Boston Guide to Mid-Sized Venues

Guide
Written By HDN Staff

Welcome to Hump Day News guide to mid-sized music venues: Boston and Beyond Edition. Looking for small or large venues instead? Get out there!

Have updates to suggest? Email us at info[at]humpday[dot]news.

 

The Mid-Sized Vehicles

What you lose in intimacy at medium-sized clubs, you gain in better sound systems and more national touring acts.

Arts at the Armory

191 Highland Ave #1c, Somerville, MA 02143

Web

Arts at the Armory
Horsegirl / Free Range
Mar 27
Horsegirl / Free Range
Arts at the Armory: Live Review
The Show Will Go On
The Show Will Go On

Orla Gartland grins and bears it at the Armory.

What’s the Fuzzstival?
What’s the Fuzzstival?

Greg Freeman closes out a doozy at the Amory.

Yes, It Always Smells Like Chocolate Chip Cookies In Here
Yes, It Always Smells Like Chocolate Chip Cookies In Here

The Somerville Songwriter Sessions hit the Rooted Cafe.

Preview: Fuzzstival
Preview: Fuzzstival

Fuzzstival returns to the Armory in 2024 for two days of fuzzed out fun.

“Ukulele” Is Hard To Spell
“Ukulele” Is Hard To Spell

Deerhoof miss a priceless collab opportunity at Arts at the Armory.

The Unbearable Gloominess of Being
The Unbearable Gloominess of Being

Royal Thunder sounds like a nickname for Zeus at Somergloom at Arts at the Armory.

O, The Heaviness!
O, The Heaviness!

Big Brave brings the noise at Somergloom at Arts at the Armory.

 

Brighton Music Hall

158 Brighton Ave, Allston, MA 02134

Web

Brighton Music Hall
Butcher Brown
Apr 2
Butcher Brown
Brighton Music Hall: Live Reviews
Morse Code
Morse Code
We’re All In This Together
We’re All In This Together
 

City Winery Boston

80 Beverly St, Boston, MA 02114

Web

City Winery Boston
Basia Bulat
Mar 19
Basia Bulat
 

Crystal Ballroom

55 Davis Square, Somerville, MA 02144

Web

 

Middle East

472 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Web

 

ONCE

Pop-up venue; regular series at 0 Windsor Place, Somerville, MA 02143

Web

 

Paradise Rock Club

967 Commonwealth Ave, Boston, MA 02215

Web

 

Regent Theatre

7 Medford St., Arlington, MA 02474

Web

 

Shalin Liu

37 Main St, Rockport, MA 01966

Web

 

Sonia

10 Brookline St, Cambridge, MA 02139

Web

 

Soundcheck Studios

150 Corporate Park Dr., Pembroke, MA 02359

Web

 

The Sinclair

52 Church St, Cambridge, MA 02138

Web

Tracks
Apollo Sunshine: “The Mermaid Angeline”
Apollo Sunshine: “The Mermaid Angeline”

An underwater musical Shangri-La.

Emma Harner: “Do It”
Emma Harner: “Do It”

On that math folk steez.

Lions and Lavender: “Pretty Lies”
Lions and Lavender: “Pretty Lies”

If you gotta have lies, make ‘em pretty.

Couch: “Alright”
Couch: “Alright”

Live from El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles!

(T-T)b: “Hey, Creepshow”
(T-T)b: “Hey, Creepshow”

Guitar-forward chiptune.

Audible Bite 2023: Capsule: Tongue Depressor
Audible Bite 2023: Capsule: Tongue Depressor

The most Pioneer Valley shit of all time.

exciting!!excellent!!: “online!!ok”
exciting!!excellent!!: “online!!ok”

Wastes no time.

Earth Flower: “Paradise”
Earth Flower: “Paradise”

It’s a Ruth Garbus jawn.

Ava Valianti: “Wishing Well”
Ava Valianti: “Wishing Well”

Indie pop balladry.

Ha Vay: “Huntress”
Ha Vay: “Huntress”

A breathy pop ambler.

