PROCESS (POST-PUNK)

The focus of these reviews has generally been local bands, but for this month let’s shift our focus as far from Boston as possible. In recent years, there has been some absolutely phenomenal punk(ish) music coming from Australia. Ghoulies, Amyl and the Sniffers, Gee Tee, and Research Reactor Corp are just a few. I am sure someone from Australia reading this would say: “We have been kicking ass for a long time. You are just finally recognizing our brilliance.” That might be true, but better late than never.

My favorite to date is Pinch Points out of Melbourne. Their first album Moving Parts was released in 2019, and it is a good first album. But what caught my attention was their 2020 album Live at RRR. The live album reminds me of that scene in the movie That Thing You Do where a mediocre ballad is turned into a hit when the drummer picks up the tempo. (Anyone else remember that movie?) Live at RRR takes their solid songs and transforms them into exhilarating, driving, post-punk anthems that stayed in my heavy rotation for months during the lockdown.

That brings us to Pinch Points’ second album Process released this March.

Thankfully, the driving, fast tempo found in Live at RRR extended into the studio. For me, this is post-punk at its best. The striking features of the quartet (two guitars, bass, and drums) are the gangly, wiry guitars playing

memorable riffs and the counterpoint male and female vocals dripping with righteous conviction. What is particularly notable about Process is the social issues tackled by the album—climate change, police brutality, sexism, crippling anxiety, the pandemic, to name a few. What is wonderfully refreshing is how the album simultaneously approaches these topics with earnest compassion and a giant middle finger.

Let’s let some of the lyrics speak for themselves.

Song “Reasons to be Anxious”: I get anxious when I get a text. I get anxious when I don’t get a text. I get anxious when my doorbell rings. I get anxious about fucking anything.

Song “Haruspex”: We’re so well practiced - practiced - practice and you’ll get better.

Haruspex - Haruspex; we talk and talk while women get deader. It’s all so boring. We scare ourselves to sleep at night - scare ourselves in broad daylight. Scare ourselves on the bus; what dress is long enough?

Song “Am I OK?”: You know you look good on paper. But you don’t like what you read. That’s not what I see. You might not be convinced, but you matter.

We should all show Pinch Points some love, and perhaps they will venture to New England sometime soon.

------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEVE B

“Manifest Destiny” was a settler colonial extermination project presented as a divine creed from God to justify white pioneers westward expansion into North America.

The forced removal and exile of Indigenous populations under the 1830 Indian Removal Act - along with other dehumanizing governmental policies - targeted massacres, forced assimilation and cultural extinction were tactical genocidal campaigns that decimated the population of Indigenous people by the millions.

In her book Loaded: A Disarming History of the Second Amendment author Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz argues that prior to the drafting of the Declaration of Independence, gun ownership was not simply seen as an inalienable right but rather a responsibility of white settlers to violently conquer Indigenous land. Guns were a critical means to achieve territorial expansion and ethnic cleansing in order to establish and maintain a country built upon a white hegemony. To understand contemporary gun culture is to understand its anchor to mythic ideologies like Manifest Destiny and “righteous” white violence.

This invented, “God given” right of white American exceptionalism and individualism permeates through all contemporary aspects of American culture, particularly in the understanding of American violence, mass shootings and the shallow notion of the lone wolf. The lone wolf trope is understood as a violent outlier, an aberration of evil who acts alone. Presenting this violence as a singular act of “hate” is a meticulous misdirection

that fails to account for a culture in which nationalistic violence is systematized by laws, politicians, media pundits, the police and farright militias.

The white paranoia of “replacement theory” found in the Buffalo shooters manifesto, like all other far right conspiracies, are new language for old fears. Since the establishment of the construct of race into law during the Spanish Inquisition, racial difference has been used to justify enslavement, mass murder and cultural anihalation. White anxieties that vilify the “other” are a diversion from acknowledging the atrocities committed by white supremacists onto non-white populations.

