Keep the Saturday evening jazz concerts at the Roxbury Library
Comments
#1
Keep the concerts on Saturday evening ! It's great for the library and great for the community!!Dana Brooks (Boston, 2025-07-18)
#3
I have been attending Makanda Project concerts for nearly ten years. They provide some of the most enjoyable and enriching concerts available in the Greater Boston area. But the music is far from the only jewel in the Makanda crown. The beauty of the community and of the people of the city of Roxbury has been an eye opener to me and I'm sure a multitude of others. It is not a pleasant truth, but I believe that Roxbury is, for many folks outside of the city itself misunderstood and much maligned. It has been my pleasure and honor to bring many friends to various concerts the Makanda Project has presented over the years, opening minds and hearts. Having just said all that, I want to return to the subject of the incredible music that they present, showcasing dozens of extraordinarily talented local musicians and often bringing in internationally renowned musicians as their frequent guests and collaborators. The fact that these concerts are available free of charge is truly extraordinary as well, and means that they are available to people from all walks of life. The outdoor concerts are of course wonderful, but the fact that they have been able to continue as truly special Saturday evening events throughout the Autumn, Winter and early Spring at the library in some ways means even more. It is my sincerest hope that these concerts can continue to be held at the library as they have for the past 17 years.Andy Nagy
current and former writer for The Boston Globe, Sing Out magazine and other publications
Radio host since 1977 for WBRS in Waltham and for ten years WGBH in Boston
Andy Nagy (Haverhill, 2025-07-21)
#5
I'm signing because I want the Makanda Project Community Concerts to continue to inspire and young and old neighbors at the Roxbury Branch of the Boston Public Library.Susan Porter (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#6
I love these Saturday evening concerts. They have been bringing life and vibrance to our community for well over a decade. It is a place where generations come together to enjoy wonderful music and gather with a richly diverse group of folks, united by the Roxbury Library and the community they love..Brenda Atchison (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#8
Hearing concerts in the evening at the BPL Roxbury is a highlight of my season. Sharing Jazz on Saturday nights with my JP/Roxbury /Greater Boston neighbors is part of my civic engagement. Please keep the library open for evening music.david goodman (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#9
Lucy FloresLucy Flores (Roslindale, 2025-07-21)
#10
I’m signing because it’s beneficial for the community. Its long history is a plus.John every thing you said in the message.
Joyce Palmer (Mattapan, 2025-07-21)
#14
I am signing because community input into use of neighborhood libraries is important, I’ve attended these concerts for years and want to see concerts at Roxbury library continue. Makanda Project is an important, treasured community resource! Please support their mission and operations. Don’t put obstacles in their way.Patricia Simmons (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#19
Although I haven't been able to get to as many concerts as I would like, I enjoy the concerts, seeing the band members, hearing the fabulous music, and socializing. The 7 pm concert works very well with my schedule -- it's not so late that I'm driving home after dark.Please keep this gift to our community.
Joyce Harvey (Dorchester, 2025-07-21)
#22
It is so important having the Makanda Project concerts Saturday evenings at the BPL Roxbury Branch. I have been attending for years prior to the library's renovation. This is a wonderful evening event to enjoy as a date night, or a way to end a Saturday full of errands. Many concertgoers need the parking next door, especially during inclement weather. The two sessions are very well attended, and the first session is often full. Having the concerts at this branch is extremely beneficial for our community. As a resident of Roxbury, this is a great way to have diverse programming in our community, especially because the location is so accessible, but most importantly, centrally located for many to attend, students, retirees, and every age in between.Maxence Metayer (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#23
The Makanda Project concerts are such an important part of our cultural life. It is not only important that they be allowed to continue and flourish; it is also important that they be allowed to continue in the evening.Michael Noone (Chestnut Hill, 2025-07-21)
#24
I am a great fan of this band and the Boston Public Library at Nubian Square is a great venue for their music.Jose Soares (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#25
These Makanda Concerts are important to not only me but to so many others who otherwise will not be able to attend afternoon concerts.Thomas Mason (Arlington, 2025-07-21)
#26
The Makanda concerts bring a diverse range of community members together. For obvious reasons this is best done in the evening. Community building should be a priority for the city.James Bertrram (Cambridge, 2025-07-21)
#27
The Makanda Project is a world-class, Roxbury-based jazz orchestra that has been giving concerts at the Roxbury branch of the BPL. It is a gem of Roxbury and of BPL Roxbury's community programming. I sincerely hope that the The Fellowes Athenaeum Trust Fund and the Roxbury branch will change its mind and continue to fund the Makanda Project's EVENING concerts, when the greatest number of residents can attend--myself included!Mark Schafer (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#28
Because Makanda is a huge culturalTradition! Founded to promote excellent music, compositions and Jazz luminaries
In the community- for free!
