10 things to do in Boston this weekend

Things to Do

BosTen is your weekly guide to the best events and coolest things to do in Boston.

Welcome to BosTen, your weekly guide to the coolest events and best things to do in Boston this weekend. Sign up for our weekly email newsletter here. Have an idea about what we should cover? Leave us a comment on this article or in the BosTen Facebook group, or email us at [email protected].

Enjoy free admission to the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum

As students return to campus for the new semester, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum will welcome visitors back with free admission Thursday afternoon and evening. Besides enjoying an after-hours visit to the museum free of charge, you’ll be able to catch two exhibits before they close for good on Sunday: On Christopher Street: Transgender Portraits by Mark Seliger; and Portraits From Boston, With Love. (Thursday, Sept. 5 from 3-9 p.m.; 25 Evans Way, Boston; free) — Kevin Slane

Bear ‘Digital Witness’ to St. Vincent

Before re-christening herself, the singer-composer-guitarist-producer St. Vincent was called Annie Clark. Growing up in Dallas, she started on guitar at 12, became a road manager for the folk duo Tuck & Patti (Tuck is her uncle), studied for a while at Berklee, joined the Polyphonic Spree, and was in the backing band of Sufjan Stevens. All the while she was building her own style and sound – a mix of rock, pop, and jazz – resulting in her 2007 album debut “Marry Me.” Multiple albums followed, as did Grammy Awards (Best Alternative Album for “St. Vincent,” Best Rock Song for “Masseducation”), and she was honored with the Smithsonian American Ingenuity Award for Performing Arts. She’s currently touring behind her 2024 album “All Born Screaming,” which visits MGM Music Hall this Thursday. (Thursday, Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.; 2 Lansdowne St., Boston; $50-$80) — Ed Symkus

Enjoy the best ice cream in Greater Boston

Summer is almost over, and while there’s no cutoff date for enjoying a refreshing cone (or cup) of ice cream, the sweet treat undoubtedly hits different in warmer months. If you’re looking to branch out from your favorite scoop spot, ice cream enthusiast James Douthit recently spent a year meticulously trying 250 different flavors from every ice cream shop in the Greater Boston area that makes their own ice cream, subjecting each business to a rigorous testing rubric. Douthit’s final list of the best ice cream in greater Boston features shops stretching from Cambridge (Honeycomb Creamery) to Reading (Cal’s Creamery) to the North Shore (Holy Cow Ice Cream Cafe), and distinct flavors like sweet corn, cannoli, and banana fudge. Read more about Douthit’s journey if you want to create your own ice cream crawl before the leaves begin to turn. (Various locations) — Kevin Slane

Enjoy cinema in 70mm at the Coolidge

Recent box office trends suggest that fans slow to return to the cinema may be more likely to do so for big movies, ones that demand to be seen in theaters. Starting this weekend, Coolidge Corner Theatre is using its main 440-seat moviehouse to show films in 70mm, a projection format that’s twice as large as 35mm and four times larger than 2k digital projection. The fun starts Friday with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master,” and continues throughout the weekend with Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” and the 1970 thriller “Airport,” which kicked off a run of ’70s disaster cinema while also helping inspire the single-greatest film parody of all time, 1980’s “Airplane!”. (Beginning Friday, Sept. 6 at various times; 290 Harvard St., Brookline; $20-23) — Kevin Slane

Remember everything with Kacey Musgraves

The early musical days of Kacey Musgrove went in all sorts of directions. By the time she was 8, she was playing mandolin. Before a year had passed, she wrote her first song. At 12, she was learning guitar. Around that same period, she was building up a reputation as a gifted yodeler. In between all of this, she was a member of the all-girl band the Texas Two Bits. These days, she’s known as an artist who’s as comfortable with classic country as with mainstream pop. She released a number of independent albums as a teen, but Musgraves made her name as a staff writer at Warner Chappell Music, cranking out songs for other artists, until it was time to move into the studio herself, for Mercury Records. That was in 2012. By 2019, she had been awarded an Album of the Year Grammy for “Golden Hour.” Her recent release, “Deeper Well,” while still country, has more of a folkie flavor. Another move in another direction, and another reason she’s now filling arenas like TD Garden, where she’ll be this Friday and Saturday. (Friday and Saturday, Sept. 6-7 at 7:30 p.m.; 100 Legends Way, Boston; $79-$229) — Ed Symkus

