Events

12 must-see concerts at Greater Boston’s smaller venues for fall 2025

Great concerts are coming to Brighton Music Hall, the Paradise, Royale, The Sinclair, Chevalier Theatre and more.

Artists coming to small venues in Greater Boston this fall include Hayes Carll, Lily Fitts, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Shonen Knife, and Jonathan Richman. James Minchin; Lily Fitts on Facebook; Ben Stas for The Boston Globe; Good Charamel Records; Jenny Jimenez

By Blake Maddux

8 minutes to read

Size doesn’t matter when it comes to these 12 concerts worth seeing at Greater Boston’s smaller venues this September-November, organized by genre. (Sites include Agganis Arena, Brighton Music Hall, Paradise Rock Club, Royale, Big Night Live, Berklee Performance Center, City Winery, The Sinclair in Cambridge, Somerville Theatre, Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, and Chevalier Theatre and Deep Cuts in Medford; check out our guide to larger venues here and our guide to suburban venues here. Please note, prices noted are face value; some of these shows may only have verified resale tickets available.)

Best rock/alternative/indie concerts

Sparks at Berklee Performance Center

At some point between 2009 and 2017, it most likely seemed to most fans that their beloved Sparks were no longer flying. Much to their delight, however, they returned in 2017 and are back now with their fourth LP since then, “MAD!” Eighty-year-old Ron Mael and his 76-year-old brother Russell show no indication that age has dimmed their creative flame or lowered their profile. Highlights on the record include, “Running Up a Tab at the Hotel for the Fab,” “My Devotion,” “Don’t Dog It,” “I-405 Rules,” and “Drowned in a Sea of Tears,” and they certainly don’t overshadow the other keepers. Most interesting of all is “MAD!”’s chart success: It is their highest-charting album in the US (by far at No. 27), the UK (No. 2), and Scotland, where it became their first No. 1 record anywhere ever. Thursday, Sept. 11, doors at 7/show at 8, 136 Massachusetts Ave., Boston, $48-$113 (plus fees)

Shonen Knife with Pack AD at Sonia

I am certain that I can call Osaka’s Shonen Knife one of the world’s top 10 international cult bands without fear of contradiction. Sonic Youth publicly revealed their fandom in the late ’80s and mega fanboy Kurt Cobain invited them on tour in Nirvana’s pre-“Nevermind” days. The trio has soldiered on through the ups and downs of the past 40-plus years under the omnipresent leadership of Naoko Yamano. In that time, they have offered of 22 LPs’ worth of their girl group/Beach Boys/Ramones musical alloy, the most recent of which is “Our Best Place,” the 2025 version of which adds four songs to the 2023 original.  Sunday, Sept. 21, doors at 6:30, 10 Brookline St., Cambridge, $27.27 (including fees)

The Baseball Project and The Minus 5 at Crystal Ballroom

Among the two of them, The Baseball Project and The Minus 5 comprise alternative rock royalty who have served in cult favorites and one of the most popular bands in America. The former’s “team roster” (yes, their songs tend to be about baseball) comprises Steve Wynn of The Dream Syndicate, his partner in wedlock Linda Pitmon, who has drummed with myriad artists of the highest regard, Mike Mills and Peter Buck of R.E.M., and Scott McCaughey of The Young Fresh Fellows and contributor to R.E.M.’s last five albums. This same configuration will also perform as The Minus 5, whose new album, “Oar On, Penelope,” serves up one gem after another, among which are “Words & Birds,” “Blow In My Bag,” and “Let the Rope Hold, Cassie Lee.” Tuesday, Sept. 23, doors at 7/show at 8, 55 Davis Square, Somerville, $38.75 (including fees)

The Tubs with Foyer Red at Deep Cuts

In the 1979 movie “Manhattan,” Woody Allen’s character’s best friend angrily tells him, “You think you’re God,” to which Woody responds, “I gotta model myself after someone.” This should be Tubs singer Owen Williams’s response when they tell him — correctly — that he sounds like Richard Thompson. This Welsh quartet qualifies to a certain degree as an indie supergroup, including as it does members current and/or former members of Joanna Gruesome and Ex-Void. The Tubs’ newest gift to fans is this year’s “Cotton Crown,” the uniform excellence of which confirms and builds on that of its predecessor, 2023’s “Dead Meat.” Sunday, Sept. 28, doors at 7/show at 8, 21 Main St., Medford, $18.03 (including fees)

Violent Femmes at Chevalier Theatre

Not many hugely influential and beloved alternative bands of the ’80s emerged from Milwaukee. However, Brew City can be very proud of one that did. The 1983 unveiling of Violent Femmes’ eponymous debut started a ripple effect that would feel itself felt throughout the decade and the subsequent one. Its timeless singles included “Blister in the Sun,” “Add It Up,” and “Gone Daddy Gone.” The trio (later quartet and quintet) maintained its fan and critical favorite status for the next decade, in the process of which they crafted the songs that would comprise the 1993 compilation “Add It Up (1981-1993).” Only five LPs have appeared since 1994, but the Femmes will never be one to suffer for lack of enthusiastic listeners. Thursday, Oct. 9, doors at 7/show at 8, 30 Forest St., Medford, $71-$143.75 (including fees)

Also of note:

