‘Tis the season for attending music festivals and setting rat traps — a.k.a., hitting up Rat City Arts Festival.
The free, annual fest and celebration of Allston culture will return Saturday, August 16 with performances from a dozen-plus Boston acts, ranging from Nurse Joy’s danceable punk to the experimental electronica of LAVAGXRL (pictured above). This year’s edition of the event will run from 3 to 10 p.m. at a new home: The Charles River Speedway, which boasts a larger capacity than the fest’s previous camp at Aeronaut’s Allston taproom.
The relocation represents the fest’s growing presence in Allston in its fourth year, and the robust 2025 lineup reflects that relevancy, too. Additional performers on deck include Beeef, Tiberius, Shallow Pools, Zion Rodman, Big Brute, Daphne Blue Underworld, Tyler Donkoh-Halm, Marquis Lavoie, Kold Kwan, Jvde, Sam Mulligan, Albini Mbie, Bratattack, and alt-rock headliners oldsoul.
As in past years, this year’s festival will be preceded by a “rat walk,” a neighborhood walkthrough that teaches residents about rodent control by identifying rat dens and rat hot spots. This year’s walk is scheduled for Thursday, August 14, and will be followed by a free “Rock of Ages” concert for the community’s senior residents on August 15.
“This year, we’ll continue to accomplish what we’ve done for the past three years—championing our local artist community,” says Ricky Meinke, festival founder. “You will see more paid opportunities for our artists, more unique ways of highlighting our talented line-up, and additional efforts to address our pesky rat problem in Allston-Brighton through education and awareness.”
Check out the 2025 flyer below.
