The Berklee BeanTown Outdoor Jazz Festival takes place in late September every year when you are here with your handicap van rental in Boston. This festival attracts tens of thousands of music lovers from all over to enjoy jazz, Latin, blues, and more. 2011 is the 11th annual festival, and it just keeps getting better. It also includes Boston's biggest block party on the Saturday that features three stages with performances.

About the festival

When you are here with your handicap rental van in Boston, you may learn that the festival is more than 11 years old. It was the South End's first jazz festival and the organizers were surprised to have nearly 10,000 people come out. Over the years, the festival has continued to grow, making it Boston's most popular outdoor festival. The Berklee College of Music has supported the festival since it started and now produces the entire festival. Today, more than 80,000 people come out for world-class music, great food, and good times that covers six blocks of Boston's South End. For families, there is face painting, inflatables, photos, and even an instrument petting zoo.

Performers

The Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival has a number of great performers that you can see when you are here. Some of the performers include James Farm, Pablo Ablanedo Octet, Shea Rose, Los Hermanos Arango, Bloco AfroBrazil, Louis Hayes Cannonball Legacy Band, and many others. Some of the performances take place at the Berklee Performance Center, so please check the website for times and admission fees.

What if you're not in town for the festival?

If your in Boston at a different time than the festival, but still want to enjoy some great music, check out Berklee's Caf?939, which is a student-run music venue that features all styles of music.

Plan your visit

When you visit with your Boston handicap van rental, you will find the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival on Columbus Avenue between Burke Street and Massachusetts Avenue, including part of Carter Playground. Parking for your Boston handicap rental van is available at the Prudential Center. There are local hotels that are close to the festival that offer special rates for the festival, but you need to mention Berklee on the phone when you make a reservation. The hotels include the Sheraton Boston Hotel, Hilton Boston Back Bay, Lenox Back Bay Boston, and the Eliot Hotel.

What is the South End?

When you are here with your Boston handicap rental van, you will find the South End is a unique neighbourhood south of Back Bay. The neighbourhood was built on a former tidal marsh in the mid-1800s. The South End has long been a jazz mecca. From 1915 to 1970, the American Federation of Musicians Local 535 was the top black musicians' union in the country and included the likes of Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway, Chuck Webb, Earl Hines, and others within the national union. Today, you will find the South End is home to one of Boston's main restaurant districts with a diverse mix of cuisine, though many of them are at a relatively high price point. Tremont Street is known as Restaurant Row and includes American, French, Ethiopian, Brazilian, Indian, Italian, Venezuelan, African, Latin American, Thai, and Japanese among others.

When you visit the Berklee BeanTown Jazz Festival with your handicap van rental in Boston, you will find Boston's largest outdoor festival is filled with great musicians and food in a great part of town. Tens of thousands of people come out to enjoy the festival every year, and every year it gets better and better. Check out what's happening when you are in town, because you may be able to get some great festival-related deals.