Editor’s Note: Welcome to V3 Weekend, Vanyaland‘s guide to help you sort out your weekend entertainment with curated selections and recommendations across our three pillars of Music, Comedy, and Film/TV. It’s what you should know about, where you need to be, and where you’ll be going, with us riding shotgun along the way.
Music: NICE, a fest at The Rockwell and Crystal Ballroom
If you’ve hit Vanyaland over the past month, you’ve no doubt seen our extensive artist profile series on NICE, a fest, highlighting the nearly 50 bands playing this weekend’s festival in Somerville. We’re stoked to be the official media partner of this weekend’s festivities, and just looking at the flyer below explains why. Alex Pickert and Get To The Gig Boston pulled together one of the finest local music lineups in a very long while, and we can’t wait to just walk back and forth from Crystal Ballroom and The Rockwell catching band after band across the two stages. Some other stuff is in the mix as well: An outdoor vendor market that’s free to attend; midnight screenings of Wayne’s World tonight (July 29) and Saturday (July 30); and a just-announced Sunday afterparty at The Rockwell with Black Beach, Anna Fox Rochinski (pictured), Doll Spirit Vessel, and Gut Health. NICE just keeps getting Nice-er, and the height of summer finally has a music fest to match.
NICE, A FEST :: Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 at The Crystal Ballroom and The Rockwell, Davis Square in Somerville, MA :: Friday from 5 p.m. and Saturday from noon :: Festival homepage and ticket info
Comedy: Orlando Baxter at Off Cabot
Orlando Baxter remains one of the greatest Boston comedy voices of our time, and this weekend hits Off Cabot in Beverly for appearances tonight (July 29) and Saturday (30). We hyped the Conan-approved funnyman in this week’s Mic’d Up, but take a deeper dive into Baxter’s world with our May interview, where Baxter discusses in detail his latest hour, Live From South High. In it he returns to his hometown of Worcester to revisit his academic roots by recording in the auditorium of his old stomping grounds (as both a student and a teacher), showing love for the people who helped him get him to that spot and how it inspired him to take on stand-up comedy.
ORLANDO BAXTER :: Friday, July 29 and Saturday, July 30 at Off Cabot Comedy Club, 9 Wallis St. in Beverly, MA :: 7:30 p.m. both nights, $25 :: Info page :: Advance tickets
Film/TV: ‘Serial Mom’ at Exhibit A Brewing Company
Usually, we only want two things: For it to be Halloween all year ’round, and to go back to life in the care-free ’90s. Framingham’s Exhibit A Brewing Company. helps check off both boxes this Saturday (July 30) with Boos ‘N Brews, a free screening of John Waters’ 1994 black comedy crime film Serial Mom. The event finds Exhibit A once again partnering with the Here For The Boos podcast for a welcome horror movie night in the dead of summer, held outdoors in the brewery’s beer garden. Hey, if Home Goods can start rolling out Halloween decor in July, our local breweries can also get in on the action early.
BOOS ‘N BREWS: ‘SERIAL MOM’ :: Saturday, July 30 at Exhibit A Brewing Company, 81 Morton St. in Framingham, MA :: 7 p.m., free admission :: Event page
