“Call a Boomer,” Matter Neuroscience
Photo by Pat Greenhouse/Boston Globe staff A bright yellow phone booth appeared this spring outside Pavement Coffeehouse on the BU stretch of Commonwealth Avenue, and picking it up automatically connected you to a senior living facility in Reno, Nevada. For about a month, the zoomer-to-boomer hotline, dreamed up by biotech startup Matter Neuroscience to bridge America's two loneliest demographics, produced exactly the kinds of conversations you'd hope: a BU junior called and Maria Jaynes, a 73-year-old widow who'd been married 40 years, delivered four rules for love and dating that Hinge cannot replicate. Rule three: hold hands and never stop.
Brian Daly, @wickedfast
Instagram/wickedfast The test is simple: Walk into a watering hole, order a beer, and then casually ask the bartender to play some Bob Seger. The correct response? No hesitation, no redirecting you to the TouchTunes—just "yeah, sure" and cue the opening riff to "Mainstreet." Watertown resident Brian Daly has been administering this exam to Greater Boston bars since November, awarding a coveted "Certified Seger Bar" sticker to establishments that pass, and posting the deeply amusing results to Instagram. The conceit shouldn't work as well as it does, but Seger is a humble proxy: nostalgic without being cliché, perfect for a dimly lit room with Keno screens and old salts telling stories. Governor Healey recently joined Daly for a Guinness at Beacon Hill's 21st Amendment, where her "Still the Same" request was filled without missing a beat. instagram.com/wickedfast.
Johnny Hilbrant Partridge
Instagram/JohnnyHilbrant Johnny Hilbrant Partridge spent years as a Back Bay SoulCycle and Barry's instructor, smiling politely at weddings and social events while wealthy blowhards monologued at him about their Nantucket compounds, their "kiddos'" fencing lessons, and "wifey's" post-baby figure, all the while looking down on him for his career choice. Then he became their caricature. His satirical Instagram and TikTok persona Private Equity Guy (a/k/a PE Guy)—bug-eyed, nostrils flaring, fatuous-baritone booming—has earned the Wellesley resident $1 million in a year, including paid appearances at the financial conferences of the very people he skewers. instagram.com/JohnnyHilbrant.
The Real Housewives of Rhode Island
RHORI castmates Liz McGraw, Rosie DiMare, and Alicia Carmody. / Photo by: Scott Eisen/Bravo What is it, exactly, about The Real Housewives of Rhode Island that's so utterly transfixing? Is it the multiple relationship arcs involving infidelity cover-ups, sugar-daddy spoils, marital gaslighting, and financial abuse? Is it that sure-to-be breakout star Alicia Carmody drops malapropisms like loose change ("Jane's Fonda," "Epstein salts"), or that this is the only all-brunette debut season in the franchise's 20-year history? Or is that the ladies brought their Little Rhody mayhem all the way to a South Boston supper club, where the cast's cannabis mogul tugged the token tea-spiller's hair during a Frank Sinatra tribute that featured zero onscreen Frank Sinatra songs? All of the above—and no, we can't wait for Season 2.
Emily Sweeney
Creative Commons CC BY SA 4.0 Reporter Emily Sweeney has been a Boston Globe fixture since 2001—covering organized crime, cold cases, blotter tales, and much, much more—and for decades, the rest of the world had no idea what a rad human was behind her byline. Then in March, a vertical video of the self-identified "Dot Rat" narrating a Beverly mansion robbery story went viral: Millions of views, a comment section full of people relishing a real Boston accent, and a fan account dedicated to cataloging her track jackets (@trackjackets4lyf) followed. The Globe, sensibly, made her its first social video journalist. No one deserves this spotlight more. instagram.com/emilysweeney22.
Boston Fleet
Fleet goalie Aerin Frankel makes a save against the Montreal Victoire. / Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images When Boston Fleet players Megan Keller, Aerin Frankel, and Haley Winn returned home from Milan as Team USA gold medalists, hundreds of fans waited at the Prudential Center to meet them. Governor Healey declared March 2 U.S. Women's Hockey Day in Massachusetts. Mayor Wu anointed it Boston Fleet Day. The city, it turned out, needed this team—the one making the PWHL playoffs and selling out TD Garden. Looks like Boston has a new dynasty, and she plays in green and blue. bostonfleet.com.
