Fantastic Festivals
Getting outside in summer is a pre-requisite in New England, especially after a dreary winter! Check out our schedule of outdoor and indoor festivals throughout New England that offer something for everyone, from June through December. Enjoy!
July 19
GLASGOW LANDS SCOTTISH FESTIVAL
Look Park, Florence
Western Massachusetts is an idyllic spot in summer, with its charming towns and renewed mill cities, rolling hills, parkland and rural byways. In the City of Northampton in Hampshire County, known as an academic, artistic and countercultural hub, lies a tiny village called Florence, which is home to one of New England’s most popular and enduring Scottish festivals! The Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival on July 19 has endured for three decades, attracting devoted fans of Scottish and Celtic music, culture, sports, cuisine and whisky, along with curious tourists and enthusiastic residents there for the fun, camaraderie and culture.
Festival organizer Peter Langmore, one of the original organizers, keeps the festival special each year by curating a rich scale of Scottish activities, from clan gatherings, dancing competitions and sheep herding to athletic contests of strength and skill and other traditional pastimes.
The pulse and pace of the festival centers around Scottish music, which is alternately boisterous and tender, lively and melancholic, when performed by bands such as Albannach, The Devil’s Brigade and Waking Finnegan. The finale is the startling conglomerate of 38 bagpipe bands converging to play Amazing Grace, which must be heard and seen to be fully appreciated!
September 6-7
SEISIÚN FESTIVAL
The Stage at Suffolk Downs, East Boston
A brand-new festival, featuring some iconic and up-and-coming Irish and American bands, comes to Boston this summer! Seisiún: Irish Music, Arts and Cultural Festival, runs the weekend of September 6-7 at The Stage at Suffolk Downs, East Boston. Two of the biggest names in Irish rock history – The Pogues from London and Dropkick Murphys from Boston, are headlining the two-day show.
On Saturday, performers include the Dropkick Murphys, The Hold Steady, Stiff Little Fingers, The Scratch, The Rumjacks and Holy Locust.
Then on Sunday, the lineup includes The Pogues, Glen Hansard, The Waterboys, Cardinals, Just Mustard, Lisa O’Neill, Mairéad and John Francis Flynn. Presented in partnership with The Bowery Presents, Liam Lynch and Joe Killian, Seisiún promises a unique festival experience centered around revelry, craic, kindred spirits and community. Seisiún co-founder Liam Lynch says the festival taps into the “extraordinary cross-category of Irish music talent” emerging on the scene today, and provides a “sense of gathering, of revelry and of community.”
The Stage at Suffolk Downs is an exciting outdoor concert venue located at Suffolk Downs in East Boston. The Stage is easily accessible via the MBTA’s Blue line to Suffolk Downs station, with parking also available.
September 11-14
ROCKPORT CELTIC FESTIVAL
Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport
Exploring Celtic Roots and Branches is the perfect way to characterize this year’s Rockport Celtic Festival, which pays homage to the late radio host Brian O’Donovan, who launched the festival as part of his lifelong celebration of Celtic music and culture. Brian was fascinated by how the musical traditions of Ireland, Scotland and the Celtic nations spread to other parts of the world, including New England, Cape Breton and Appalachia. The Festival blends these various roots and branches along with Breton, Quebecois traditions, for a stunning presentation of music that is at once traditional, contemporary and ingenious.
One fascinating segment this year is Celtic Baroque on September 13, in which music from Ireland, Quebec, Germany and New England is presented with an interweaving thread of Baroque Music and techniques that actually influenced Irish harp playing in 17th century Ireland. Another creative highpoint integrates literature from Irish poet Seamus Heaney and short story writer Ben Shattuck to amplify the musical presentation. Artistic Director Maeve Gilchrist has assembled a veritable all-star cast of musicians from every corner of the Celtic world and beyond, and this year’s Rockport Celtic Festival carries on the worthy tradition started by Brian O’Donovan.
September 13
LOWELL IRISH FESTIVAL
Lowell Memorial Auditorium
At the crossroads of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, Lowell has had a thriving Irish population since the 1830s, when immigrants walked 32 miles from Boston to build this new industrial city of factories and mills. Today Lowell is a reimagined city of culture, history, education and ethnic richness, and the Irish continue to make a positive contribution to the city.
The annual Lowell Irish Festival on September 13 is an occasion for the Merrimack Valley’s Irish-American community to celebrate its culture and heritage with pride, and to invite the city’s many other communities to join them.
The festival is spread out across the main Auditorium stage and two outdoor stages, with plenty of room to stroll and take in the activities. The family-fun festival features top Irish bands and individual performers, along with some of the best step dancing troupes in New England.
Numerous local organizations such as the Lowell Irish Association present cultural displays and talk about the city’s rich Irish history and heritage, while area artisans and gift shops offer authentic Irish clothing, jewelry and gifts. Guinness is a festival sponsor, so there’s a nice beer garden with plenty of local and Irish brews on tap.
UPCOMING FESTIVALS
June 28-29
Milton Music Festival
Governor Hutchinson’s Field
Adams St., Milton
wearemilton.org
June 28
Quincy KidsFest
Downtown Quincy
discoverquincy.com
July 2-4
Boston Harborfest 2025
Rose Kennedy Greenway
Boston
Meetboston.com
July 4-6
Quincy 400 Maritime Festival
Marina Bay, Quincy
discoverquincy.com
July 4-22
Newport Classical Music Festival
Newport, RI
discovernewport.org
July 12
Appalachian Spring
Rockport Chamber Music Festival
Shalin Liu Center, Rockport
rockportmusic.org
July 19
Festival Betances
Puerto Rican Festival
South End, Boston
ibaboston.org
July 19
Glasgow Lands Scottish Festival
Celebrating 30 Years!
Look Park, Florence
(Northampton), MA
glasgowlands.org
July 25-27
Newport Folk Festival
discovernewport.org
July 25-27
Lowell Folk Festival
lowellfolkfestival.or
July 26
Boston Puerto Rican Festival
Franklin Park, Dorchester
meetboston.com
August 17
Quincy August Moon Festival
Quincy, MA
discoverquincy.com
August 23
Plymouth Waterfront Festival
plymouthwaterfrontfestival.com
August 29-30
Boston Jazz Festival
Maritime Park
South Boston
Meetboston.com
September 6
Lowell Summer Music
Banjo and Fiddle Contest
Boarding House Park, Lowell
lowellsummermusic.org
September 6-7
Seisiún: Irish Music, Arts & Cultural Festival
The Stage at Suffolk Downs
stageatsuffolkdowns.com
September 11-14
Rockport Celtic Festival
Shalin Liu Center, Rockport
rockportmusic.org
September 13
Lowell Irish Festival
spectaclelive.com
September 19-21
Newport Wine & Food Festival
Newport, RI
discovernewport.org
September 20
Kinetic Sculpture Race Festival
Downtown Lowell
lowellkinetic.com
October 9-13
Lowell Celebrates Jack Kerouac
Downtown Lowell
lowellcelebrateskerouac.org
October 17-19
Poe in Lowell Festival
Lowell, MA
sites.google.com/view/poeinlowell
October 18
Boston Irish Beer Festival
Irish Cultural Centre
Canton
irishculture.org
October 18-19
Bowen’s Wharf Seafood Festival
Newport, RI
discovernewport.org
December 6
Holiday Craft Fair & Festival
Blackstone River Theatre
Cumberland, RI
brtri.org
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