Jug Band Festival
The Great Northeast Jug Band Festival
Saturday, September 27, 2025, 1-6pm
New England’s ONLY Jug Band Festival will highlight traditions from the 1920’s and 30’s, and the modern evolution of this good-time music. This event is free and open to the public at the Beer Garden at the Jason Russell House (7 Jason St, Arlington, MA 02476). Bring your lawn chairs and blankets and enjoy performances by three of the region's best Jug Bands! New this year -- the festival will feature a Makers Tent, highlighting home-made and cigar box instrument builders!
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Back in 2025! Join us the night before at Donut Villa for an Open Jug Band Jam! More details below.
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Jason Russell House Beer Garden is presented by the Arlington Historical Society and Jason Russell House. Craft Beer by Arlington Brewing Company!
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RAIN LOCATION (PERFORMANCE + JAM ONLY): Arlington Community Center in the Main Hall, 27 Maple St Arlington, MA
Event Schedule
Friday, September 26 | 7:30-9:30pm
Open Jug Band Jam
Join The Jug Nuts for the return of our Open Jug Band Jam at Donut Villa!
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@ 319 Broadway in Arlington
Saturday, September 27 | 1-6pm
Festival Performances + Makers Tent
1pm | Jug Band Jam w/ The Jug Nuts (open to all)
2pm | Amy Kucharick & Friends with Benefits (1 Hour Set)
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3:15pm | The All New Genetically Altered Jug Band (1 Hour Set)
4:30pm | Miss Maybell & Her Ragtime Romeos (1 Hour Set)
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ALL DAY | New this year! -- Makers Tent highlighting home-made and cigar box instrument builders!
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Image Credit: Amy Kucharik (top image) and Lauren Sansaricq (bottom image)
Jug Band Festival Know Before You Go
Please consult our Know Before You Go section for full details about our Great Northeast Jug Band Festival, including event location, directions, and more. To access a full transcript of this section, please download our Know Before You Go Guide.
Accessibility
Accessing the outdoor space - The terrain of the outdoor space is mostly a flat grassy lawn. There are several large trees with protruding roots around the perimeter of the property. Parking is located along Mass Ave and Jason Street. For wheelchair and stroller access to the outdoor space, patrons can take a right onto Jason Terrace off of Jason St and there is a parking lot located behind the museum with a paved path to the lawn area. The perimeter also features a stone wall with an entrance opening along Jason Street. At this entrance, there is a small step up onto the pathway which is made up of large paver stones and grass. Accessing the Jason Russell House - A ramp provides wheelchair and stroller access to the Museum and the ground floor of the Jason Russell House.
Admission
No admission is required for this event, but refreshments require payment.
Directions and Transportation
The Jason Russell House and Museum are easily reached by automobile. From outside Boston take I-95 to Exit 29A, Route 2 East. Proceed on Route 2 to exit 59A, Pleasant Street. Make a left onto Pleasant Street. At Massachusetts Ave. make a left heading west toward Lexington. Make a left at Jason Street. Parking is located on Jason Street or take the next right onto Jason Terrace – the parking lot is located behind the museum. Additional parking may be found on Mass Ave and Arlington’s closest municipal parking lot is located at 78 Chestnut St, Arlington, MA 02474 and is .4 miles away from the Jason Russell House. Public transit offers several choices to bring you to our door. The MBTA bus routes 67, 77, 80, 87, and 350 all stop at Arlington Center. Many of these buses can be caught at the Red line station at Harvard or Alewife. Get off the bus in Arlington Center and travel west on Massachusetts Avenue to Jason Street.
Event Location and Venue Contact Info
Jason Russell House & Smith Museum 7 Jason Street Arlington, MA 02476-6410 Phone: (781) 648-4300 Email: contact@arlingtonhistorical.org
Event Set Up
The Arlington Craft Beer Garden will be providing beer and food available for purchase via credit card or cash, on the south side of the lawn. A tent with our feature Jug Band musicians will be set up on the north side of the lawn and patrons are invited to settle themselves somewhere on the grassy lawn to enjoy musical performances.
Masking
Masking is not required for the Beer Garden or Jug Band Festival spaces. Visitors are encouraged to wear a mask in the small interior spaces of the Jason Russell House.
Rain Location
If the Beer Garden is cancelled due to inclement weather, the Jug Band Festival and related activities will move indoors to the Arlington Community Center at 27 Maple St. Accessible parking and elevator access are available in this space. This location will not feature the beer garden or other refreshments.
Seating
There is no seating provided in the outdoor lawn space. Visitors are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and blankets.
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Jug Band Festival T-Shirts
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What's Jug Band Music?
It’s bluesy, jazzy, and fun! With roots from Appalachia, New Orleans, and Africa, jug band music started in the south (notably Louisville Kentucky and Memphis Tennessee) in the 1920’s and 30’s. Highly popular "back in the day", jug bands such as Gus Cannon’s Jug Stompers and the Memphis Jug Band incorporated a variety of conventional and home-made instruments (such as spoons, washtub bass, and washboard), and, of course, featured jug-blowing as a rhythmic backbone. Jug band music could have quietly slid into obscurity if not for a revival in the 1960’s by notable musicians such as John Sebastian, Jerry Garcia, Jim Kweskin, and Maria Muldaur. Today, the genre is alive and well, as you’ll get to hear and see when you come to the festival.
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