Best rap/hip-hop concerts

Tee Grizzley at Brighton Music Hall

31-year-old Detroit native Terry Sanchez Wallace, Jr. has earned numerous gold, platinum, and multi-platinum awards for singles, mix tapes, and LPs since 2016. All of the latter two have been released via Grizzley Gang, a label of Wallace’s own founding. His first two singles, “First Day Out” and “Second Day Out,” along with the song “Locked Up,” were inspired by the two years that he spent in prison for robbery from 2014-2016. Among those with whom he has collaborated are Lil Yachty (“From the D to the A”), Meek Mill (“First Day Out”), and YNW Melly (“Young Grizzley World”). “Forever My Moment” dropped on May 16 and is his sixth LP since his 2018 debut. Wednesday, Oct. 15, doors at 7/show at 8, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston, $36 (including fees)

Also of note:

Best R&B/soul concerts

Iniko with Evolution of the Revolution and Bryan Breeding at Royale

Iniko’s debut LP, “The Awakening,” appeared on Jan. 31 and issued in a deluxe edition in August. Six singles appeared in advance of its release, including the gold-certified R&B hit “Jericho.” Iniko wrote or co-wrote all of the record’s 13 tracks, one of which includes contributions from Robin Hannibal, a prolific Danish producer and multiple award winner in his native land. Identifying as non-binary, Iniko was in contention for Outstanding Breakthrough Artist at the 2024 Award GLAAD Media Awards ceremony. They have accumulated millions of followers across several social media platforms and listeners have streamed their songs hundreds of millions of times. Tuesday, Oct. 7, doors at 7/show at 8, 279 Tremont St., Boston, $44.11 (including fees)

Also of note:

Best singer-songwriter concerts

Jonathan Richman and Tommy Larkins at Somerville Theatre

Jonathan Richman never enjoyed the commercial success that his Modern Lovers bandmates Jerry Harrison and David Robinson did in Talking Heads and The Cars, respectively. However, his legacy as a songwriter is immeasurable. The Modern Lovers’ debut — which was released in 1976 but recorded in ’71 and ’72 — was a lodestar for countless punk, new wave, alternative, and indie artists of the decades ever since (including the aforementioned Violent Femmes). The Natick native’s newest offering, “Only A Frozen Sky Anyway” — co-produced by Harrison and including his ever-present percussionist Tommy Larkins — collects 12 sophisticated and plaintive songs, several of which address mortality on an individual and general level. And yet it manages to include an unmistakably Richman-ized version of “Night Fever.” Friday-Sunday, Oct. 24-26, doors at 7/show at 8, 55 Davis Square Somerville, $47.15 (including fees)

Lily Fitts with Elias Hix at The Sinclair

Topsfield native, Cambridge Rindge and Latin grad, and UMass Amherst matriculate Lily Fitts has released a string of singles since 2023. As of June, she has an LP, “Getting By,” to her credit. The now 24-year-old folk artist’s many high-profile gigs as an opener include tours with artists as diverse Zach Bryan, The Lumineers, and Noah Kahan, the latter two of which have served as major influences. Fitts is now primed for her first headlining tour, which kicks off in Phoenix on Oct. 7 and wraps up at The Sinclair on Nov. 14. Friday, Nov. 14, doors at 7/show at 8, 52 Church St., Cambridge, resale tickets available at $112.95 (including fees)

Also of note:

Best blues concert

Christone “Kingfish” Ingram with Mathias Lattin at Paradise Rock Club

Ingram is a 26-year-old guitar sensation who was born and raised in the historically rich blues environs of Clarksdale, Mississippi. His first three albums — the first of which saw the light of day in 2019 when Kingfish was 20 years old — have won him 15 Blues Music Awards trophies (including three for “Kingfish,” one for “662,” two for “Live In London,” and four for Instrumentalist – Guitar) and a Grammy (Best Contemporary Blues Album for 2021’s “662”). “Hard Road” — street date Sept. 26 — is unlikely to ebb this deluge of recognition. In addition to his own work, Kingfish has recorded with the likes of Eric Gales and toured with Buddy Guy, Vampire Weekend, and even appeared on a bill with the Rolling Stones in London in 2022. Wednesday, Oct. 1, doors at 7/show at 8, 967 Commonwealth Ave. Boston, resale tickets available for $171.72

Best electronic/dance concerts

Nora En Pure at Big Night Live

Nora En Pure was born Daniela Di Lillo in Johannesburg, South Africa, the native land of her mother. Shortly after her birth, her parents moved to Switzerland, as her father is Swiss. Over the course of her 15-year-long recording career, the International Dance Music Awards named her the Best House Artist (Female) in 2019 and 2020. (Her radio show/podcast was a contender for best in its medium in the former year.) Moreover, DJ Mag has consistently ranked her as one of the top 100 DJs in the world since 2020. Saturday, Oct. 18, show at 10:30, 110 Causeway St., Boston, $28.25 (including fees)

Also of note:

Best country concerts

Hayes Carll at Brighton Music Hall

The many talents of Houston-born country/Americana singer, songwriter, and guitarist Hayes Carll have won him recognition from peers, awards associations, and TV and movie music supervisors. Lee Ann Womack received a 2016 Best County Song Grammy nomination for her cover of Carll’s “Chances Are,” for which Carll himself was also nominated as the composer. American superstar Kenny Chesney and revered Canadian artist Cord Lund have also recorded interpretations of his songs. Furthermore, he has won Austin Music Awards in seven different categories and was victorious one of the five American Music Awards that he has been up for. Finally, his songs have appeared in movies such as “Country Strong” and TV shows including “True Blood,” “Love Island,” and “Yellowstone.” Thursday, Sept. 25, doors at 7/show at 8, 158 Brighton Ave., Allston, $36 (including fees)

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