There’s a reason Boston magazine named this annual event "Best Music Festival.” The Boston Art & Music Soul (BAMS) Festival is one of the fastest growing urban, multi-disciplinary arts festivals in the city that celebrates Afro-centric identity, Black artistry, voices, and creative contributions from local, regional and national entertainers of color. This initiative is 10 years strong in collab with the City of Boston's Office of Arts & Culture, and its expansion is expected to attract over 75,000 festival goers with its multiple stages, genres of music, and various mediums. Events take place at Franklin Park and Playstead Field.
This year’s BAMSFest will be headlined by Grammy Award-winning R&B Soul singer Lalah Hathaway, North Carolina Hip Hop duo Little Brother, and singer-songwriter Durand Bernarr. They will lead an eclectic lineup of world-class DJs and high-energy local talent that includes Boston’s “Godfather of House Music,” DJ Bruno, winner of Boston Music Awards Spoken Word Artist of the Year, Amanda Shea, Jazz vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jireh Calo, and veteran Boston-based rapper Edo.G. The lineup is completed by spoken word artist Cole Rodriguez, punk artist and producer Haasan Barclay, R&B singer Kasia Lavon, reggae from Roots Alley Collective, street dance from The Peacekeepers, and music spun by DJ WhySham, and DJ Deaf Tunez.
While most of the arts and culture events of the BAMSFest's new week-long Momentum are ticketed, you can still get in on the fun with a free party at Emerson’s outdoor performance venue, UnCommon stage. On June 26 from 4-8pm, S.O.U.L.Stice: Play Player Edition offers up an early evening of guest DJs, music performances, interactive games, and curated karaoke that all celebrate Black joy, arts, music and culture.