Manifest Destiny was built on the lie of racial superiority and its effects bleed into every corner of our culture.

In his documentary Exterminate All the Brutes, filmmaker Raoul Peck interrogates the underlying white supremacist motivations of mass atrocities including the land removal and genocide of Indigenous people, the vast wealth accumulated under the enslavement of African people, and the bureaucratic horror of the Holocaust. In the film’s final moments, he laments, “It is not knowledge we lack. We already know enough. What is missing is the courage to understand what we know.” These fear-provoking mass shootings committed by white American extremists do not stand alone in our history but are bound up with horrors of the past and present we refuse to truthfully contend with.

------------------------------------------------------- GRACE RAIH

more at bostoncompassnewspaper.com

**We strongly encourage all to take careful precaution when going out to public events! Follow the venue’s requirements regarding vaccination/negative Covid tests! Always double check the event online just in case they need to cancel!** Chosen Happenings curated by Creatives of Color Boston 6/3-5 Salem Arts Festival Celebrate the arts, culture, creativity, and community at the 14th annual fest. This free and popular family-friendly event will feature a variety of art, music, dance, and theatre performances throughout downtown Salem @32 Derby Square FREE 6/10 Bridgeside Cypher a unique Hip-Hop experience @ North Point Park, Boston 7PM11PM FREE @bridgecyph 6/16 Black Owned Bos. Presents A Juneteenth Celebration featuring retail bazaar, DJs, live performances, live art showcase, and food/drink specials @Bow Market 4PM-9PM FREE 6/25 Third Annual Trans Resistance March & Festival from Nubian Square in Roxbury to Franklin Park Playstead with performances & celebration to follow www.transresistancema. com 6/25 ONCE at Boynton Yards Summerville Solstice a celebration of long days and warm nights featuring Genie Santiago, Tigerman WOAH, Black Helicopter, Grace Givertz, Assasi, Borboleta, Nectarine Girl, The Dripp, plus Matt Heaton and the Outside Toys starting with a kids set. @0 Windsor Place, Somerville 12PM-10PM $18

6/4 Dorchester’s Inaugural Porchfest Celebration 45 bands performing on 25 porches around the Ashmont Adams neighborhood.

Dorchfest is free, walkable, and open to all. 11:30AM-4PM 6/4 I Heart Noise Presents: Mei Semones, Skyjelly, Solilians @Somerville Theatre 8PM All Ages $ome Cost 6/4 Yoni Gordon, Kathy Snax, OrangePeelMystic, Evelyn Pope @Midway Cafe 3PM All Ages $5 6/4 Emily Reo, Lane, Nadine @ Lilypad 10PM All Ages $10 6/5 Eliot Schoolyard Concert Series Presents: Shaw Pong Liu & Brian Friedland (violin & keyboard, improvisation & new compositions) @24 Eliot Street, JP 4PM All Ages $uggested Donation Bring your own chair!

6/5 Corner Art Room Presents: Common Concerts featuring Vibe Check, Douglas, Minkey, Be Released, SADHA, DJ Jacob Schwartz @Brighton Common 2:30PM All Ages FREE (donate to the artists!)

6/6 FEEP, Betty Moody, Dyr Faser @Charlie’s Kitchen 9PM 21+ $5 6/7 Bars Over Bars Hip Hop Showcase featuring local artists! Every first Tuesday of the month @Midway Cafe 7:30PM 21+ $10 6/8 Fully Celebrated Orchestra w/ Arugula Olgethorpe and Jaded Ravins @Midway Cafe 8pm 21+ $5 6/8 Get to the Gig Presents: Carpool, handwriting!, Perfect Saturday, Pregame Rituals @The Rockwell 7PM All Ages $13/15 6/9 New England Synth Fest Presents Violet Nox with Debstep, Jade Rose & James Coyne, Metal Tiger with Anagram @Musem of Science Planetarium 7:30PM All Ages $ome Cost

MUSIC & AUDIO 6/3 Sheer Terror, Restraining Order, End It, Violent Way, Neighborhood Shit, C4 @ Brockton VFW 7PM All Ages $20 6/3 Illegally Blind Presents: Leopard Print Taser (first show in 2 years!) + Birthday Ass @Lilypad 7PM All Ages $12 6/3 Palestine Solidarity Concert featuring Dino Gala, Puppy Problems, Sweet Petunia, Senseless Optimism, The C.O.M.P. @24 Eliot St (JP) 5PM All Ages $ome Cost 6/3 Lydia Lunch: Murderous...

