What started out as a reaction by two Boston women fighting gender inequality in the local comedy scene has grown into the city's biggest comedy festival. The Women in Comedy Festival, which kicks off on Wednesday, is now a national destination, with its message of acceptance and laughter.

It all got started when festival co-founder Michelle Barbera, who was coming up in the Boston comedy scene in the early 2000s, noticed a problem.

“I just kept seeing this pattern over and over where we would...

In the small and unassuming space, tucked into an industrial warehouse in Everett, MCs crowd into tight circles, while two mics are ritualistically passed around the room. Artists and enthusiasts alike, cheer each other on, as bass-heavy beats pump from the subwoofer stacks. First-timer Taylor Garcia looks on, anxiously awaiting his turn to showcase his rhymes.

Every Monday night, for four years and counting, vocalists and DJs have gathered for the Freestyle Clinic. The space, known as "The Blu...

John Connor, a lifelong traditional Irish musician, sits in a booth at Porter Belly’s Pub in Brighton, with his son Sean. Sean also plays traditional Irish music in a band called NightSide, following in the footsteps of his father, and his grandfather before.

In the Boston area today, it's no secret that there are any number of Irish pubs with live music, and not just on St. Patrick's Day. The scene gives us a glimpse of traditional Ireland, but also the space for new bands to bring that legacy...

Perhaps the only ironic thing about Miguel Zenón’s new album, “Típico,” is the name.

The word típico, in Spanish means “typical” and denotes that something in itself is traditional of a culture, but there is nothing typical about the alto sax virtuoso’s 10th album.

Zenón combines roots music from his native Puerto Rico with the complex polyrhythms of modern jazz, but his infectious melodies and lush landscapes make his music accessible to non-jazzophiles as well as to aficionados. This Friday,...