Dorchfest will return to the Ashmont-Adams section of Dorchester this Saturday (June 6), with an afternoon-long lineup of live music spread across porches, yards, plazas, and other neighborhood venues.
The free festival, organized by Greater Ashmont Main Street and the Ashmont Adams Neighborhood Association, is scheduled for 1 p.m. to 6 p.m., with an opening performance by the English High School Drum Line at 12:30 p.m. on Beaumont Street, which runs from Carruth Street to Adams Street, will be closed to vehicular traffic from noon to 6 p.m., according to the festival schedule at dorchfest.com.
WATCH: Scenes from Dorchfest 2024
This year’s bill offers a broad sampler of musical range, from blues, brass, jazz, and folk to hip-hop, reggae, R&B, Latin, Irish, African, Arabic, samba, and world music. More than 50 acts are listed on the festival’s 2026 schedule.
The day begins with a dense 1 p.m. slate that includes The Savin Hillbillies at 690 Adams St., Melo Green at 30 Carruth St., Daniel Laurent and Jeff 2X at 96 Beaumont St., Superpink at 1900 Dorchester Ave., The Fred Woodard Collective at 2 Fairfax St., Willie J Laws Band at 8 Carruth St., Irish Whispa at 35 Bushnell St., Richie Parsons at 4 Westmoreland St., Travels With Brindle at Rundel Park, Los Gallos Locos at 26 Barrington Rd., and Stiletto Torpedo at 33 Carruth St.
Families will also find early-day programming, including Boston City Singers at 1 p.m. and the English High School Drum Line’s opening set, both at 16 Beaumont St. The festival will close with School of Honk, a brass and family-friendly act, from 5:30 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., also at 16 Beaumont St.
The 2 p.m. hour brings another cluster of acts, including blues and folk artist Racky Thomas, The Black Velvet Band, Dirty Water Brass Band, Atlas Soul, Zili Misik, Cooper Smithson, Chocoleles, and Nicolás Emden. Later highlights include Komai, HAWA Collective, Toussaint The Liberator, The MastaDonis Project, Jahriffe, Los Mambiseros, Tsunami of Sound, Tizy, Similar Jones, Dior Stacks, Sidy Maiga & Afrimanding, Fly By Brass Band, SambaViva and Grooversity, Tokyo Tramps, FM Collective, Fauxmenco, Illin’ P, and Sunburned Sharks.
Festival stages are clustered throughout the neighborhood, including locations on Dorchester Avenue, Lombard Street, Ashmont Street, Carruth Street, Bushnell Street, Van Winkle Street, Fairfax Street, Beaumont Street, Barrington Road, Rundel Park, Adams Street, and Westmoreland Street. The posted stage list includes homes, churches, the Adams Street branch library, Droser Plaza, and the BMC Mainstage at 30 Beaumont St.
Dorchfest was launched in 2022 as a free and accessible neighborhood music festival on the weekend of the Dorchester Day Parade. Organizers say the event is modeled on porchfest-style celebrations, but with a key difference: Performers are paid. The festival’s website says that approach helps attract high-quality and diverse acts, and that 85 percent of bands reapply each year.
Organizers are also crediting a roster of neighborhood businesses, institutions, and supporters for helping keep Dorchfest free and accessible. The festival’s website lists 2026 sponsors including Amazon, Trinity Financial, Dorchester Reporter, Abacus Builders, and the Mass Cultural Council.
Supporters include the Ashmont-Adams Neighborhood Association, DotLife Podcast, MacKinnon & Co. | Compass, McGonagle’s Pub, Revamp Training, Ronan 953, Rockland Trust Bank, The Local Hand, Btone Fitness Dorchester, Dot Block, Eire Pub, Harbor Health, HYM Investment Group, Santander Bank, and UMass Boston.
Greater Ashmont Main Street says sponsorship support helps fund a festival that draws more than 5,000 attendees, features more than 60 performers, collaborates with dozens of local businesses, and generated coverage across 12 regional media outlets in 2025. The organization is also soliciting individual donations, saying contributions go directly toward paying musical performers
A full band schedule and stage map are available at dorchfest.com.