Again w/Tim Dahl @Satanic Temple Salem TWO SETS 6:307:30PM and 8-9PM 18+ $25 6/4 Sonorium is back featuring Housefire, Bonnie Jones, Mary Staubitz, Ross Wightman @Salem Access Television 8:15PM All Ages $10 donation

6/9 Mock Execution, Cartridge, Fraud, Black Dog @Brighton Elks Lodge 7PM All Ages $15 6/9 Ezra Furman @Crystal Ballroom 8PM All Ages $15-20 6/9 Talk Chalk, Beautiful Headquarters @Lilypad 8PM All Ages $10 6/9 Tuxis Giant, Ronda Spectacular, Jacquelyn R @ Lilypad 10:30PM All Ages $10 6/10 DRIFF Records Presents: Driff Fest featuring ANNA ABONDOLO TRIO, TONY MALABY’S KIRI-KIRI, and performances by Jeb Bishop, Pandelis Karayorgis, Luther Gray, and many more @Lilypad 7:30PM All Ages $20-25 6/10 Kill Lincoln, JER, Secret Spirit, The Best of the Worst @Crystal Ballroom (Somerville) 7PM All Ages $15 6/11 BOSTON ART & MUSIC SOUL (BAMS) Festival celebrates Afro-centric identity

and Black artistry, all while amplifying the voices and creative contributions from local, regional and national entertainers of color. Come for performances by Miranda Rae, SeeFour, SWV, Jazzmyn Red, Sympli Whitney, Naomi Westwater, D SMOKE, Phoenixx and so many more! Come for activities like group dance classes and live art making! @Franklin Park, Playstead Field All Day All Ages $ome Cost www.bamsfest.org

Tomatoverse, Jeff Gallagher, Anthony Pasquarosa, Future Couch @Peskeumskut Park (Turners Falls) 12pm All Ages FREE!!

6/11 SomerPride Fest featuring performances by Walter Sickert and the Army of Broken Toys, DJ WhySham with Cakeswagg and Brandie Blaze, Muzzins, drag from Redd Haring and more + food trucks and art vendors @ONCE Boynton Yards 12PM All Ages $15-20

6/22 Dear Rabbit, Noah Britton, The Big Lonesome, Three Mandareens @O’Briens 8PM 21+ $10

6/11 Zaira Meneses’ Latin American Music Showcase @Starlight Square 7PM All Ages FREE 6/12 Eliot Schoolyard Concert Series Presents: Niu Raza (Malagasy singer-songwriter + band) @24 Eliot Street, JP 4PM All Ages $uggested Donation Bring your own chair!

6/12 Mega Mass Presents: Artist Showcase! Every second Sunday of the month! Sign up to perform! @The Jungle 9PM12AM All Ages FREE 6/12 NonEvent Presents Kristina Warren @Laconia Gallery 2PM All Ages FREE (donations welcome) 6/13 Torn in Half, Bed of Razors, Death Strider @Charlie’s Kitchen 9PM 21+ $5 6/16 M.O.B Presents “3rd Thursdays” at Kay’s Oasis!

