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109 Concord Rd
Acton, MA, 01720

Upcoming Events

Tickets are available for these events. Tickets for additional shows will be available no less than a month in advance of performance dates. For a full Season-at-a-Glance, scroll down to the bottom of our homepage. Most of our events take place at Sanctuary, a recently converted large church with a gorgeous lounge.

The Saturdays
Apr
4
7:30 PM19:30

The Saturdays

The Saturdays bring their unique sound and tight three-part harmonies, stringed instruments, and world percussion to Sanctuary in Maynard. Yes, The Saturdays . . . on a Thursday.

A five-piece acoustic band that has played the Metro West area for more than a decade, they put their soulful spin on originals and songs from contemporary folk, Bluegrass, and Americana. 

Karen Lincoln Wilber (vocals, guitar, banjo) first started performing as a lead singer in the 1990's Boston Bluegrass scene with the band Willow Creek, and then with the award-winning band Waystation. She has recorded with both Waystation and songwriter Rick Lang, as well as lending backing vocals on many other projects.

Sally Marshall Griffin (vocals, guitar) began performing as a blues rock vocalist in her brother’s band, The Bruce Marshall Group, and has lent vocal tracks on several of his albums. Some of her musical heroes are Patti Griffin, Shawn Colvin, Lucinda Williams, and Brandi Carlile.    

Steve Griffin (percussion, bass, harmonica, and vocals) is known for his extensive collection of percussion instruments, soulful baritone, and being married to Sally (not listed in order of importance).

Peter Senghas (guitar, bass, mandolin, dobro, and keys) enjoys all things musical and has been with the Saturdays since the beginning. 

Dave Bull (guitar, vocals, and harmonica) picked up the guitar at the age of 11 and hasn’t put it down since, drawing inspiration from a wide range of rock and folk styles including the Beatles (of course), Tom Petty, Van Morrison, Aztec-Two Step, and Jason Isbell. 

  • Doors Open: 7pm • Performance: 7:30pm

  • Full bar • You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $15/advance, $20/door

View Event →
The Love Dogs
Apr
6
8:00 PM20:00

The Love Dogs

This regional favorite, high-energy dance band often sells out. Get your tickets early!

Take a red-hot horn—down and dirty. Add liberal amounts of barrelhouse boogie-woogie piano and stinging Fender guitar. Pour over a funky and swinging rhythm section that Blues Review magazine called “the best in the business,” and top it all off with a crazy and charismatic front man with one of the biggest blues voices around. Season with a few years on the road, tearing up juke joints, festivals, and concert halls across the U.S. and Canada and on both sides of the Atlantic. Sound tasty? It’s a recipe for music and mayhem, for intensity and irreverence; it’s THE LOVE DOGS.

The Dogs combine elements of jump blues, New Orleans R&B and early rock ‘n’ roll into their own powerhouse sound. “It’s important to us to have fun, and sometimes even we don’t know what we’re gonna do next,” says lead vocalist and chief songwriter Eddie “Duato” Scheer. “We have a lot of humor in our music, and we love to surprise each other and make each other laugh.

“We’re all lifetime fans of blues, jazz, and R&B, and we have a real reverence for the music. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” The band’s lineup consists of Eddie Scheer (lead vocals), Alizon Lissance (keyboards, vocals), Myanna (alto/tenor sax, vocals), Rob Lee (tenor & baritone sax), Mark Poniatowski (bass), and Steve Brown (drums). With special guest, guitar legend Ricky “King" Russell.

Blues Review notes: “If there was a Superbowl for crowd pleasing Rhythm & Blues, a photo of The Love Dogs would be on every Wheaties box in America.” Scheer sums it up by saying, “If this band doesn’t put a smile on your face, check your pulse, because you just might be dead!”

  • Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →
Unplugged Sundays — An English Concert and Ceilidh with Alex Cumming & Laurel Swift
Apr
14
7:00 PM19:00

Unplugged Sundays — An English Concert and Ceilidh with Alex Cumming & Laurel Swift

Join British folk singers and musicians Alex Cumming and Laurel Swift for a magical evening of song and dance, celebrating the traditions of their homeland.

The first part of the evening will be a concert full of toe-tapping tunes, beautiful ballads, and hearty chorus songs, followed by a traditional English Ceilidh! Ceilidhs are the UK’s version of a Barn Dance, they are a fun and easily accessible social dance for all ages and abilities. All the dances will be taught and called by Alex and Laurel along with live music from the two of them as well. This night is sure to be a big party and is not to be missed!