A touchstone for many and so accessible!
Carolyn Ingles (Dedham, 2025-07-21)
#29
This is an important resource, allowing all people, no matter their financial circumstances; to listen to excellentMusic in their own neighborhood.
Richard WATSON (Jamaica Plain, 2025-07-21)
#35
The Makanda Project has performed well for many years at the Roxbury branch of the Boston Public Library. Residents have enjoyed the performances and no incidents have ever been reported as far as I know. They should be allowed to continued.Norman Stembridge (Dorchester, 2025-07-21)
#36
Subject: Urgent Community Alert: Roxbury Library Concert Cancellation – Our Voice MattersDear Community Members and Elected Officials,
It has come to our attention that Boston Public Library (BPL) officials have informed the organizers of the Makanda Project that concerts can no longer take place at the Roxbury Branch during evening hours—outside of the library’s regular operating schedule. The reasons provided are vague at best and frankly, raise more questions than answers. Despite the efforts of both the concert organizers and the Roxbury branch librarian, no progress has been made in reversing this decision.
Let me be clear: this is not just about a concert. This is about community, respect, and principle.
We must ask:
When was the community notified about this change?
Was there a public meeting or process to discuss this decision?
Who made the final call?
Were our elected officials—our Mayor, At-Large Councilors, City Council President, or/and State Representatives—notified or consulted?
As residents and stewards of Roxbury, we demand transparency and inclusion in decisions affecting our public institutions. The Roxbury Branch Library is not just a building—it is a community hub, a cultural anchor, and a symbol of resilience. The Makanda Project concerts have brought families, elders, young people, and neighbors together in joy, art, and solidarity. To take this away without even a conversation with us is an insult.
We urge the Boston Public Library leadership and city officials to immediately reconsider this unilateral decision. We are not asking for a favor—we are demanding the dignity and engagement our community deserves.
This is an election year. If our elected officials do not step up and represent us, they should not be re-elected.
Let this be a line in the sand: We will not allow decisions to be made for us, without us.
If you’re receiving this message, I’m asking you to do two things:
Speak out—email or call the Mayor, City Councilors, and BPL leadership.
Sign and share the petition demanding the reinstatement of the Makanda Project concerts at the Roxbury Branch Library.
This may seem like a “small” thing—but small things left unchecked create dangerous precedents. Today it’s a concert. Tomorrow, what else will be taken from us without notice?
Let’s raise our voices and protect what belongs to us.
In Solidarity,
Angela Williams-Mitchell
Roxbury Resident and Community Advocate
Boston Jobs Coalition (soon to be Blueprint for Justice in Community)
Angela Williams-Mitchell (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#37
I would like to continue attending the Makanda Project concerts at the Roxbury Branch Library Saturday evenings. I look forward to these concerts and really enjoy them, especially because they are in the evening.Daniele Skopek (Cambridge, 2025-07-21)
#39
The Roxbury Library Branch's concert venue is accessible and offers a place where people from all walks of life can congregate, listen to music, and experience a sense of community.Pamela St Aimee (Boston, 2025-07-21)
#40
The enjoyment of the music in association with the library is of the utmost importance to the community.Kevin Hart (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#43
I love attending the Makanda Projects concerts at the Roxbury Library - the jazz is inventive and heartwarming, the players are devoted and talented, and the free venue assures a loyal and appreciative crowd.Please don’t take away this special Saturday night gift- it keeps our community warm in the winter, cool in the summer, and connected like few other events.