Live Band, After work Jam and Entertainment @1125 Blue HIll Ave 5-10PM 21+ $10 6/16 FIND OUT Event series for musicians & artists to try out new ideas every 3rd Thursday of the month. Every show is a partial benefit for radical community orgs @First Church, JP 8PM All Ages $10 @f_i_n_d___o_u_t 6/18 Tiny Trap Concerts Juneteenth Edition ft. DJ Alcide, Al Divino, Nyeusi Loe, Estee Nack hosted by Henny Kravits & Jah-di @Apothca, Lynn 6:30PM-9PM 21+ $30-50 6/18 Foreside Music Festival featuring Bad History Month, Blake Seale, Hello Shark, Mint Green, Rick Rude, Paper Castles, Squitch, Wren Kitz and more! @ Black Birch, Kittery, Maine Starts at 12PM All Ages $ome Cost 6/18 We Are Still Here featuring Jenny Herzog, Luke Concannon, Eleanor Shnarr, Nate Devarie, Morgan Johnston, Nora Woofenden @Swendenborg Chapel (Cambridge) 4PM All Ages $ome Cost 6/19 Eliot Schoolyard Concert Series Presents: Dis N Dat Band (neo-reggae) @24 Eliot Street, JP 4PM All Ages $uggested Donation Bring your own chair!

6/19 A Band Called E w/ Dyr Faser @The Jungle (Somerville) 5PM 21+ $10 6/19 Mystra OOze Fest 2022!

Featuring Gary Higgins, 10 Gallon Hat, Gracious Calamity, Sunburned, Karen Zanes, Editrix, Allysen Callery, Stella Kola,

6/20 Pet Fox, Floatie, Spirits Having Fun, Squitch, Kevin Wynd @Midway Cafe 7:30PM 21+ $10 6/20 Gretchen Shae & The Middle Eight, Motel Black, Paper Tigers @Charlie’s Kitchen 9PM 21+ $5

6/23 Summer Splash ft. DJ Shawnski, Cory Gunz and more! Cool off with a dunk tank, water balloon fight, soaker squirt, grillin’ and vendors!! @Castle Island 4PM-11PM $25 6/23 Mostly Fast Shit Vol. 10 featuring Strictly Hip Hop, Horrible Earth, Shitbrains (LA), Sepsistic, Blast Shield @O’Briens 7PM 21+ $7-10 6/25 NonEvent Presents: Glenn Jones (record release show), Brittany Karlson @The Goethe-Institut Boston 8PM All Ages $15/$10 for students 6/25 Illegally Blind Presents: Nova One, The Cherry Tree @ Lilypad 7PM All ages $12 6/26 Eliot Schoolyard Concert Series Presents: Schoolyard Quartet ft. Lihi Haruvi, Brian Friedland, Keala Keala Kaumeheiwa & Jorge PerezAlbela (globally-inspired jazz) @24 Eliot Street, JP 4PM All Ages $uggested Donation Bring your own chair!

6/26 Weatherday, Michael Cera Palin, Oolong, Cheem @ The Rockwell 7PM $13-15 6/27 Kids Like You & Me Presents Rong, PCP & the Knives, Pledge Pins @Charlie’s Kitchen 9PM 21+ $5 TheMUSEUM TV + The Soundlab present The Testing Lab a bi-weekly event where local musicians can perform their original music and get feedback from a panel of experts! Spots fill up fast so make sure to stay in tune @thesoundlabma or email thetestinglabma@gmail.com ItsLitBoston Podcast has a dope new Spotify playlist called “ItsLitBoston Presents: VIBES FROM THE STATE” updated weekly with local new music you need to check out!! I hear they take submissions too! @itslitboston Also on Youtube and SoundCloud New England Mic Check Radio is our region’s top dawg for uplifting urban music! Local musician spotlights every Sunday with artists such as Monaveli and Nelly Protoolz. www.nemiccheck.com for podcasts, swag and further updates! @newenglandmiccheck

VIDEO & FILM 6/10 Make A Distinction film screening. A work which implores its viewers to focus their political economic analysis and make the crucial distinctions that not only define the field of class struggle around them, but also place every single individual, whether

they know it or not, on a clear and certain side of that line. Created by filmmakers Kera Mackenzie & Andrew Mausert-Mooney @Lucy Parsons Center 7PM The DocYard is an award-winning film and discussion series. Catch a screening before it goes on hiatus in the Fall!