Alex and Laurel have worked together on various different projects since 2010 including Morris Offspring, a theatrical Morris Dance company in London, UK, various Ceilidh and dance events across the UK and US, and most recently worked as lead singers, musicians and dance directors for the latest Midwinter Revels production by Revels North. 

Laurel Swift is a musician and composer, an inspiring instigator of creative new projects and performances rooted in the folk arts. She plays double bass and clog dances with Gadarene, plays fiddle with The Gloworms and collaborations with artists including Lissa Schneckenburger, Liana Moskowitz, Debs Newbold.

Alex Cumming is a traditional singer, accordionist, pianist, and dance caller hailing from Somerset, England, now living in Brattleboro, Vermont. He has made his mark on the folk scene with his rhythmic dance-able accordion style, his strong voice, and his fun and engaging stage presence. Alex is a member of Celtic trio Bellwether (with Louise Bichan, Eric McDonald), award winning a capella quartet The Teacups and critically acclaimed duo Alex Cumming & Nicola Beazley. You may also catch him playing for dances in many combos, including Stuart Kenney’s Red Case Band and trio Crossover. Alex is Artistic Director for Revels North.

  •  Doors open: 6:30pm • Performance: 7pm

  • Full bar. You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →
Hillside Stories @ Fruitlands
Apr
17
7:00 PM19:00

Hillside Stories @ Fruitlands

Enjoy an evening of true stories told live. Eight storytellers will entertain and touch your heart. Tonight’s theme: “At Work.”

Fruitlands Museum and The Trustees of Reservation, in collaboration with Fugitive Productions, is hosting “Hillside Stories,” a new offering of “True Stories Told Live.” Join us for a fabulous evening of storytelling and community! Eight storytellers — four experienced, competition winners along with four local community tellers — will be sharing their stories.

Fugitive Stories brings the craft of true stories told live to audiences in Boston’s western ’burbs. Each night is unique and they never fail to entertain. Hearing a true story in a live performance is fun, moving, and transformative. Fugitive Stories' evenings intimately reveal what we all have in common. You may laugh and sometimes shed a few tears. Every event opens a door to a memory, a new friend, or to your heart. Humanity's earliest stories were about survival, hope, loss, love, and courage. Today’s stories echo the same themes.

About our featured tellers:

Jamie Eldridge
Jamie has served as the State Senator for the Middlesex and Worcester district since January 2009, representing 12 communities in the MetroWest. He focuses his energy on Beacon Hill largely on increasing investments in public education and transportation, combating climate change, guaranteeing healthcare a right, stimulating the economy, reforming our criminal justice and prison systems, advancing campaign and ethics reform, protecting the environment, making government more transparent, combatting racial and economic inequality, and supporting immigrants.

Cheryl Hamilton
Cheryl is the founder and director of Stellar Story Company, a Boston-based business that helps people and institutions deliver extraordinary stories and unforgettable events that lead to meaningful change. In addition to its work with nonprofits and businesses, Stellar identifies and coaches talent for the national media program Stories from the Stage, filmed at GBH studios. Cheryl is also the creator of Suitcase Stories, a series that explores global migration. 

Robin Schoenthaler
Robin has been a storyteller for about a decade and has been with Fugitive since 2018. In 2019 she won a Moth Grand Slam Championship and she is never going to stop talking about it — ever. She is also an award-winning essayist — mostly about love, loss, life, death, and Covid. Robin’s day job for 28 years was as a cancer doctor with MGH at Emerson Hospital in their Department of Radiation Oncology. She now helps people with second opinions about their cancers while she travels the world. Learn more about Robin at www.DrRobin.org

Rose Saia
Rose is Executive Director of the Centre Street Food Pantry, a regional food relief agency that serves residents of six greater Boston cities and provides food for 3,500 people every month. She is on the board of directors and head cook at Mt Calvary Community Supper in Acton and is the former Pantry Director for Open Table in Maynard. She has been a regular competitor and winner at Moth storyslams and appeared on GBH’s “Stories from the Stage” and in the International Institute’s “Suitcase Stories” series. She was featured on the Moth Radio Hour with her story, “Paint it Black.” She lives in Acton and is trying to keep an empty nest after raising five children in their blended family. It’s a work in process.