Xandra Ibarra’s “Nude Laughing” at the MFA Boston
Ibarra in front of a Paul Gauguin painting. / Photo by Tim Correira for MFA Boston You'll find nude women throughout the MFA—in paint, bronze, wood. But when Oakland-based artist Xandra Ibarra walked those same halls in April, maniacally laughing, mostly naked, her nether regions exposed, an @MFABoston Instagram post of the planned performance ignited a 1,700-comment firestorm. "Outright perversion," scoffed one detractor. "I may reconsider membership," groused another. Staged as part of the exhibition "Subvert, Repair, Reclaim," Ibarra's live spectacle highlighted what the fine-art world has long quietly insinuated: Nude women belong on pedestals—not engaging with an audience and certainly not cackling. Thanks to the online furor, Ibarra's point was proved more effectively than any artist statement could.
“MB Anthem (The Market Basket Song)” by Stop Calling Me Frank
Market Basket doesn't have a loyalty card; it doesn't need one. The New England grocery chain—still embroiled in a Demoulas family power struggle worthy of Succession—already inspires muse-like devotion. Saxophonist Terry O'Malley of veteran Boston punk band Stop Calling Me Frank was stuck in traffic outside a busy Haverhill location when he muttered to himself, "Everybody's going to the Market Basket!" liked the way it scanned, and brought it to his bandmates. Clocking in under two minutes (with Artie T. solidarity intact), the frenetic ditty pays homage to the chain's square-packeted veggies, maroon jackets, and salmon floor tiles faster than it takes to find parking. stopcallingmefrank.bandcamp.com.
Ken Casey
Dropkick Murphys frontman and songwriter Ken Casey performs at the Unite For Veterans, Unite for America Rally on the National Mall in 2025 in Washington, DC. / Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images Massachusetts has nine congresspeople and two senators, but our most indispensable ambassador is this workingman's punk from Milton. In the past year, the Dropkick Murphys frontman drove humanitarian aid into Ukraine, rallied for veterans on the National Mall, and accepted the Mass Humanities Storyteller of the Year Award. Most famously, he also went viral for a moment that symbolized everything the country is missing: Casey bet a MAGA fan his Trump shirt wasn't made in America, traded him a DKM tee, and—momentarily—bridged an unbridgeable divide. Next up, this fall: sharing a stage with Springsteen at Tom Morello's "Power to the People" fest in Maryland. dropkickmurphys.com.
“For JP, by JP”
Photo by Chepe Leña This Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation initiative transformed a drab maroon industrial wall near the original Sam Adams brewery into a life-affirming community tribute. Artists Chepe "Sane" Leña and Cedric "Vise1" Douglas combined hyper-local vernacular—triple-deckers, an elevated Orange Line train, the Haffenreffer Brewery tower that's visible in the actual distance—with the universal language of natural hope: turquoise butterflies, rose-pink flowers, a bursting sun. At the center, an exultant child with arms outstretched welcomes whatever wonderful thing is just off-frame. A new horizon? A better tomorrow? You?
Swan Boats
Almost 150 years ago, Robert Paget introduced the first pedal-powered Swan Boat to the Public Garden to much fanfare. Today, they look pretty much the same as the first one did way back when: wooden bench seats in front, elegant swan in the back to conceal the person doing all the hard work. The fleet of six boats is now run by the fourth generation of the Paget family, making this one of the most enduring ways to enjoy a day on the water in the middle of the city. Some things, it seems, never change. 4 Charles St., Boston, 02116, swanboats.com.
