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Berklee Summer in the City


Presented by Natixis Global Asset Management

As the weather warms up, join Berklee students, alumni, and faculty for a free outdoor music series held in neighborhoods throughout Metro Boston and beyond. The series culminates with the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival on September 28.


“Summer in the City is one of our very best contributions to the local community – the world’s next great artists performing throughout Boston all summer long. You can be among the first to see their careers take flight,” said Berklee President Roger H. Brown. Past performers have included Esperanza Spalding, Dopapod, and the Stray Birds, to name a few.


Summer in the City concerts bring neighborhoods to life with free programs of pop, rock, jazz, Latin, blues, flamenco, and Celtic music. The Boston-area concerts take place in destinations throughout the city from the Rose Kennedy Greenway, Institute of Contemporary Art, the Boston Harbor Islands, and the Boston Common’s newly renovated Brewer Fountain Plaza to communities with strong cultural identities ranging from Jamaica Plain, Roxbury, East Boston, and the South End.


Click on one of the locations on the left to find a concert near you.

Grant Richards

Wakefield Library, 6:00 p.m.Free

Grant Richards is a formidable pianist, composer, and teacher in his own right, remaining active in the Boston music scene by performing and recording as a leader and sideman.

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Berklee College of Music, Villa Victoria Center for the Arts, City of Boston Parks and Recreation Department

Tito Puente Latin Music Series: Jeremy De Jesus

Mozart Park, 7:00 p.m.Free

Berklee student Jeremy De Jesus has been recording, performing, composing, and arranging in many different styles, including jazz, Afro-Caribbean, salsa, neo-soul, R&B, hip-hop, and fusion.

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Jake Sherman

Brewer Plaza, 12:00 p.m.Free

Jake Sherman has moved into the top tier of young musicians in the Boston and New York areas and has appeared with Ralph Peterson, Gretchen Parlato, Bilal, Lalah Hathaway, Casey Benjamin, Jamire Williams, and Dave Fiuczynski, among others.

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Esther Rojas

Boston Public Library, 12:30 p.m.Free

Esther Rojas’s style is a combination of the influences of Colombian traditional music, R&B, pop, salsa, Cuban timba, Brazilian, and jazz. This performance also features the great Colombian singer Maria Mulata, winner of the world-renowned “Viña del Mar Festival” '08 in Chile.

 

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Nick Hakim

South Shore Conservatory, 8:00 p.m.Free

 

Singer-songwriter Nick Hakim and his band have been playing venues around Boston and New York, cultivating a new sound in preparation for his record that will be released in the summer of 2013. 

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Nicolas Castañeda Group

Shakespeare Stage, 12:00 p.m.Free

Nicolas Castañeda is a harpist from Bogotá, Colombia, studying jazz at Berklee.

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Joe's Truck Stop / Samily Man / Buttons and Mindy

Georges Island, 2:00 p.m.Free

Berklee Music Fest on Georges Island offers a free concert featuring three student groups with music ranging from bluegrass to funk to math rock. Buttons and Mindy hails from Australia, Alaska, and New York; Samily Man is an improvisational reggae band; and Joe's Truck Stop is characterized by bluegress, Appalachian, and honky tonk music.

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Albino Mbie

Derby Square, Salem, 5:00 p.m.Free

Albino Mbie was born in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, a country in southern Africa known for its rich musical and cultural heritage. Fueled by the resourcefulness and determination that have always characterized Mozambicans, he built his first guitar at 16 from a 5-liter can of oil, scrap wood, and strings made out of electrical cords.

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Albino Mbie

Derby Square, Salem, 5:00 p.m.Free

Albino Mbie was born in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, a country in southern Africa known for its rich musical and cultural heritage. Fueled by the resourcefulness and determination that have always characterized Mozambicans, he built his first guitar at 16 from scrap wood, strings made out of electrical cords and a five-liter can of oil.

Read more

Esther Rojas

Shakespeare Stage, 5:30 p.m.Free

Esther Rojas’s style is a combination of the influences of Colombian traditional music, R&B, pop, salsa, Cuban timba, Brazilian music, and jazz. This performance also features the great Colombian singer Maria Mulata, 2008 winner of the world-renowned Viña del Mar Festival in Chile.

 

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Brite Lite Brite

Museum of Fine Arts, 2:00 p.m.Free

Composed of award-winning singer-songwriter Andrea Stankevitch and electronics master Luke Johnson, both alumni of Berklee College of Music, Brite Lite Brite has taken live electronic music production and performance to new levels by creating innovative technologies and techniques for live sound design and real-time production.

 

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Clifton Williams

Brewer Plaza, 12:00 p.m.Free

At 21 years old, Clifton Williams is an accomplished pianist who has been invited by the U.S Ambassador to Vienna to perform a series of concerts in Vienna, Austria and Paris, France. He attends Berklee College of Music on a presidential scholarship.

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Francisco Ruiz

Regattabar at the Charles Hotel, 6:00 p.m.Free

Hailing from Ecuador, talented singer Francisco Ruiz is fluent in a wide range of styles, including pop, salsa, and reggaeton.

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Clifton Williams

Brewer Plaza, 12:00 p.m.Free

At 21 years old, Clifton Williams is an accomplished pianist who has been invited by the U.S Ambassador to Vienna to perform a series of concerts in Vienna, Austria and Paris, France. He attends Berklee College of Music on a presidential scholarship.

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The Dwells

Prudential Center, 12:00 p.m.Free

The Dwells are a neo-Americana, cosmic folk duo that gives a nod to earlier genre-benders like Gram Parsons and Elliott Smith. 

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KeL

Shakespeare Stage, 3:00 p.m.Free

KeL is a colorful-sounding band, combining jazz piano, rock solos, fresh pop grooves, and hints of smooth Brazilian melodies.   

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Isis Lune

The Speigeltent, 5:30 p.m.Free

Isis Lune is a Boston-based group led by Israeli vocalist Ella Joy Meir. The band creates a unique soundscape that combines electronic textures with a raw human element.

 

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Clifton Williams

Brewer Plaza, 12:00 p.m.Free

At 21 years old, Clifton Williams is an accomplished pianist who has been invited by the U.S Ambassador to Vienna to perform a series of concerts in Vienna, Austria and Paris, France. He attends Berklee College of Music on a presidential scholarship.

Read more

Raven Katz

Harvard Longwood Campus, 12:30 p.m.Free

Singer-songwriter Raven Katz draws upon painters, fairy tales, and the great songwriters of the past to present songs that are unique in tone and style. She gathers influence from the folk, jazz, and pop genres.

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Juana Aquerreta y Amigos

Shakespeare Stage, 2:30 p.m.Free

Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Juana Aquerreta blends her musical roots with contemporary styles. She will be performing a set of original tunes, joined by her friends Jacinta Clusellas (guitar), Tomas Latorre (bass), Tiago Michelin (drums), and Eleni Arapoglou (vocals). 

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