Susan Cohn-Child
Susan is a bit of everything. She sings alto in a choir (though she’s a little bitter that she can no longer sing soprano), is a devoted member of a book group for 18 years, is a world traveler when funds and time allow, and is a daughter, a sister, a spouse, and mother of two aspiring adults. She wrote her first story in 2018 and hasn’t looked back. Susan has told stories at The Moth, is a feature teller at Fugitive Stories, and is a Massmouth audience pick winner. She loves the authenticity of the story telling community and the connections that storytelling creates between people.

Check out our new series at deCordova Museum. Save the dates:

  • July 10 (Theme: Haven)

  • August 14 (Theme: Road Trip)

  • September 11 (Theme: Breathless)

Tickets & Information

  • Location: Fruitlands’ Wayside Visitors’ Center — easy parking and wheelchair accessible  

  • Doors Open: 6:30pm • Performance: 7pm

  • Pre-register: $15/Members, $20/Non-members

  • Tickets: $25/door

  • Beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks available for purchase

  • Recommended: Ages 16+

View Event →
The Vintage Vocal Quartet
Apr
19
8:00 PM20:00

The Vintage Vocal Quartet

Get ready to swing with the Vintage Vocal Quartet!

They’re coming to fill your ears and your heart with the sweet swinging harmonies of the Swing Era, when jazz music and pop music were one and the same. It was a time when every radio blared out music that was danceable yet sophisticated.

The Vintage Vocal Quartet sings while providing their own accompaniment on piano, guitar, bass, and trombone/drums, dialed in to the sound of groups like Glenn Miller’s Modernaires, the Nat King Cole Trio, the Andrews Sisters, and Tommy Dorsey’s Pied Pipers, as well as singers like Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra, and Ella Fitzgerald. They’ve been delighting concert audiences and lindy hoppers all over New England.  

When founder David Thorne Scott did a tour performing with the legendary Four Freshmen, he saw that vintage music — sassy and sweet, danceable and sophisticated — hits the spot for 21st century audiences. He came home to Boston and called up guitarist Paul Pampinella of the groundbreaking a cappella group Vox One and pianist Taylor O’Donnell, whose versatile voice can deliver jazz to funk with a whisper to a wail. Add trombonist and swing drummer Chris Humphrey and you’ve got yourself a four piece harmony machine.

  • Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →
Fugitive Swing Dance
Apr
25
7:00 PM19:00

Fugitive Swing Dance

Swing dance is alive and well at Sanctuary in Maynard. Though Fugitive and Sanctuary have hosted countless events that have spotlighted some of the area’s great swing players, now it’s official. This one is for both experienced dancers and swing dance wannabes. Sanctuary, a recently converted church, features a full stage, an enormous dance floor, and one of the best bars west of Boston.

INSTRUCTORS TONY & AURELIE TYE

The first hour will feature instruction by two of the area’s finest performer/instructors. Tony and Aurelie Tye met as beginner dancers in Boston in 1990, first experienced Lindy Hop in 1992 and have been hooked ever since! They have taught at workshops and dance events throughout the East Coast from Maine to Florida. With their own “Hop to the Beat Dance Studio,” much of their energy has focused on their local scene. Regularly teaching classes since 1995, they’re as passionate about sharing the joy of dancing as when they first began. They’ve hosted the monthly “Uptown Swing Dance” for over 20 years, as well as special weekend events with international instructors. Since 1997 they’ve run the annual week-long “Beantown Camp,” bringing together Lindy Hoppers from around the world.

EDDIE SCHEER’S SWINGING ALL STARS

Cameleon Eddie Scheer is a Sanctuary favorite, gracing us with his vocal and drumming talents with a variety of groups and styles. He has been a fixture on the New England swing scene for more than 25 years. Whether with his jump blues band The Love Dogs, the 20-piece Compaq Big Band, or various smaller ensembles, his big voice and solid drumming have kept hearts beating and feet moving wherever he plays. The Swinging All Stars is a new unit featuring some of the best musicians in Boston — leaning toward the lighter, jazzy side of swing, but still with a deep connection to and reverence for the blues. 

  • Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard

  • Doors open: 6:30pm • Dance instruction: 7–8pm

  • Full bar. You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →
Fugitive Comedy
Apr
26
8:00 PM20:00

Fugitive Comedy

Fugitive Comedy hosts some of the best and brightest comics working in the Boston area and nationally. The comedians who have joined us have appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, America’s Got Talent, Comedy Central, The Jim Jeffries Show, Comedy Bang! Bang! Live! Podcast, NPR’s Commonwealth Journal, Lifetime’s Girls Night Out — and have opened for numerous well-known comedians in clubs around the nation.

