
Bruno Mars Is the Best Touring Musician on the Planet
Latin, Mothership funk, and Elvis in one Gillette night — and why nobody else on the road can do all three.

Is Boston Carnival Really on the Decline? No Carnival in the World Has That Turn
The best Carnival weekend of my life, thirty years in — and why the road onto Blue Hill Avenue is worth fighting for.

Machel Montano Gets a City of Boston Citation at Encore: Soca History on City Hall Plaza
The 12x Road March King headlines Boston City Hall Plaza with Lady Lava — and leaves with a citation from the city.

What Is J'ouvert? Jab Family Boston, Kyron, and the Oil on the Road at Boston Carnival
Before the costumes and the parade, there's the 5 a.m. passage — paint, powder, oil, and a tradition that goes back to emancipation.

Lost on the Boardwalk: How Boston Takes Carnival to the Water
Red House Entertainment closes Carnival weekend on Spectacle Island — carrying a Caribbean tradition older than any of us.

The History of Caribbean Carnival: From Emancipation to the Road
How a festival born in resistance on Trinidad's plantations became the greatest celebration of freedom in the Caribbean — and the diaspora.

Black Uhuru at Lincoln Center: A Colonial Outpost Finally Gets It Right
An institution better known for Mahler than Marley finally gives roots reggae its due — a dispatch from the Plaza.

How MTV and Mötley Crüe Made Me Dancehall's Tommy Lee
From 'Dr. Feelgood' on a brand-new cable box to a drumstick kicked into the crowd at Xfinity Center — thirty years chasing visual excellence, first person.

Roots and Rhymes Hits the Harbor: Buju Banton and Stephen Marley Bring Two Sides of Reggae to Boston
Two lineages of Jamaican music on one waterfront stage — the grit and the roots, side by side.

A Taste of Reggae Sumfest: A Dispatch from Plantation Cove
A guest from the Proms meets Gaza vs Gully at 2 a.m. — and files three stars, against his better judgment.

Is Kabaka Pyramid the Cure?
From Bob Marley to Skeng, from KRS-One to the pill-poppers — it's the same playbook. One man is still burning a fiyah.

One Stage, One Night: Reggae Sumfest 2026 Rewrote the History Books
Vybz Kartel and Mavado share a stage for the first time in eighteen years — dancehall's rivalry becomes its reunion.

The Night Kabaka Pyramid Preached at Bill's Bar
A tight room off Lansdowne, lyrics first, and a Grammy winner who trusted the words to carry it.

Serani: One Night, Start to Finish
From an empty-room soundcheck to a packed Grand — a dancehall hitmaker through a single Boston day.