Outside the Box Free Performing Arts Festival

Outside the Box Boston is back! The Common will once again be transformed into a massive performing arts festival designed to engage, educate and most importantly, entertain the citizens of Boston. And it's all for free! From theater to dance, the symphony to indie bands, classic to cutting edge--they provide it all. So hop on the T and head over to the heart of Boston all weekend long for a great celebration of the arts.

Chairman and visionary of Outside the Box Ted Cutler, a Dorchester native and Emerson College alumnus, is among the city’s most involved philanthropists--a man whose leadership and big-picture-ideas have bolstered a host of causes and institutions including those supporting the arts and culture, civic efforts, and health and human services. The arts have always been a part of Ted’s life and can be traced back to his college days when he worked his way through Emerson as a musician and bandleader. Quite impressively, Ted became a pioneer in the music industry, forming his own cutting-edge orchestras that played the region’s biggest performance halls. Soon after his travels, he founded a music agency business, booking acts and superstars like Tony Bennett, Barbra Streisand and Sammy Davis Jr. After seeing his successes and the impact he was having, Ted wanted to merge his personal success with his passion for the performing arts. He felt it was time to give back to Boston and build its reputation as a city that supports the performing arts. So in 2007, the seed that became Outside The Box was planted.

Ted has said that Boston is known for many things: the colleges and universities, the hospitals and medical research and the growing life sciences area, the sports teams, and as a place where the country’s rich and important history is preserved and respected which is definitely accurate. But he believes that the one thing that seems to get lost is Boston’s amazing arts and cultural efforts and we agree. Boston should be thought of as a leader in the arts, because of the wonderful institutions here. Ted explains that Boston has had a significant history of supporting artists and the arts and we need a way to showcase that part of our city. So he did just that.

And so the show goes on with Outside the Box 2015! With a great lineup of performers, we believe the festival out-did-itself this year with having country singer Kacey Musgraves on the stage Friday, July 17th as well as other bands like the New Politics and Guster. See the full schedule of performances here. A big shout out to Outside the Box and Ted Cutler for devouring the details and representing the understated performing arts here in Boston!