Emily Ruskowski (Headliner)
Emily is a one-woman charm offensive. With a style that's totally approachable and instantly impressive, Emily is equally comfortable diving into personal insecurities or workplace nonsense. With an irrepressibly cheerful demeanor, she commands attention and delivers stories loaded with punchline after punchline. Emily brings a genuine sense of fun to material that ranges from a career in social work to a passion for boy bands. She has been featured in the Washington Post and Boston Globe, and has appeared on the popular 2 Dope Queens Podcast and Laughs TV on Fox.  

Jason Cordova (Host)
Jason is a Boston-based comedian who, as a kid, would secretly write jokes in his notebook. After his first time in stage, he was hooked. Jason made a name for himself on the national scene when he appeared on HBO’s “PAUSE with Sam Jay.” He has performed at many legendary clubs including Gotham, The Stand, The Comedy Connection, and Foxwoods Casino, and has opened for many national headliners.

Katie Arroyo
Katie is a comedian who has performed throughout New England and has been featured in clubs in New York and Boston. She's performed at the Rogue Island Comedy Festival and on Sirius XM. With an aggressive, good natured act, her varied life experiences have given her the ability to connect with any audience.

Alan Moreau
Alan first honed his comedic chops riding the bench for his college basketball team and has since parlayed his quick wit into a career with his trademark brand of unfiltered standup. Audiences never experience the same set twice when the R.I. native is on stage, as he is able to turn a standard show into a one-of-a-kind conversation. Alan has been a featured performer at the Rogue Island Comedy Festival, Mutiny Radio Comedy Festival, and Whale City Comedy Festival and has recently opened for several national acts.

  • Doors open at 7pm • Performance starts at 8pm

  • Full bar • You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $15/advance, $20/door

View Event →
The Compaq Big Band
May
3
8:00 PM20:00

The Compaq Big Band

This exciting 19-piece band returns with a dance night, featuring swing, but including a number of styles. Or just pull up a chair, make yourself comfortable, and settle in with a drink.

The Compaq Big Band has a strong connection to Maynard, having started out as the DECbigband at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC).  In the last two decades they’ve risen to prominence as one of the most accomplished full-size big bands in the area, featuring a cookin’ rhythm section and 14 horns that achieve an ultra-tight sound, with terrific instrumental soloists

Tonight’s featured vocalist, Rebecca Holtz, is on her second stint in the Compaq Big Band’s rotation of stellar New England jazz vocalists. Born and raised in New Hampshire, Rebecca first joined the band while earning her undergraduate degree at Smith College. After putting in a few more years with us, and then fronting the Keene Jazz Orchestra, she relocated for a time to Oakland, California, where she flourished performing a capella jazz, and kept her big band chops in shape appearing with the San Francisco Jazz Orchestra. She returned to New England for a few years back, and we’re very fortunate she’s back in front of the and with her one and only energy and dynamic style!

  • Doors Open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar • You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/advance, $25/door

View Event →
The Lola Sweet Band
May
10
8:00 PM20:00

The Lola Sweet Band

The Lola Sweet Band is a dynamic roots, rock, blues, and R&B band performing throughout the Metrowest area — from Boston to Worcester to the Cape — and beyond. They add their own special sauce to the songs you know and love from the 60s to the present, including tunes by The Beatles, Bonnie Raitt, Al Green, Tom Petty, Traffic, Stevie Wonder, Queen, Grace Potter, Ben Harper, and many more. You’ll listen. You’ll dance. You’ll smile.

Lori Zuroff (lead vocals), Charlie Berman (guitars), Jim Medvedeff (keyboard/vocals); Jon Golden (drums/vocals), Al Garay (bass/vocals)

Lori Zuroff
Lori — the band’s leader and manager — has been singing with various rock, blues, R&B, and jazz bands for more 25 years. She has performed with both small and large bands in venues in Greater Boston including the Chick Singer Night at Johnny D’s and the Burren in Somerville, and The Mad Monkfish in Cambridge. She also leads The Lori Z Jazz Quintet with whom she recorded her premiere jazz CD, “Ladybug.” Lori studied jazz vocals for several years with Boston’s own jazz divas, Rebecca Parris and Dominique Eade, and with Sheila Jordan and Jay Clayton in New York.