Institute of Contemporary Art
Derrick Adams, "Funtime Unicorn," 2022. (Cast aluminum, steel, aluminum alloy, alloy steel coil, stainless steel, and handpainted enamel.) / Courtesy of the artist and Gagosian The ICA's Seaport home turns 20 this year, and instead of hanging a banner, the museum debuted a whole new look. The building's cantilever top is a blazing row of television color bars, a commissioned calling card for the phenomenal, see-it-now exhibition "Derrick Adams: View Master." Inside, more than 100 works of the Baltimore-born artist are an awe-inducing, maximalist homage to pop art, Black joy, and childlike play—a world in which life-size benches are fiberglass-and-resin Bomb Pops and kiddie rides are ebony unicorns with gold chains. Bless the ICA for giving Adams the space to do it. 25 Harbor Shore Dr., Boston, 02210, icaboston.org.
American Repertory Theater
A.R.T.’s world premiere of "Wonder." / Photo by Hawver and Hall. A new A.R.T. production tends to ask two questions: How much can the Harvard-aligned company experiment with the source material, and how far can the audience follow? This season, artistic director Diane Paulus answered twice with spectacularly transcendent musicals. First with Wonder, Sarah Ruhl and A Great Big World's adaptation of R.J. Palacio's beloved novel about a boy with a facial difference navigating middle school—more moving and effervescent than even expected. Then with Black Swan, Jen Silverman and Dave Malloy's Tchaikovsky-meets-electronics fever dream, staged by Tony winner Sonya Tayeh, with illusion designers building the protagonist's hallucinations in real time. Neither premiere played it safe. Both demand even bigger stages. 64 Brattle St., Cambridge, 02138, americanrepertorytheater.org.
Free Shakespeare on the Common
Courtesy For 29 summers, Commonwealth Shakespeare Company has been spreading blankets, stars, and the Bard across the nation's oldest public park for the very low cost of free. Now, for its 30th season—and on the heels of an Elliot Norton special citation from the Boston Theater Critics Association—founding artistic director Steven Maler is revisiting A Midsummer Night's Dream, the same play that, back in 1996, launched the tradition. More than 1.5 million people have attended over three decades, according to CSC; if you aren't one, what enchantment hath kept you? Boston, commshakes.org.
Vivo Performing Arts’ Shine! Gala
Tony Award winning vocalist and actress Lachanze. / Photo by Robert Torres In April, the Boston Center for the Arts' Cyclorama had never been more beautifully decorated, the food (a tenderloin/salmon surf-and-turf) was surprisingly superb, and the night's entertainment included a raise-the-roof performance by Tony Award–winner LaChanze. A Who's Who of Boston's arts scene was on hand, but the legit dance party raging well past our bedtime also set the night apart. In other words, from start to finish, the event was lit. vivoperformingarts.org.
Jill Lepore
Courtesy Jill Lepore has spent two decades as a Harvard historian and New Yorker staff writer explaining America to itself, and this spring the professor won her first Pulitzer Prize for 2025's We the People: A History of the U.S. Constitution. The startlingly relevant work asks what it means for a democracy when the amendment process—the very mechanism designed to keep the nation's founding principles alive and evolving—is effectively broken. Given, well, everything, the book landed at exactly the right moment. So how did Lepore celebrate? As she told one interviewer, she stacked some wood. jilllepore.com.
Get Konnected!
Colette Phillips has spent the past 18 years helping Boston become more inclusive, dragging its white-shoe network into rooms with the people it kept missing. Her network's events are essential, not stuffy—filled 400-deep with a DJ, wine, and the city's most influential connector working the floor. Case in point: Phillips's annual Taste of Ethnic Boston spotlights the chefs of color and neighborhood restaurants the rest of the food press still misses. getkonnected.com.
Commonwealth Pier
Rendering provided by Commonwealth Pier The 1913 cargo terminal that became the Seaport World Trade Center is back, and better than ever. After a five-plus-year, Pembroke-led revitalization, Commonwealth Pier reopens this summer with a 25,000-square-foot waterfront plaza, an expanded Harborwalk, the Smithsonian-affiliated Museum of American Finance (curiously, admission is free), and a Danny Meyer one-two punch: Daily Provisions just arrived; Ci Siamo arrives this summer. Boston just scored a new front porch. 200 Seaport Blvd., Boston, 02210, commonwealthpier.com.