Farenheight TV has a monthly variety show that celebrates people’s greatness through exclusive interviews, performances & more. Last season is airing soon! www.farenheighttv.com @farenheighttv

VISUAL ART 6/4 June Open Studios @ Western Avenue Studios & Lofts 12-5pm Free 6/5 Exhibition Opening: Mindscapes / Bodyscapes @Cutter Gallery (Arlington) Upcoming joint exhibition “Mindscapes / Bodyscapes,” a contemplative journey exploring the balance between imagination and the perception of mind and body. Opening event 2-6pm Cliff Notez & Jaypix Present Wiild Negro is Love [This is Therapy For Us] on view until June 27th @Cultural Equity Incubator www. culturalequityincubator.org/ gallery 10b is not a ‘gallery’ in a traditional sense. There is no selling of work here, or any commodification of work as revenue. The value in this space is in providing opportunity for experimentation with community witness and participation.

10b is establishing space for conversation, non-traditional exhibitions, and performances where ‘artists’ can experiment, play, fail, and connect. @10b Brookley Rd, JP Open Sun 12PM5PM by appt. www.10bprojects. com DeGlassification features work

by Siena Hancock & Lindsy Marshall. It is a culmination of experimentation with glass as a material from the past five years. @Beacon St Gallery on view until July 10th Mon-Sat 10AM-7:45PM / Sun 12PM-5:45PM Collective Futures Fund Collective supports visual artists and artist-run activity in the Greater Boston area through grants between $2,000 and $6,000. SUBMIT BY JUNE 15TH www.collectivefuturesfund.org Support the Nubian Square Public Art Initiative, a newly launched initiative spearheaded

by Black Market Nubian to develop a series of public murals and installations as a catalyst for neighborhood economic empowerment by the community, for the community.

Support the cause and donate to their gofundme! www. blackmarketnubian.com/nspai

PERFORMANCE ART 6/1 Open Armory is an open mic for all performance practices. Sign up at 7PM. Every first Wednesday of the month @Arts at the Armory 7PM-10PM All Ages Free 6/4 Ben Wasserman: Life After Death. Part catharsis, part circus, total chaos: an hour of interactive comedy about grief + loss that’s actually funny. Also on the bill are Tooky Kavanagh and Alex Ptak @Lilypad 8PM All Ages $15 Advance Tickets

5/31-7/3 The Orchard Needham’s Arlekin Players Theatre is taking digital theatre to a new level. Streaming live and in person from NYC with Mikhail Baryshnikov! Tix at theorchardoffbroadway.com $29 Goofs Underground: Comedy Under the Cantab Every Thursday enjoy local comedians, live music openers, and drink specials all brought to you by Duck Duck Goofs @Cantab Lounge Basement 8PM 21+ $10 Midway or the Highway Ever wondered what hilarious comedians from big fancy TV shows do the rest of the week?

Sometimes they appear at your neighborhood bar! The funniest in New England and beyond can now be found in the wilds of JP on every single Sunday night at 9PM FOR FREE. Open mic at 10PM @Midway Cafe 21+

ZINES Moral Crema is an art collective and quarterly magazine created

by Luc Miglin that has what we’ve been missing: sensuous, grimy textures. Issue #7 out now!

Check their Patreon to get really affordable subscriptions to their zine! www.moralcrema.com Gut Bust a weirdo comedy zine to keep laughing even in isolation!

Issue #1 out now www.etsy.com/ shop/GUTBUST “Can We Talk With Spirit Friends?” is a series of digital collage zines, compositions of images and text found in books from the 19th-Century to the present, sequenced to create surreal interpretive narratives.

There are currently 24 zines in this ongoing series. Buy them online at www.horskyprojects. com/store.

Gay Ghost stories seeks anything queer, spooky, and printable for a full color Halloween zine. Trans ghosts? Queer campfire tales?