Charlie Berman
As a guitarist and composer in Boston, New York, and New Orleans, Charlie has performed with artists including the late Mac Rebenack (Dr. John), Bobby Rush, James Andrews, Rockin' Doopsie Jr, The Cadillacs, Hey Dave, and Dave Herlihy and Friends. His 2004 CD “Poinciana Revisited” is available on most streaming services.

Jon Golden
Jon had five years of piano and two of clarinet under his belt when, at age 13, he saw a rock drummer performing “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” He bought a pair of drum sticks and never looked back. Progressive rock, jazz, world music — and especially originals — are what keeps his heart, and hands, keeping the beat.

Jim Medvedeff
Jim (aka Santiago) plays keyboard and provides lead and backup vocals. He also serves as the
 band’s musical director. Classically trained on piano and organ from childhood through college, his later
 influences include Latin music, Gulf Coast R&B, funk, rock, and jazz. Discography includes “Afinen” and
 other singles by Grupo Maria (DECA records, 1974–75) and “Gangsters” by the Chicago Gangsters (HEAT
records, 1979)

Al Garay
Al is a seasoned bass player with over 35 years of experience. His intro to music began with early classical piano lessons which later shifted to guitar and bass as he entered his teenage years. Al has performed in a variety of bands which made him the truly versatile player he is today. 

  • Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/advance, $25/door

View Event →
Waiting List: Booty Vortex
May
11
8:00 PM20:00

Waiting List: Booty Vortex

Tonight's performance is sold out, but if you get on the waiting list, ya never know. And we promise to have them back soon!

Get ready! Some of the finest, funkiest musicians from across New England have banded together to play the groovy tunes from the ’70s. These timeless disco, funk songs will have you shakin' what yo' mama gave ya! And the heat these players/singers bring is guaranteed to knock you off your feet! If there's a hole in your life, if your dancing shoes are staring at you woefully from the back of the closet, or if you just love to dance, then you need to spend some time in the Vortex. Renew your spirit, get your groove on, and experience the power of Booty Vortex!

Goldfingah (James Tootle) — Keys and Vocals
Mama Jama (Erin Frawley) — Vocals
Baby Gold (Sharlene Lamont) — Vocals
PiXi StiX (Maureen Medeiros) — Percussion
Minty Fresh (Dave Burnett) — Bass Guitar
Supasonic (Jeff Buckridge) — Guitar
Meat Hammer (Seth Botos) — Drums
Huggy Bear (Jeremy Valadez) — Saxophone
Ham Hands (Brian Paulding) — Trombone
Brass Tornado (Mark Coronado) — Trumpet

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $25/Advance • $30/door

  • Last spring, the room sold out quickly. We recommend getting your tickets early.

  • Since this will be a get-up-and-dance kind of event, we’ll be offering a larger dance floor and fewer tables and chairs. We can’t guarantee seats for all in attendance so come early if that is important to you. There will be many high-top tables around the room at which you can “hang” and additional seating around the edge of the room

View Event →
The Nightflies — Music of Steely Dan
May
31
8:00 PM20:00

The Nightflies — Music of Steely Dan

The Nightflies began this journey as musicians who got together for the love and challenge of playing the intricate arrangements of Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. Their name is a tip-of-the-hat to the 1982 standard-bearer Donald Fagen’s 1981 solo album, The Nightfly. Ultimately, this led to performances at regional venues and festivals.

They take you on a journey through the 70s and 80s, performing sonic gems from the albums Gaucho, Aja, The Royal Scam, Katy Lied, Countdown to EcstasyPretzel Logic, and Can't Buy A Thrill. Their 10-piece band offers an ambitious medley of those recognizable, danceable, foot-tapping Becker/Fagen hits — and a few deep cuts too.  Dance, sing along, and enjoy. 

Tonight, they are thrilled have the fabulous guest guitarist Eric Byers on stage with them.

Chris Hurren (Keyboards/Vocals)
Gary Jenkins (Bass/Vocals)
Lori Zuroff (Vocals)
Tess Ferraiolo (Vocals)
Marcia J. Macres (Vocals)
Eric Byers (Guitars)
Mickey Roache (Guitars)
Bob Adams (Saxophone)
Mark Seibel (Saxophone)
Jon Golden (Drums/Percussion)

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →

Fugitive Swing Dance
Mar
21
7:00 PM19:00

Fugitive Swing Dance

Swing dance is alive and well at Sanctuary in Maynard. Though Fugitive and Sanctuary have hosted countless events that have spotlighted some of the area’s great swing players, now it’s official. This one is for both experienced dancers and swing dance wannabes. Sanctuary, a recently converted church, features a full stage, an enormous dance floor, and one of the best bars west of Boston.