Kate Phelps (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#46
I enjoy these concerts very much and the evening presentations are perfect.John Farrington (Cambridge, 2025-07-21)
#47
I support local artists and appreciate the presence this band has brought to Roxbury for so many years.Pamela Jones (Mattapan, 2025-07-21)
#48
It would be very disappointing to lose a cultural tradition in This time when so much is being taken away from people in this city/state/country. Please, reconsider this decision and keep this Saturday evening concert at the library. This event which has been ongoing since 2008 is something that already has a place. Don’t follow the current fashion of displacing the vulnerable just to create change or save a few dollars. Our neighborhood deserves more not less! Culture is hard to recreate and you will be erasing it. Having events like this peppered throughout the year is necessary for a peaceful and connected community to grow & thrive. Thank you for taking this comment under consideration and I hope you will reconsider your demoralizing decision that will make our neighborhood less vibrant.Christopher Rutherford (Roxbury, 2025-07-21)
#50
I am signing because I attend these concerts which represent the black community's contribution to jazz. There is a mixed racial audience which enhances the feeling that music unites and is a positive force.Stephanie Stone (Malden, 2025-07-21)
#52
These concerts are one of the few sources of entertainment for old people like myself. I have listened to jazz since 1959 and feel Makanda Project is maintaining a long tradition of fostering local talent in greater Boston as well as bring some of the great national/international stars in jazz to Roxbury. Please help us keep the Makanda Project preforming were it's been since 2008, the Roxbury Public Library.Gerard Wiggins (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#53
The Makanda Project has been and still isan anchor concert in this community. The
evening, at least, is not in the blazing sun
and tends to be much more comfy.
Linda Freeman (Roxbury, 2025-07-22)
#56
I love the concerts that the Makanda Project gives and Saturday nights are the only nights I am available to attend.Thank you very much.
Jill Charney (Newton Lower Falls, 2025-07-22)
#59
These concerts are unbelievably valuable to the entire Greater Boston community and the library is an appropriate and appealing and convenient location. Please, please reconsider!Aline zoldbrod (Lexington, 2025-07-22)
#62
The Makanda Project's longstanding presence in Nubian Square should continue at the Library. Their performances are a wonderful use of the space.Patricia Maguire (Dorchester, 2025-07-22)
#65
The Makanda concerts are such a meaningful experience for the community! In these divisive times, getting together to relax & enjoy something beautiful makes us better people. Much of our time & energy is spent in "public involvement" - trying to convince our neighbors and the City or the State to either do something (or to not do something!) - that it is a joy to experience harmony & melody. That isn't always possible during the daytime while running errands, etc.Sarah Freeman (Jamaica Plain, 2025-07-22)
#66
I’ve been making special trips into Roxbury where I formally lived, to attend the Makanda Project Jazz concerts since their first at the Roxbury Branch Library. It would be an affront to any lover of jazz and roots of jazz in the history of Roxbury to not permit them to continue to perform in that venue…and it’s FREE to the public.Nathaniel Hailey (Brockton, 2025-07-22)
#69
I am signing because the Makanda Project's performances at the library have been a consistent amenity to our family for many years. The library location is situated directly across the street from the Nubian Bus Station. We walk one block from our home to Washington Street to catch the No. 42 bus that drops us within steps to the library. Like us, many are elderly homeowners and registered voters in this neighborhood and would appreciate the allowance of The Makanda Project to continue providing the Saturday evening performances at the library.Thank you
Sharif Abdal-Khallaq (ROXBURY, 2025-07-22)
#70
Access to live music of many different genres from classical to folk to hip hop etc. .. is an important contributor to the quality of life for most people. Free concerts in well known public locations are evidence of how the city government enriches the lives of residents.Martyn ROETTER (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#71
I have been attending Makanda Jazz concerts in Roxbury for about five years. They are doing a vitally important service to the community, and to lovers of music from all over the city. The Roxbury Branch of the BPL is an ideal venue that makes their wonderful concerts accessible to everyone, and it brings new people into a beloved neighborhood institution. Please keep the tradition of putting on Makanda concerts *in the evening* (when everyone, even those who work during the day on weekends, can attend) going!Lukas Rieppel (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#72
We need this type of activityDariela Villon-Maga (Mattapan, 2025-07-22)
#73
I am signing because I enjoy going to these concerts at the library, it is a great community space to be enjoyed by the community.elizabeth brigham (boston, 2025-07-22)
#79
Makanda and the Roxbury Branch Library is an integral and vital cultural resource that spans intergenerationaland diverse audiences. It is a critical cultural and educational resource accessible to the community. I formally request that Makanda and the Roxbury Branch Library be funded to continued their stellar contributions to our communities through their Saturday concert nights.