Haunted gay clubs? Anything spooky goes! Email submissions to Lavendermenacepress@gmail. com Penny Magazine was created as a means to discuss how different areas of the music industry have been affected and changed in lieu of the coronavirus pandemic.

Read this beautifully colorful zine at www.penny-mag.com and follow @pennythemag Zinesters Club NEW TIME AND LOCATION All ages and experience levels are welcome every first Friday of the month 7PM to come down to Hatch Makerspace and make zines!

Supplies provided!

The Negro Flowers Series An online zine of writings, poetry, art and photography by various local BIPOC authors compiled by BCN contributor Qadir Shabazz.

‘People & Places’ Issue #3 is now available! Read online at www. linktr.ee/qadir__shabazz Pleasure Pie is a grassroots sex-positive organization in Boston, MA. They make zines, illustrations, publications, events, and conversations on sexual empowerment and consent.

They now distribute sex-positive zines by others outside their org!

Check this link to SUBMIT YOUR ZINES! www.pleasurepie.org/ submit

COMMUNITY 6/4 Celebrating Pride Month with author readings and selfpublishing discussion @Western Avenue Studios 5pm All Ages FREE 6/10 Lesbian Night Life Presents ROOFTOP DJ JamilaAfrika, La Nena and TBA battle it out as you dance, sip and celebrate Pride @ Revere Hotel 21+ ~$30 6/11 Big Gay Dance Party celebrate Pride with this super awesome event featuring DJ Live, drag performances, a photoboot, LGBTQ+ organizations and craft vendors! @Union Square Plaza, Somerville 5:30PM-8:30PM All Ages FREE 6/11 The Esme Women’s Block Party 1000’s of LGBTQ+women (non-binary & trans fold) partying in the Streets with DJ Frenchy!

We hear there is an after party too! @Edgar Allen Poe Alley off Boylston St 2PM-7PM $20 6/12 JP Block Party All ages community block party in the heart of JP with DJ, dancing and live performances by Ray Liriano Experience, The Lisa Bello Band, Drag Show, kid zone, local vendors, Sam Adams brewery and more! @2 Perkins St 12PM7PM All Ages $10/20 6/19 CELEBRATE JUNETEENTH in Boston! Flip back a page to Rory Lambert Wright’s coverage and suggestions for this year’s community celebrations!

6/25 Puerto Rican Festival of Massachusetts a great evening of Cultural pride, Fun, Dancing and Music. Come celebrate their 55th Anniversary Reinado. @Florian Hall 6PM @prfestivalma 6/26 Black Owned Boston Outdoor Market 30+ vendors and DJs all day long! @Seaport Common 12PM-6PM @blackownedbos Egleston Farmers Market is back at the Community Servings parking lot in JP! Every Saturday 10AM-2PM The market is expanding to include a bunch of low waste living resources like textile recycling, DIY workshops, bicycle repair, live tailors and lots more! @eglestonfarmersmarket Central Square Farmer’s Market open every Monday 12PM6PM from May 16th through November 21st. Their footprint, like last year, includes Norfolk Street and Starlight to increase space for vendors and distancing for shoppers.

Melanin Owned Business Vendors Flea Market: Every Saturday at Kay’s Oasis 1125 Blue Hill Ave from 12-5pm. Open Mic 1st and 4th Saturdays. Contact 585-237-8487 for vending opportunities. Vendors of color please reach out!

Launchpad Business Accelerator presented by Fairmount Innovation Lab Take your small business to the next level with the expertise of Hakim Cunningham!

APPLY NOW @fairmount_lab www.filboston.org Love Your Block Mini Grant The Mayor’s Office of Civic Organizing is excited to announce the return of this program! Do you have an idea for a project to bring your community together and improve your neighborhood? Love Your Block invites you to propose

a community project with the chance to win up to $3,500 in grant funding and supplemental city services. SUBMIT BY JUNE 10TH Google search: LOVE YOUR BLOCK MINI-GRANTS BOSTON Hatch Makerspace Workshops Tons of free with registration workshops all month long. From programming to sewing to making paper flowers, Hatch is a really cool community spot you have to check out! www.watertownlib.org/hatch Boston LGBTQIA+ Artists Association is revamping with a new director and a new website!