INSTRUCTORS TONY & AURELIE TYE

The first hour will feature instruction by two of the area’s finest performer/instructors. Tony and Aurelie Tye met as beginner dancers in Boston in 1990, first experienced Lindy Hop in 1992 and have been hooked ever since! They have taught at workshops and dance events throughout the East Coast from Maine to Florida. With their own “Hop to the Beat Dance Studio,” much of their energy has focused on their local scene. Regularly teaching classes since 1995, they’re as passionate about sharing the joy of dancing as when they first began. They’ve hosted the monthly “Uptown Swing Dance” for over 20 years, as well as special weekend events with international instructors. Since 1997 they’ve run the annual week-long “Beantown Camp,” bringing together Lindy Hoppers from around the world.

EDDIE SCHEER’S SWINGING ALL STARS

Cameleon Eddie Scheer is a Sanctuary favorite, gracing us with his vocal and drumming talents with a variety of groups and styles. He has been a fixture on the New England swing scene for more than 25 years. Whether with his jump blues band The Love Dogs, the 20-piece Compaq Big Band, or various smaller ensembles, his big voice and solid drumming have kept hearts beating and feet moving wherever he plays. The Swinging All Stars is a new unit featuring some of the best musicians in Boston — leaning toward the lighter, jazzy side of swing, but still with a deep connection to and reverence for the blues. 

  • Sanctuary, 82 Main Street, Maynard

  • Doors open: 6:30pm • Dance instruction: 7–8pm

  • Full bar. You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

View Event →
Hillside Stories @ Fruitlands
Mar
20
7:00 PM19:00

Hillside Stories @ Fruitlands

Enjoy an evening of true stories told live. Eight storytellers will entertain and touch your heart. Tonight’s theme: “Behind a Mask.”

Fruitlands Museum and The Trustees of Reservation, in collaboration with Fugitive Productions, is hosting “Hillside Stories,” a new offering of “True Stories Told Live.” Join us for a fabulous evening of storytelling and community! Eight storytellers — four experienced, competition winners along with four local community tellers — will be sharing their stories.

Fugitive Stories brings the craft of true stories told live to audiences in Boston’s western ’burbs. Each night is unique and they never fail to entertain. Hearing a true story in a live performance is fun, moving, and transformative. Fugitive Stories' evenings intimately reveal what we all have in common. You may laugh and sometimes shed a few tears. Every event opens a door to a memory, a new friend, or to your heart. Humanity's earliest stories were about survival, hope, loss, love, and courage. Today’s stories echo the same themes.

About our featured tellers:

Ben Cunningham
Ben is a multifaceted artist and storyteller whose recent story aired on the “Growing Up Black” episode of GBH’s “Stories from The Stage,” a 25th Annual Webby Award winner. With first place titles from 2011 and 2017, Ben is the only two-time winner of the Massmouth’s storytelling championship, the “Big Mouth-Off.” His performance on Story Collider — true, personal stories about science — was featured on WBUR’s The ARTery.

Rachel Gans-Boriskin
Rachel is a partner at NOVL Strategies where she uses storytelling to help companies develop innovative solutions to their business problems. A former communications professor, she has performed at many storytelling venues in the Boston area including GBH's “Stories from the Stage.” She lives in Central Mass with her husband, two children, eight chickens, two cats, and two neurotic Pomeranians.

Paul Doncaster 
Paul is a published author, the father of two outstanding young women (and a bluetick beagle), and has been telling stories since 2016.  He has told at events throughout New England, performed in two Moth GrandSLAMs, and been featured on the World Channel's “Stories from the Stage.”  By day, he is a user experience design professional, listening to the stories of others and using their words to create more user-friendly online experiences.

George Vendura
George, aka “George from the Bronx,” has a PhD in physics, and is one of those rare left-brain/right-brain crossovers. His inventions have enabled NASA-JPL space probes and have powered the Sojourner, the first exploratory robotic vehicle on the surface of Mars. George is equally proficient with creative writing and storytelling. He’s a multiple Massmouth and Mass-Story slam winner and was a finalist in both the “Big Mouth Off” and Grand Slam competitions. He has been a featured teller — twice — for GBH’s “Stories from the Stage.”