Glimpse into an artist’s world

Come explore the four floors of the Artist Studios Building in the South End during its open studio times from 5 to 8 p.m. on Friday, and meet the artists currently in the Boston Center for the Arts’ Studio Residency. See the space where they create and learn more about their artistic practices from the artists themselves. On the same night in the Mills Gallery, you can also pop in for the opening reception of J Rowen O’Dwyer’s “DEVOTIONS, to a dirty queer home” and Kate Wildman’s “prayers from the earth” from 6 to 9 p.m. (Friday, Sept. 6 from 5-8 p.m.; 551 Tremont St., Boston; free) — Cheryl Fenton

Hit a high note with Arturo Sandoval at Scullers

Like Dizzy Gillespie and Maynard Ferguson before him, trumpeter Arturo Sandoval — who will play four shows at Scullers Jazz Club this weekend — likes to go for the high notes. He’s been playing the horn since he was 12 (he’ll be 74 in a few months), at first studying under classical teachers, but soon discovering jazz and, growing up in Cuba, eventually adding a Latin flavor to his jazz and classical blend. Before putting together his own band, Sandoval was a founding member in the Afro-Cuban fusion group Irakere. In 2001, HBO presented “For Love or Country: The Arturo Sandoval Story,” which focused on his music and his personal struggles with the Cuban government, featuring Andy Garcia in the title role. Sandoval has collaborated with, among others, Tony Bennet, Josh Groban, and his mentor, Dizzy Gillespie, and has brought home 10 Grammys, the most recent, in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category, for his 2012 release “Dear Diz (Every Day I Think of You).” (Friday & Saturday, Sept. 6 & 7 at 7 & 9 p.m.; 400 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston; $50-$160) — Ed Symkus

Kick back at JP Music Fest

Jamaica Plain has a well-earned reputation as an artistic and cultural hub in Boston, with the neighborhood traditionally housing hundreds of artists who make their presence known at events like Open Studios and Porchfest. Another of JP’s cultural highlights returns this Saturday: The 12th edition of the JP Music Fest brings 20 artists to multiple stages at Pinebank Field, along with food trucks and family-friendly activities. Be sure to catch the headlining set from Mamadou, a band that plays West African-inspired guitar and drum music fronted by Senegalese singer Mamadou Diop. (Saturday, Sept. 7 from noon-7 p.m.; 345 Jamaicaway, Boston; free) — Kevin Slane

Stroll through the Boston Arts Festival

Head to Christopher Columbus Park this Saturday and Sunday for the Boston Arts Festival — lovingly pronounced as “ähts,” in honor of the event’s founder, the late Boston Mayor Tom Menino. The free festival is celebrating its 21st anniversary each day from 11-6 p.m. with dozens of visual and performing artists from all of Boston’s neighborhoods. (Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7-8 from 11 a.m.-6 p.m.; Christopher Columbus Park, Boston; free) — Kevin Slane

Enjoy the music of Harry Potter with the Pops

Boston Pops conductor laureate John Williams is widely considered the greatest film score composer of all time. He has composed so many iconic film soundtracks, from “Jaws” to “Jurassic Park,” that he has the second-most Academy Award nominations of all time, behind only Walt Disney. This Saturday and Sunday, the Pops will perform pieces from Williams’ scores for the Harry Potter film franchise, accompanied by clips from the eight movies released between 2001 and 2011. The first half of the show will chronicle Williams’ full Hollywood career, while the second will be all Harry Potter, featuring live narration by Broadway actress Scarlett Strallen. (Saturday, Sept 7 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday, Sept. 8 at 2 p.m.; 301 Massachusetts Ave., Boston; $68 and up) — Kevin Slane