Lalah Hathaway is supplying this year’s BAMS Fest with an extra dose of soul.
The annual event — which stands for the Boston Art & Music Soul Festival — has announced the performers scheduled for its 2025 edition, with Hathaway leading the lineup. The singer (and daughter of the late soul legend Donny Hathaway) is one of three national acts who will visit Franklin Park’s Playstead Field on June 28 for the all-ages festival, along with Cleveland-raised singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr and North Carolina hip-hop duo Little Brother.
As always, BAMS Fest’s varied slate of area performers amplifies Black and brown creatives by transcending any one genre or artistic medium. Musicians Haasan Barclay (pictured above), Edo.G, Jireh Calo, Kasia Lavon, and Roots Alley Collective — plus DJs Bruno, WhySham, and Deaf Tunez — will fill the festival with their twists on reggae, R&B, hip-hop, rock, and jazz. Also on deck are spoken word poets Amanda Shea and Cole Rodriguez, and street dance performers The Peacekeepers.
According to the festival’s website, the family-friendly “KidChella” component will return to welcome more local youth performers to BAMS Fest, and guests will be able to participate in Afro-diasporic dance classes curated by Stiggity Stackz Worldwide.
Solidarity tickets — which allow guests to pay what they want for admission, with a $10 minimum — are available now, and applications are open for small businesses who are interested in participating in the festival’s vendor market. Check out the announcement below.