Our series continues. Save the date: April 17 (Theme: At Work)

Tickets & Information

  • Location: Fruitlands’ Wayside Visitors’ Center — easy parking and wheelchair accessible  

  • Doors Open: 6:30pm • Performance: 7pm

  • Pre-register: $15/Members, $20/Non-members

  • Tickets: $25/door

  • Beer, wine, non-alcoholic beverages and light snacks available for purchase

  • Recommended: Ages 16+

View Event →
SOLD OUT: Fugitive Comedy
Mar
8
8:00 PM20:00

SOLD OUT: Fugitive Comedy

Fugitive Comedy hosts some of the best and brightest comics working in the Boston area and nationally. The comedians who have joined us have appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, Conan, David Letterman, Late Night with Seth Meyers, Last Comic Standing, America’s Got Talent, Comedy Central, The Jim Jeffries Show, Comedy Bang! Bang! Live! Podcast, NPR’s Commonwealth Journal, Lifetime’s Girls Night Out — and have opened for numerous well-known comedians in clubs around the nation.

Harrison Stebbins (Headliner)
A crowd favorite, Harrison’s unique blend of high-energy physical comedy and clever insights, keeps audiences laughing long after he’s left the stage. A true professional in every sense of the word — likable on stage, crowd pleasing, and personable — performs across the country, working primarily to support worthy!

Katy Coughlin
Katy is a stand-up comedian from Lowell where she still lives and produces comedy shows. Despite her sunny disposition, she is an angry Irish woman whose gross observations are sure to make you laugh.

Liam Hales
Liam is one of the biggest up-and-coming comics in the world right now — literally. A mountain of a man, he views the world through the lens of a ferocious Teddy Bear. He brings an infectious smile and energy with him to the stage. Originally from NH, he’s back home now after spending 15 years in Los Angeles. Sit down, unwind, and laugh with the Big Guy!

Amy Tee
“Not every crazy looks crazy,” says Amy, the comedian and motivational speaker who brings her boyish charm and dry wit to the stage with a storytelling style that shifts between stereotypes and reality. She delivers comedy with stigma-busting honesty. “I feel alive,” she says of the work. “I’m candid and exposed yet still fully clothed. Identified by the Boston Globe as a comedian to watch, and in Curve magazine as one of the “funniest lesbians in America,” Amy toured nationally and was a featured comedian in the film, “Laughing Matters — The Next Generation.” She remains a fixture on the comedy circuit, is a regular performer at the Boston Comedy Festival, and has been featured on Sirius XM Satellite Radio and the LOGO television network.

  • Doors open at 7pm • Performance starts at 8pm

  • Full bar • You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/door

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Danielle Miraglia & The Glory Junkies
Mar
7
7:30 PM19:30

Danielle Miraglia & The Glory Junkies

Danielle M & The Glory Junkies is led by Boston singer/songwriter-guitarist Danielle Miraglia (2020 Billboard Blues Charts, 2021 New England Music Awards Blues Artist of the Year).  Their sound combines the blues rock vibe of The Rolling Stones and Janis Joplin with Danielle's signature lyrical ability to explore human nature at its best and worst.  

The music itself blends influences of some of Miraglia’s own musical heroes — The Rolling Stones, Prince, Janis Joplin etc. — with bandmates Laurence Scudder (Ryan Montbleau Band, Spotted Tiger), Erik White (The Brothers McCann), Jim Larkin (Jesse Dee Band), and Chris Anzalone (Room Full of Blues, Juliana Hatfield). 

“The first time that I saw one of her live shows, Danielle Miraglia’s intoxicating brand of hot bluesy music, built on an underpinning of scorching guitar riffs, melted the chill off the bitter cold New England winter night in an instant. Truth be told, I don’t believe that there’s an audience anywhere who wouldn’t be blown.” — Paul Collins, Nashua Telegraph

  • Doors Open: 7pm • Performance: 7:30pm

  • Full bar • You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $15/advance, $20/door

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Unplugged Sundays: Games and Jokes to Counter Existential Angst
Mar
3
7:00 PM19:00

Unplugged Sundays: Games and Jokes to Counter Existential Angst

A MULTIMEDIA TIME TRAVELING CONCERT

This program of high musical humor from three centuries — lightly staged with audience participation — will bring some relieving levity to our complex world. Four 18th-century ladies bicker over bridge in Caldara’s Il Guoco del Quadriglio (The Card Game), PDQ Bach’s Iphigenia in Brooklyn lampoons the dramatic cantata, Kevin Lubin’s nine-minute klezmer-infused opera intimately portrays Three Jewish Women Playing Mah Jongg, and a multi-media world premiere by John Morrison plays with the theatrics of a backgammon match. There’ll be nothing else like it this season!