They just released a survey asking what LGBTQIA+ artists in Boston would like to see happen with this new organization. Find it at www.blaa.us Community Fridges! There’s a bunch of these popping up all around the city and beyond!

They provide food for all and are totally volunteer-run! @southbostoncommunityfridge needs help starting up! Email southbostoncommunityfridge@ gmail.com to find how to get involved. @dotcommunityfridge is not open but does regular food drives. The following are now open! @watertowncommunityfridge @bostoncommunityfridge @allstonbrightonfridges @matcommunityfridge @cambridgefridge @cambridgecitygrowers @roslindalecommunityfridge @somervillecommunityfridge @newtoncommunityfreedge @numutualaid @southendfridge @brooklinecommunityfridge

ADVOCACY Sisters Unchained is a prison abolitionist non-profit organization dedicated to supporting young women and girls with incarcerated or formerly incarcerated parents. It is a refuge space where young women of color can focus on loving and improving themselves and their communities in the way they see fit. Summer programming open for application now! @sistersunchained www.sistersunchained.com HAWC (Healing Abuse Working for Change) strives to help abused women, children, men, and nonbinary people live free from violence and fear. As a leading domestic violence agency in Massachusetts, HAWC provides a domestic violence helpline, emergency shelter, legal services, advocacy and counseling services to more than 2,500 families in the North Shore area each year. @hawcnorthshore www.hawcdv.org Be Heard Initiative A racially diverse group of artists pushing the Boston community to start talking about racial inequities.

With a host of local partners, dancers, poets and filmmakers from Mattapan to Chelsea have created a myriad of events across the city in June and July, 2022, to have conversations about racism. www.beheard.world Sista Creatives Rising helps marginalized women/femme creatives gain accessibility and visibility in the arts to facilitate personal healing @sistacreativesrising www.sistacreativesrising.com

Dunamis drops a weekly Resource Roundup for artists straight to your inbox! Stay up to date with all this locally curated list of artist opportunities. Go to their website now and sign up for the newsletter! www.dunamisboston.org DeeDee’s Cry provides resources and education on the importance of mental health and wellness within communities of color. They collaborate with organizations and agencies to create events, programs, projects and activities within communities of color that are centered on family, mental health and wellness. Find out about upcoming events at www.deedeescry.com Building Audacity is a nonprofit organization that seeks to support youth-led changemaking and to provide resources for adults looking to create inclusive, youth-focused learning environments. They are running several programs right now that prioritize community needs during the pandemic, including a GOTVac campaign, hydroponic produce farm, and grocery delivery services. Learn more at www.buildingaudacity. org and @buildingaudacity Creatives of Color Boston is a collective dedicated to the creation of intersectional safe spaces for BIPOC artists to connect and create together, while also celebrating and uplifting the voices and work of BIPOC artists from around the Boston area. They plan three main events each year including concerts, workshops, and exhibitions. More at www. creativesofcolorboston.com Greater Boston Artist Collective strengthens our artist community with their many programs.

From filming music videos to artist interviews…from monthly artist features to their yearly art event they strive to keep artists thriving! Check out their very active IG at @greaterbostonartistcollective and website www. greaterbostonartistcollective. com

SCORE 46573 TIME 2 39 CANS 13 :

Gay Ghosts by Abby Neale

@lavendar_menace_press

Blueberry Basket by Valentina Sciutti

@valentina.sciutti

The Daily Life of Yi Bin by Yi Bin Liang

yinbinliang.com

Written Analog by Kit Collins & Suhayl

The Boston ake us m 0% p l e H Compass is 10 hing! run t ree s nt i lu vo h t

Amplify new vo ices!