Big Night Live
Courtesy Big Night Entertainment Group Range is a rare currency in local nightlife. This place has it in spades. One Thursday in June, the 2,000-capacity TD Garden–adjacent club hosted author Ann Patchett. Three days later, the entertainment venue welcomed an afternoon K-Pop tribute show. That night, a hip-hop duo. Two weeks later, a Latin cowboy rave. Big Night Live is the club Boston deserves—one with the nerve to program a literary night between concerts and the muscle to pack the house either way. 110 Causeway St., Boston, 02114, bignightlive.com.
Roadrunner
The Bowery Presents' Brighton jewel boasts a 3,500-capacity interior and stellar sound, which allow the four-year-old venue to host multiband festivals (like this year's Something in the Way Fest); multinight residencies from heavy hitters (LCD Soundsystem recently did four nights); and wildly hyped local debuts (see this November's ballyhooed arrival of polka-dotted French-Canadian duo Angine de Poitrine). The room's quality sightlines and friendly staff only add to the good vibes, which can make even the biggest headliners' sold-out gigs feel as intimate as smaller club shows. 89 Guest St., Boston, 02135, roadrunnerboston.com.
Deep Cuts
Pinball machines at Deep Cuts. / Photo by Rachel Leah Blumenthal A worthy successor to the late-'90s Central Square heyday of T.T. the Bear's Place and the Middle East, this Medford mecca doesn't just boast a well-calibrated sound system and a diverse roster of indie music lineups. It also has a creative array of sandwiches served at a bar with a glimpse of the Mystic River, a vinyl shop, and a pinball parlor—all of which open up before showtime, turning Deep Cuts into a clutch hub for Greater Boston's music-aficionado faithful. 21 Main St., Medford, 02155, deepcuts.rocks.
Wally’s Cafe
This 79-year-young jazz bar is still a legendary incubator for Berklee talents. Still open 365 days a year, with zero pretension. Protect Wally's at all costs. 427 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, 02118, wallyscafe.com.
Village Vinyl & Hi-Fi
Since its move to Coolidge Corner seven years ago, this bustling music emporium has become a crucial part of the Brookline neighborhood's artsy currency. The shop's expert selection of new and used albums, CDs, and cassettes pleases casual fans and crate-diggers alike, while the welcoming atmosphere kicks snooty record-store-clerk clichés to Harvard Street's curb. Newcomers to the 21st century's perpetual vinyl revival can also rest easy: The shop's offerings of record players, speakers, and other stereo equipment are as well curated as the bins. 307 Harvard St., Brookline, 02446, .
Crystal Lake
Suzanne Kreiter/Boston Globe Less than a 10-minute walk from the Newton Highlands Green Line stop, this freshwater "great pond"—state-owned, by law, because it exceeds 10 acres—offers cannonball-friendly docks, a sandy beach, a vast picnicking area, and a healthy dose of carefree summer-camp vibes. On a recent 80-degree Friday, George Michael's "Careless Whisper" soared from a portable speaker while teenagers played volleyball in the water, a couple read in beach chairs, and a toddler excavated a very serious sand hole. Newtonians know how great this spot is. Now you do, too. 30 Rogers St., Newton, .
Showcase SuperLux Chestnut Hill
Park at the Street, walk 20 feet to the lobby bar, order yourself a seat's worth of flatbreads and a martini through the app, then take to your heated recliner and finish your drink while the previews wash over you. Food arrives shortly. The SuperLux opened in 2013 and has spent every year since perfecting the same trick—completely frictionless movie viewing. Ahhhh. Chestnut Hill, 02467, showcasecinemas.com.
Allston Billiards
The second-floor Cambridge Street location remains a reliable destination for cheap pool and the basics. Not for tourists (that's a compliment). 445 Cambridge St., Floor 2, Allston, MA 02134, .
271 Beacon Street, Boston
Beacon Books is the official chartered name of this adorable Little Free Library, a lovingly rendered brownstone replica of its adjacent Back Bay address. Use the designated handle to peek inside—not the dollhouse door, which evokes Mary Norton's tiny-people classic The Borrowers—and admire the structure's details: a 3-D front stoop and bay windows framing photos of residents and books behind fake glass. 271 Beacon St., Boston, MA 02116, instagram.com/littlelibrarybbboston/.