Art, Music, and Magic: MASS MoCA Announces Sweeping Summer 2025 Lineup

North Adams’s MASS MoCA has always been more than a museum. It’s a world-building, boundary-breaking creative engine. And this summer, the powerhouse cultural campus is dialing everything up. From raucous courtyard concerts and radical residencies to immersive installations and family-friendly experiments, MASS MoCA’s newly announced Summer 2025 schedule is stacked with events that blur the lines between art, performance, community, and play.

The Fresh Grass Festival last year.

A Season of Sounds: Concerts, Festivals, and Sonic Rituals

Things kick off with an immersive, spirit-channeling performance by vocalist and songwriter Martha Redbone on June 21, presented in conjunction with Jeffrey Gibson’s massive exhibition “POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT.” Jazz sensation Jazzmeia Horn follows on June 28, and SNACKTIME, the genre-hopping funk-punk-hip hop brass band from Philly, brings the party on July 12.

In one of the summer’s marquee events, Guster and The Mountain Goats co-headline a rock night in Courtyard D on July 26. Meanwhile, Grammy-winning vocal ensemble Roomful of Teeth returns with a bold new commission from William Brittelle on August 16.

The beloved LOUD Weekend, curated by Bang on a Can, transforms the campus into a genre-spanning, three-day sound experiment from July 31 to August 2. Lake Street Dive hits the outdoor stage on September 6, before bluegrass takes over during the FreshGrass Festival from September 19-21.

Martha Redbone

Laughter and Late Nights: Comedy and After Hours Vibes

Saturday Night Live’s gleefully deranged Sarah Sherman brings her singular comedic voice to North Adams on July 19, while the ever-surreal Julio Torres returns to MASS MoCA for a rare stand-up appearance on August 8.

In a performance that fuses club culture and performance art, MX Oops will transform Building 5 into an ecstatic queer dance ritual on August 30.

And don’t forget the museum’s beer garden, The Chalet, open every Thursday from July 3 to September 4 (except July 31), featuring live music, drinks, and sunsets along the river.

Big Shows, New Voices, and Artists at Work

Among the season’s major visual art offerings, “Vincent Valdez: Just a Dream…” opens May 24. The Houston-based painter's politically charged retrospective spans boxing, border politics, and American mythologies. And that same weekend, MASS MoCA’s outdoor exhibitions return to the public.

On June 28, the music photography show New York State of Mind opens, chronicling 30 years of iconic NYC images by legendary photographer Bob Gruen—from Iggy Pop and Patti Smith to Madonna in Long Island.

Later in the season, Gibson’s “POWER FULL BECAUSE WE’RE DIFFERENT” gets an update with new material in its Resource Room, while artist-in-residence Randi Malkin Steinberger turns her studio into an evolving installation, The Archive of Lost Memories, on view through June 29.

Hands-On: Workshops, Movement, and Magic

For those who like their art interactive, there are workshops galore: tactile design explorations with The Matière (June 7 and 14), a family movement class inspired by Trisha Brown Dance Company (May 24), and an open drawing activation with Amy Yoes on August 3.

You can also get your hands dirty with Summer Foraging on August 21, or dig into radical literary experiments like the closing Like Magic book sale and séance on August 31.

And throughout the summer, MASS MoCA hosts free Open Studios, Drop-In Art Clubs, and Family Storytimes.

Beyond the Museum: Talks, Skaters, and Secret Paths

Author and artist talks this season include Genesis Báez, Nicholas Carr, Audrey Golden on The Raincoats, and Dan Nadel on Robert Crumb, along with others.

Skate Haven returns for a public conversation on skateparks as public art (August 15), followed by a community-wide Skate Jam in Courtyard D on August 17.

And on June 21, MASS MoCA throws open its doors with a free Community Day, featuring gallery admission, and artist talks, culminating with the performance by Martha Redbone.

Whether drawn to sound art, social satire, or shared stories under the stars, MASS MoCA’s Summer 2025 season invites visitors to listen closer, dance harder, and dig deeper. For tickets, full listings, and updates, visit massmoca.org.