@kitschcollins, @birdnyc__

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Email to learn how

kevin@brain-arts.org

t our Ar See Y !

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work to send your -ar ts.org in ra adrian@b

Zahirah Nur Truth Presented by Creatives of Color Boston

CUSTOM

DAY

FROM

TRIPS

BOSTON

REUSE REFUSE

CULTURE:

Project Oscar is a free, compost drop-off pilot program run by the City of Boston. Before trying it out I made sure I knew what waste I could and couldn’t collect, as listed on the website. With my housemates’ blessing I set up a 4 gallon, lidded bucket on our back stairs, started filling it with plant-based kitchen scraps, and waited.

This past weekend my bucket and my article deadline ranneth over. I popped the bucket in a granny cart and headed to the nearest drop-off location: 65 Faneuil St in Brighton.

The bins at 65 Faneuil St are difficult to find. There is no signage. I found some directions in a hidden corner of the Project Oscar webpage, but they were confusing.

CUISINE:

• Faneuil St. is a residential area with brick apartment complexes. Right across from McKinney Playground, and in between the other street numbers where #65 should be, there is a parking lot with a trash dumpster at the far end.

Project Oscar: Free, Drop-off Composting in Boston

Many months ago I wrote a love letter to my backyard composting system as a column in this paper. I built that system myself and maintained it for 6 years. Feeding it and watching it work was a joy.

Recently I moved to a new apartment and had to leave my backyard bins behind. After years of paying nothing but love and the occasional stirand-shovel for food waste management and soil rich as the banks of the Nile, I didn’t want to shell out for a curbside pickup service.

Then I remembered hearing about Project Oscar. https://www.boston.gov/ departments/publicworks/project-oscar

NATURE:

THIS IS HOW TO ACCESS THE BINS

• Walk all the way to the dumpster. You may feel like you are trespassing. It’s ok.

• Behind the dumpster you will see a second, paved area. There are metal poles running along either side that look like they once held clotheslines.

• Turn RIGHT. At the far end you will see two compost bins. One is a green, plastic bin labeled “Black Earth.” The other is a dark brown, metal bin with “City of Boston” insignias and Marty Walsh’s name on the front. That’s our guy.

• Lift the lid on the top of the bin and dump your compost.

My kitchen scraps were a stinky stew inside the bucket, but I had brought two doubled-up, brown paper grocery bags with me (compostable!), and I’m very glad I did. Transferring my load into paper bags made putting it in much easier. I was careful not to spill any on the asphalt, especially since people live there.

Kids in the nearby playground: “It smells like garbage right now!” Almost definitely me From what I could see, everything else in the bin was compostable and well-contained. Another person deposited their compost while I was bagging mine, and they said it seemed like a good system.

I highly recommend checking out Project Oscar and finding out for yourself.

AMELIA

@ameliacyoung

Answers I look to el cielo and the heavens above And beg for an answer, will I ever find love?

‘Please, por favor, tell me what to do.’

The stars shine down and say, ‘Mami, the answers are all within you.

Trust in your soul, for its knowing is true.

Listen to the body, for it speaks to you too.

Mija, the answers are all within you.’

I look to la tierra and the earth beneath my soles And beg for an answer, how will I reach my goals?

‘Please, por favor, tell me what to do.’

The bones of my ancestors say, ‘Mami, the answers are all within you.

Believe in your light, for it will shine through.

See with your heart and you’ll have a clear view.

Mija, the answers are all within you.’

I look to el agua and the creatures of the sea And beg for an answer, how will I be free?

‘Please, por favor, tell me what to do.’

The waves crash to the shore and say, ‘Mami, the answers are all within you.

You are free in your mind and in your heart, too.

With each breath you take, you are born anew.

Mija, the answers are all within you.’

BRENDA ECHEVERRY JamaicaPlain

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Fields Corner, outside DAP

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1369 Coffee House (Cental Sq)

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