 Featuring:

  • Mezzo Pamela Dellal

  • Harpsichordist/Accordionist Vivian Montgomery

  • Composers John Morrison and Kevin Lubin

  • A tight little band of period singers and instrumentalists from the Longy School of Music

Tickets & Info:

  • Doors open: 6:30pm • Performance: 7pm

  • Full bar. You’re welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance, $25/door

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Myanna's All-Star Band
Mar
1
8:00 PM20:00

Myanna's All-Star Band

Legendary Boston-based saxophonist Myanna has invited some very talented collaborators to join her on the Sanctuary stage.

Myanna, one of the hottest saxophonists around, plays music that mixes jazz improvisation with funky rhythms, expressive playing, and catchy tunes. Featuring her soulful sounds, versatility, and unique arrangements, she performs regularly in clubs and concert halls with her own group, with the Love Dogs, and as a featured artist in a number of highly-regarded bands. She has won awards for Best Jazz Artist several times from both the Boston Music Awards and The Boston Phoenix readers poll. Myanna has recorded three or her own CDs, is featured on multiple recordings with The Love Dogs and as a side player on many other recordings.

Cassandre McKinley started a career in film and television as a kid and by 16, she had already signed with a New York talent agent. McKinley is best known for her powerhouse voice and stylistic versatility and ability to cross genres effortlessly. She is renowned for her spirited and emotional performances with a presence on stage that is exuberant and passionate yet warm and disarming. She has shared the stage, and in some cases, recorded with greats such as Peter Eldridge (New York Voices), Duke Levine, Dave Mattacks, Dick Johnson (Artie Shaw Orchestra), Clay Osborne, Bernard “Pretty” Purdie, Fred Lipsius (Blood, Sweat and Tears), Jerry Portnoy (Eric Clapton, Muddy Waters), the legendary Herb Pomeroy and others. McKinley has toured nationally and overseas and her music can be heard on over 500 national and international radio stations, cable and internet music outlets including iHeartRadio, Spotify, Pandora and XM Radio.

Dave Limina is a contemporary pianist, Hammond organist, keyboardist, composer, producer, educator, and chair of the Piano Department at Berklee College of Music. He has performed or recorded with such notable artists as the award-winning Ronnie Earl and the Broadcasters, Bernard Purdie, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, Gloria Estefan, Pee Wee Ellis, Martha Reeves, Brooke Benton, Scott Hamilton, Ernie Watts, Lori McKenna, Fred Wesley, Joey DeFrancesco, Mighty Sam McClain, Lenny Pickett, Hamish Stuart, Steve Forbert, Courage Brothers, and many more. He served as the keyboardist and conductor for the first national touring company of the Broadway musical, Rent and has been a session keyboardist appearing on hundreds of recordings and film soundtracks.

Guitarist Mike Mele has spent the last 30 years performing with many jazz and blues greats, including Roy Hargrove, Antonio Hart, Tony Monaco, Bill Pierce, Joe Hunt, Barry Ries, Marty Rowen, and Melvin Sparks. Mike has been a member of the Ken Clark Organ Trio, and recorded the albums Eternal Funk and Mutual Respect for the distinguished Severn Records label. Mike was also a long-standing member of Michelle Willson’s Evil Gal Festival Orchestra, toured North America and Europe, and released the critically acclaimed album Wake-Up Call for Rounder Records.

Drummer and vocalist Eddie Scheer has been one of the pillars of the Boston Blues/R&B scene for over 20 years. As the leader of his award winning band The Love Dogs, he’s toured the U.S. and Europe and recorded four critically acclaimed CDs. He’s played with virtually every top level musician in the Northeast at one time or another, and has hosted his “Tuesday Night Allstars” series in Brighton for over a decade. His encyclopedic repertoire is surpassed only by his big smile and love of entertaining.

  • Doors open: 7pm • Performance: 8pm

  • Full bar. You're welcome to bring snacks and/or take-out.

  • Tickets: $20/Advance • $25/door

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