Sons Lunaris: “Spoonfull”
Sons Lunaris: “Spoonfull”

A moody, bluesy cover of Willie Dixon’s classic.

Kratzen: “Immer”
Kratzen: “Immer”

Not to be confused with the NEU! jam “Für immer.”

Lawrence Fields: “Vision”
Lawrence Fields: “Vision”

A pianist…and a keyboardist.

Mac Blackout: “Sunspots”
Mac Blackout: “Sunspots”

Fluttery, open-ended, hints of Lake Michigan.

Fust: “Spangled”
Fust: “Spangled”

Big Ugly is a town in West Virginia.

Dwelley: “Stone Heads”
Dwelley: “Stone Heads”

Heavy, alt rock energy, with abstract patterning.

Altus: “Origin”
Altus: “Origin”

Greek x Yoruba mythological jazz.

Albums
FACS: Wish Defense
FACS: Wish Defense

The Chicago artcore band still has work in the morning.

Really Great: Be The Light On
Really Great: Be The Light On

Melancholy is a thorny crown.

FACS: Still Life In Decay
FACS: Still Life In Decay

The Chicago artcore band has work in the morning.

Angel Bat Dawid: Requiem For Jazz
Angel Bat Dawid: Requiem For Jazz

Angel Bat Dawid versus Mozart in a steel-cage match. Who you got?

Pile: All Fiction
Pile: All Fiction

Pile’s ninth album. Better than Beethoven’s Ninth?

Eddie Japan: Pop Fiction
Eddie Japan: Pop Fiction

Eddie Japan's elegant new wave pop opera, Pop Fiction.

Nighttime: Keeper Is The Heart
Nighttime: Keeper Is The Heart

Go back to the future with Nighttime’s time-traveling wyrd folk spectacle Keeper Is The Heart.

Horse Lords: Comradely Objects
Horse Lords: Comradely Objects

“Fusion” is a genre-descriptor that is constantly on the verge of utter uselessness.

Keeley Forsyth: Limbs
Keeley Forsyth: Limbs

Can we befriend the specter of silence?

Maneka: Dark Matter
Maneka: Dark Matter

Maneka writes a new chapter in rock n roll with its latest LP.

Living Hour: Someday Is Today
Living Hour: Someday Is Today

The gazey, dreampop excursion takes us into a languid interior dimension of emotional transcendence.

Kitner: Shake The Spins
Kitner: Shake The Spins

Kitner tells the story of life lived at the tail end of a boozy buzz, with another night of debauchery on the way.

Twen: One Stop Shop
Twen: One Stop Shop

Twen charts a course across the sound waves of trans-Atlantic pop on their LP One Stop Shop.

Iceblink: Carpet Cocoon
Iceblink: Carpet Cocoon

Ambient is no longer the province of purely theoretical sound experiments. Enter Iceblink.

Mamalarky: Pocket Fantasy
Mamalarky: Pocket Fantasy

A gooey, 12-stack musical layer cake, shotgun-blasted with rainbow sprinkles by a laughing clown.

NNAMDÏ: Please Have A Seat
NNAMDÏ: Please Have A Seat

NNAMDÏ ghosts his songs before they ghost him. But you’ll love Please Have A Seat anyway.

Live Reviews
A Solid 69
A Solid 69

The Coe Street Co-op play the hits at The Jungle.

Tap Into America
Tap Into America

Subject Matter welcomes all comers at the Lilypad.

An A/V Explosion
An A/V Explosion

A night of sights and sounds at Capitol Theatre.

Give Pieces A Chance
Give Pieces A Chance

Chaiah is a soft ‘ch’ sound at Lizard Lounge.

Anti-Valentine’s
Anti-Valentine’s

Smell The Love raises a stink at Midway Cafe.

A Sloppy Kiss
A Sloppy Kiss

Tyler and The Names cap a laugher at The Rockwell.

Post-Snow America
Post-Snow America

It’s Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeef for dinner at The Rockwell.

Pre-Snow America
Pre-Snow America

Follow Thru come to the rescue at Midway Cafe.