Gloretta Baynes (Jamaica Plain, 2025-07-22)
#82
Music is culure and community and belongs at the library.Stephen Walsh (Centerville, 2025-07-22)
#85
This is what the community wants. The night slot is what serves the community the best because most adults work during the day. And the comcert gives adults a relax8ng outlet for us to enjoy. Taking this away from us does not serve the community.Jesse Ulerio (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#86
I'm signing because the Makanda Project concerts are very important community-building events that promote musical education and heritage while creating a deeply sensorial experience for the audience. Holding the concerts on Saturday evenings makes them accessible to all concert-goers as well. The Makanda Project belongs at the Shaw-Roxbury Branch Library on Saturday evenings, and helps the community tune into a rich musical tradition that is balm to the soul. Every community should have the equivalent of the Makanda Project!Marjorie Salvodon (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#88
What is the library for if not for the people, and they are graced with the makanda project who pour out the soul of the music they make to a edifying, gratefully intuned audience. Such a tragedy that some would try to stifle and block this wonderful blessing...who are these people again?Angela Smith (New bedford, 2025-07-22)
#90
The Makanda Project is a Boston gem whose commitment to the community and to the music enhances our lives. Their Saturday evening concerts at the Roxbury Branch have been well attended and have demonstrated the interest and enthusiasm of the listening public.Eric Nass (Arlington, 2025-07-22)
#94
To keep the amazing jazz content program alive for the community at the Roxbury Public Library and beyond.Harry Pierre (Brighton, 2025-07-22)
#100
The Maranda project is amazing! The entire Boston community will suffer profoundly if they are no longer allowed to perform in this space.Alec Agee (Somerville, 2025-07-22)
#101
We have been going to the Makanda concerts for several years now. It's pure joy! It's a wonderful coming together of a diverse audience in a very comfortable setting! It's our Sat. night out! And I love that the community sells baked goodies to support the funding of youth education!! Please support this community jewel in the library. That's what the space is there for! And it brings folks to your gorgeous library and neighborhood! Thank you for listening!! Best regards, Sheila and JerrySheila Ehrens (Medford, 2025-07-22)
#102
I'm a regular attendee at Makanda Project concerts, can't understand why Boston Public Library officials would lock Makanda out on Saturday nights. These events are well attended and a great service to both Dorchester residents and the greater community. It's a win/win situation for the library so why stop?Robert Rudin (Revere, 2025-07-22)
#107
This live concert experience is an experience to enjoy inspiring music amongst a truly inclusive audience and in a meaningful neighborhood setting.Carmen Duarte (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#112
Later time is preferable for showsAndrew THISTLETHWAITE (LAWRENCE, 2025-07-22)
#113
I want the concerts to continue in the evenings and believe the Roxbury Public Library is the best place for that to happenNancy Woodfork (Stoneham, 2025-07-22)
#114
I am a supporter of the concerts and I believe they will continue to help the community.Robert Messina (Stoughton, 2025-07-22)
#115
These concerts are events the City should be. encouraging! Audiences respect the library space, and of course opening up the library to the community may get more people to come back to the library during regular hours.Don Solomon (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#117
I have attended the Makanda Project Saturday evening concerts at the Roxbury Branch of the BPL since 2014. I would be unable to attend if the concerts are moved to the afternoon.Louis Pierro (Milton MA, 2025-07-22)
