Summer still has its hooks in us, and we’re thankful for it. There are a few late season fests to mention before we get to the main event. The Arcadia Folk Festival (Aug. 29) is held on the grounds of a nature reserve in Easthampton. Sounds groovy. If you didn’t get your fill of heaviness at Somergloom, head west for RPM Fest (Sept. 4-6) at the Miller Falls Rod & Gun Club in Montague. And the unofficial end of summer is saluted at Club Passim’s Campfire Festival (Sept. 4-7), which spreads folk across Labor Day weekend like a blanket on Nauset Beach.
Now for the main event: the fall feelings. The crisp mornings, leaf peeping, autumnal harvest, apple picking, pumpkin carving, the endless parades of flannel. It’s the moment you try to pull in the AC window unit without dropping it on someone’s head on the sidewalk below. Soundtrack your season with our calendar of the arts and music festival highlights.
Sept. 12: Moon Over Salem (Downtown Salem)
It looked like the late summer, early fall indie classic in Salem was not going to get out of the gate this year due to building certification issues plaguing the original venue. But never underestimate the joie de grit of the DIY music scene. The action has been moved to Cinema Salem for an all-day benefit for the Moon Rising Artist Scholarship. Couch Sex reunites for this one.
Sept. 12: The Gilman Square Festival and Assembly Row Riverfest (Somerville)
Two family-friendly neighborhood festivals on the same Saturday. Both bring food, vendors, music and interactive entertainment to the table. The Gilman Square Festival offers pumpkin painting, a performance by Esh Circus Arts and Cate the Great, as well as a beer garden for the parents. Riverfest has sports games, a bounce house, a Chalk Walk – and stay to the end of Riverfest to enjoy the fireworks.
Sept. 18-20: Grand Point North (Burlington, Vermont)
Head to Burlington for three days of folk, rock and pop at Grand Point North. The festival is a benefit for the Grand Point Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to promoting the arts and arts education. Acclaimed singer-songwriter Grace Potter heads the foundation, so no surprise that she carries a heavy load on the bill, headlining two out of three nights. She’s brought along fellow musicians and friends such as Portugal. The Man, Jackson Browne, Dawes and Trampled By Turtles to create a music experience for a good cause that punches above its weight.
Sept. 18-20: Wormtown Music Festival (Greenfield)
I thought “Wormtown” was Worcester? As it turns out, the organizer, Wormtown Trading, purveyor of assorted midrange hippie wares, has brick-and-mortar stores all over Massachusetts. But the real draw for us is its side business, the Wormtown Music Festival in Western Massachusetts, which delivers a mile-long lineup that will make your eyes glaze over. So many jam, funk and rock acts. Maybe you’ve heard of headliners such as Andy Frasco & The U.N., Dirtwire and Leftover Salmon. Maybe you haven’t. The important point is that this is the type of fest where you turn on, tune in and stop worrying about set times.
Sept. 19: Fluff Festival (Union Square, Somerville)
There are “alternative facts” that maintain the origin of Fluff dates back to the Limpert Brothers in Vineland, New Jersey. But locals know that the marshmallow confection was born and raised in Somerville. Come be on the right side of history in Union Square to celebrate the homegrown invention with live music, Fluff-laden morsels and “sticky games.” There’s even a bike valet, in case your hands are too sticky to park your own two-wheeler.
Oct. 2-3: Fuzzstival (The Armory, Somerville)
If there’s a pantheon of great indie music fests, Fuzzstival is on it. The festival has been plugging along more or less without interruption since 2013. This year’s edition offers a savvy temperature check on the local underground scene with a few nuggets from Western Mass (Animal Piss, It’s Everywhere), NYC (Jean Mignon, CS Cleaners) and north of the border (Hélène Barbier). The three-eyed cat descends on the Armory for two nights at the start of the spooky season.
Oct. 9-11: Honk! (Somerville, Cambridge)
This is the marching band festival your mother warned you about. What do these ragtag troupes of tuba-blowing drifters want? Get a job, hippie! There’s no such thing as a free lunch in this world. But Honk! is a free Davis Square outdoor festival, on its final day marching to Harvard Square. Expect brass instruments everywhere you look, interactive art fun, family-friendly activities and the “Reclaim the Streets for Horns, Bikes, and Feet” parade. The full schedule drops in September.
Oct. 10: Layālaya Global Arts Festival (Woodstock, Connecticut)
I’m keeping an eye on this world music festival as it develops south of the border. The festival art director is Sandeep Das, an acclaimed tabla player and music educator based in Boston. His collaboration with Yo-Yo Ma for The Silk Road Ensemble won the Grammy award for Best World Music Album in 2017. I don’t doubt he could put together a compelling lineup, but the four-day schedule for Layālaya is looking a little thin at the moment. About three and a half days of anomalous “community events,” followed by one evening of music. Maybe more music materializes? If not, save yourself the trip and catch one of the superlative concerts scheduled year round by world music merchants Global Arts Live.
Oct. 10: Flannel Jam (Marshfield)
From the people who brought you the summer fun staple Levitate Music & Arts Festival comes Flannel Jam. The organizers, which got their start as a surf and skate shop, have been trying to horn in on the fall vibes since 2019. And who can blame them? Flannel is cozy in more ways than one. This concert takes place in the intimate setting of the Levitate Backyard with a lineup that leans folky, bluegrassy and jammy. There’s a Nantucket-version of this festival around the same time, in case you have a boat and know how to use it.
Oct. 18: SomerStreets Monster Mash (Union Square, Somerville)
Guaranteed to be a graveyard smash. The spooky season ramps up for real in the second half of October, and SomerStreets collects all your favorite Halloween-adjacent activities into one event. Live music, interactive fun, pumpkin carving, face painting, food, drink and local vendors. Costumes not required, but how are you going to show up to an event called “Monster Mash” in street clothes? Respect yourself.