Pin The Tail On the $5 Beer
Pin The Tail On the $5 Beer

Diane Young cuts deep at Deep Cuts.

Bill Got Fired For Insubordination
Bill Got Fired For Insubordination

Bus Crush is preferable to bus crash at Silhouette Lounge.

A Griot Gathering
A Griot Gathering

The two-day fest We Black Folk returns to Club Passim.

Four Bands, One Bill
Four Bands, One Bill

Impossible Dog achieves the possible at Deep Cuts.

Waiting For My Mass
Waiting For My Mass

Blue Heron has $26 dollars in its hand at First Church of Cambridge.

Now That’s What I Call A Sticky Situation!
Now That’s What I Call A Sticky Situation!

Glue bonds at the Lilypad.

Born Freedy
Born Freedy

Freedy Johnston tells ironic anecdotes at the Lilypad.

The Apocalypse Is Always Nigh
The Apocalypse Is Always Nigh

Tami Fest 4 is what it’s all about at Lizard Lounge.

Saturday Night Special
Saturday Night Special

Sand Machine does what sand machines do at Midway Cafe.

O Ceilidh Come Calling
O Ceilidh Come Calling

The 22nd Boston Celtic Music Festival takes over Camberville.

Wet Underpants
Wet Underpants

Blame Shifters shift the blame at Silhouette Lounge.

Cast The First Stoned
Cast The First Stoned

Keller Williams mucks about at Paradise Rock Club.

Bloodless Brunch
Bloodless Brunch

Ron Savage orders the prix fixe at DX Dunster.

Tennis Backwards
Tennis Backwards

Sinnet holds court at Deep Cuts.

Baby Creators
Baby Creators

Job Creators spur fiscal growth at Lizard Lounge.

White Noise
White Noise

Don White puts family first at Club Passim.

A Night With Armor
A Night With Armor

André Obin celebrates a vinyl release at Deep Cuts.

The Zeus Is Loose
The Zeus Is Loose

Electric Zeus unleash the raga at State Park.

Put Another Log On The Fire Inside
Put Another Log On The Fire Inside

Toritori headlines a bill from the inside out at Middle East.

Smorgasbord
Smorgasbord

Yoko Miwa wishes you a happy birthday at the Mad Monkfish.

A Partially Open Mic
A Partially Open Mic

Rappers pass the mic, and the signup sheet, at The Jungle.

Snow Daze II
Snow Daze II

The Shallows run deep at Deep Cuts.

The Backyard
Mobius Band: LIVE
Mobius Band: LIVE

Archives: LIVE at Middle East (12/2007).

Weather Pending: And How!
Weather Pending: And How!

Archives: Album // Weather Pending: And How!

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

To everything, a season — except fascism.

Clap Your Hands Say Yeah
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

From the Archives, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah at Middle East (11/2007).

Middle Distance Runner: The Sun & Earth
Middle Distance Runner: The Sun & Earth

From the Archives, Middle Distance Runner : The Sun & Earth

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Becoming Anti-Social: a Six Point “Plan.”

Drug Rug: Paint the Fence Invisible
Drug Rug: Paint the Fence Invisible

From the Archives, Drug Rug paints fences on its second album.

Drug Rug: LIVE
Drug Rug: LIVE

From the Archives, Drug Rug live at Milky Way (11/2007).

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

New Year, New Meh?

MMOSS: i
MMOSS: i

From the Archives, New Hampshire psych also rises.

Interview: Middle Distance Runner
Interview: Middle Distance Runner

A chat with Middle Distance Runner from the Archives.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Less is more.

Bent Shapes: Feels Weird
Bent Shapes: Feels Weird

From the Archives, Feels Weird doesn’t feel weird at all.

Interview: Lord Jeff
Interview: Lord Jeff

A chat with Lord Jeff from the Archives.

Letter from the Editor
Letter from the Editor

Quiz Time! The Hump Nights giveaways get an upgrade.

Interview: Arms and Sleepers
Interview: Arms and Sleepers

A chat with Arms and Sleepers from the Archives.

HDN Staff
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