#118
The Makanda concerts are a priceless musical resource/experience and should be welcome any time anywhere.Alex Leacock (Watertown, 2025-07-22)
#119
I care about the Makanda Project's mission in the community, I care about the music, and I care about what the Makanda Project means in this climate.Georges Chedid (Cambridge, 2025-07-22)
#121
I have been attending Makanda jazz concerts for years now. The Roxbury Branch Library is a wonderful venue that is so centered in the community. Please allow the concerts to continue on Saturday evenings.Laura Bagnall (Arlington, 2025-07-22)
#122
The Makanda Project is a Roxbury institution, and their ongoing programming of FREE concerts at the Roxbury branch of the BPL have for many years made quality jazz available to everyone in the Roxbury community and beyond. These concerts exemplify the ideas of access, equity, and community that the entire notion of public libraries was built on.Glen Sherman (Brookline, 2025-07-22)
#123
I'm signing because I enjoy the concerts @ the Roxbury Branch Library, which has changed it's name in honor of a beautiful black woman.Marionette Peavy (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#124
The Makanda Project is a vital part of Boston’s jazz ecosystem. Performance in Roxbury has always been a core part of their mission and ethos, and their performances routinely both draw neighborhood residents and bring jazz fans to Nubian Square. Long may this exceptional and important tradition continue!Mark Redmond (Milton, 2025-07-22)
#127
Communities need our libraries to operate more in concert with our needs and not the needs of policy makers.Latifah Hasan (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#132
I've been a long time fan of the Makanda Project! I feel that evening concerts will work best for the band and the audience. I hope the Roxbury Branch will reconsider their decision.Jeff Phillips (Shelburne, 2025-07-22)
#135
This is my local library and it brighten us all enjoy gathering here.Donna Graham (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#136
How can we not find a place in Boston for incredible jazz music? A free jazz show seems like EXACTLY the kind of thing libraries should be hosting.Aaron Kesseli (Boston, 2025-07-22)
#137
These concerts have been accessible community-building, enriching events for decades. Keep them as they are, please and thanks.Tucker Smith (Milton, 2025-07-22)
#138
I'm signing because jazz in the community is a great way to bring like minded people together for an amazing musical experience. Please don't take away our JOY!Katherine Wilkins (BROOKLINE, 2025-07-22)
#140
WE need to keep the arts alive. Music brings us together.Billy Allen (WINTHROP, 2025-07-22)
#142
We would like to continue the concerts in the evening at the library. Thank you for your attention.Karen Levin (weston, 2025-07-23)
#143
The Roxbury library is a great venueTed Pietras (South end, 2025-07-23)
#145
I am signing because I believe that the Makanda Project is an important cultural asset to the Roxbury and greater Boston communities. Maintaining the Saturday evening concerts at the Roxbury Branch Library will preserve these valuable events.Ken Karnofsky (Lexington, 2025-07-23)
#146
Need Music for our ComunityVIVIAN PHILLIPS (Boston, 2025-07-23)
#147
I love these concerts and evening is the best time to hear jazz!Emily Berg (Boston, 2025-07-23)
#149
The Makanda concerts on Saturday evenings at the Roxbury Branch library have been wonderful events over 15 years, bringing our community together. The musicians have shown such impressive dedication to the music and community. Please continue to allow these events on Saturday evenings.Kate King (Dorchester, 2025-07-23)
#152
Live music is critical to building community.Steffi Steffi Wright (Jamaica Plain, MA, 2025-07-23)