‘Block Parties’ Are Taking Over Dewey Square This Summer
Image via Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy
What was once occupied by tents, and later, a big, controversial mural will now be home to a series of free, outdoor concerts.
CrashLine Productions, the folks who string together the acts that form the Boston Calling concerts on City Hall Plaza, announced Monday that they would be hosting “block parties” at Dewey Square throughout the summer.
Directly across from South Station, the “Boston Calling Block Party” series will begin on May 8, and will offer passerby a chance to catch local bands—hand-selected by the Boston Calling staff—performing on the grassy lawn every Thursday, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. The last shows will be in late September. Boston Calling has a list of the bands that will be filtering through this summer, which will be updated regularly on their website.
While the series isn’t new to the city, the location certainly is. For the last five seasons, the block parties have been held at Downtown Crossing, along Summer Street, as part of a program supported by the Downtown Boston Business Improvement District. Currently, extensive work is being done at the old Filene’s Building as part of the Millennium Tower project, which could have created a cluster of confusion for attendees.
The new location, which organizers said offers additional space and more outdoor amenities, was made possible by a partnership with the Downtown BID and staff from the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. Besides converging upon the space in the busy district, revelers can crack open some beverages from “an assortment of Anheuser Busch options” as they watch the scheduled act take the stage. On top of that, a farmers market—better known as the Boston Public Market—hosted by the Conservancy will also be open, adding an additional perk to the weekly events.
Mayor Marty Walsh, who has been consistent with his promotion of the arts since he took over as mayor, welcomed the series’ new location on the lawn near one of the MBTA’s busiest transit stations.
“We are excited about Boston Calling’s creative activation of the city of Boston’s unique open spaces. The popular Block Party Series’ move to Dewey Square, where food trucks and the Boston Public Market already bring people together, will add additional energy to the square,” he said in a statement. “It will create a new environment for friends to gather after work, and will make the Rose Kennedy Greenway and our whole city even more vibrant.”
