Coming to Cambridge

We are planning on spending a few days in Cambridge/Boston area in early August, does anyone know anything cool to do. We are really interested in local live music, cool shops, anything folk/hippie. Thanks for the help!!

Coming to Cambridge

If you don%26#39;t go anywhere else, go to Club Passim in Cambridge%26#39;s Harvard Square. It%26#39;s a small basement performance space known to folkies the world over. Some ';big names'; like Joan Baez launched their careers there when it was known as Club 47. To this day they keep a full calendar of folk and bluegrass artists. In the same basement is a tiny vegetarian restaurant called Veggie Planet (';vegan option available on all menu items.';) Maybe as many as eight people can fit in their dining area, LOL. But the food is always fresh and always tastes great.

The church around the corner from Passim often has vendors selling stuff like hand-knit caps and homemade candles from tables outside. They go all-out at Christmas time with their basement bazaar, purposely playing 1960s tunes non-stop while aging boomers and flower-children-two-generations-late browse through dozens of artisans%26#39; and artists%26#39; booths. (This means that you%26#39;ll have to come back in December!)

A small shop between Harvard and Central Squares along Mass. Ave. called Sandy%26#39;s Music has all sorts of folk and ';traditional'; tunes on sale. Once in a while they even host a jam session - of banjos! If you walk that stretch of Mass. Ave. (a little over a mile) you%26#39;ll also find more used-record stores than you can shake a stylus at.

Another good spot for live tunes along the same lines is Johnny D%26#39;s, just outside the Davis Square station on the Red Line in Somerville. They specialize more in famous and not-so-famous blues musicians%26#39; gigs, with a free blues jam every Sunday afternoon.

With it being the dog days of summer, a lot of outdoor festivals will be going on. Unfortunately they%26#39;re mostly in places like Newport, RI. But if you%26#39;re bringing wheels, see what%26#39;s being advertised in local music publications and on flyers at places like the one%26#39;s I%26#39;ve mentioned.

The store called Garment District, on Broadway near Kendall Square in Cambridge, is all about ';vintage'; clothes. You%26#39;re sure to find some funky duds from the 60%26#39;s and 70%26#39;s there.

Lastly, though it may be a self-consciously contrived chain store, Urban Outfitters has a store in Harvard Square and another in the Back Bay.

Coming to Cambridge

(Too late for your visit, but...)

The jam sessions at Sandy%26#39;s Music occur almost every Monday night.

If you%26#39;re interested in folk dancing, see the Boston-area calendar at http://www.facone.org/fdrb . Many of the dances have live music.