Calling All Zombies*! It’s time to heed the bell toll for another ghastly, ghoulish and grim Halloween party at Boston Swing Central. It’s our 5th year and this time we’re making it a Red Hook Zombies Halloween. What does that mean? Well, you guessed it!  We’re being invaded by Zombies from Red Hook. 

So, rise up all you creepy crawlies and pay tribute to the late King of Pop, Michael Jackson and dance to the red hot swing of one of the hottest new swing bands to appear at the Whistle Stop. They’re guaranteed to rattle your bones…and reanimate your zombie hearts…it won’t mean a thing until the zombies start to swing!

The lesson will feature Michael Jackson’s Thriller line dance.  And since this line-dance has a lot of material to cover, the lesson starts early and begins promptly at 7:30pm!  Be there or be comatose!    The Thrilller dance will be performed later on in the evening (performing is, of course, optional – we won’t force ya!)   So, start boning up on your YouTube now… Don’t miss this party as it will be one of the best of the Fall!

Check out the Red Hook Ramblers playing BSC here:

If you are unfamiliar with the Thriller line-dance, um, you must’ve been born somewhere else, but you can watch last year’s BSC performance here (note: the video starts in the dark, but gets brighter):

Extended Lesson Time (included in the price of admission): 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $22
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $17

Get $2 OFF ADMISSION if you come in costume. But no lame costumes like, “I came as a swing dancer”, or “I came as myself” or putting a couple socks on your shoulder and being “static cling”. Discount is at the discretion of the door staff, so put in some effort!

Please note that we will be accepting passes at the rate of: 1/2 off for one pass, full admission for two passes.  And no coupons will be accepted for this evening.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Baby Soda are back and they’re bringing a special guest with them. When we heard they were collaborating with this artist, we were intrigued and we wanted to hear it! So we asked them to bring this special guest with them this Fall…now you must be as curious as we are, so come out, listen, watch and dance!

Here’s Baby Soda this past New Year’s at the Whistle Stop…

Baby Soda’s heart-pounding brand of hobo street jazz is guaranteed to make your feet happy. Their horn section, a mere trumpet and trombone was like a herd of happy elephants. And the one-string that bassist Peter plucks is more than enough to keep us moving and grooving all night long. Minimalism at it’s most perfect. Listen to them here.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $17
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $15

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Here they are performing Fats Waller’s “Let’s Pretend there’s a Moon” at the Whistle Stop earlier this year…

Tamar Korn and Gordon Au form the nucleus of this amazing Brooklyn outfit. We can’t say enough about how much we love listening to and dancing to this band! They are that good. Come out and experience their magic as they light up our room and get this joint jumpin’.

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $15 (general), $13 (students and seniors with valid ID)

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Tonight, we’re showcasing this awesome Benny Goodman number which was cutely animated back in 1944…

Our DJs will look to Benny for some inspiration and wherever else they decide to take us, it will surely be a swingin’ affair.

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

The last time we had the privilege of dancing to the swingin sounds of Phil McGowan & the Easy Winners we were al fresco in the North End. Phil & Co. return to this Whistle Stop with their awesome hot jazz charts that are good for your soul! The Easy Winners are just at the beginning of a great Fall line-up…we hope you keep your dancing momentum going from the Dirty Water weekend and come out tonight!

Here they are back in March, lighting up our stage with their joyous & blissful version of “Everybody Loves My Baby”…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

You don’t want to miss our Dirty Water Lindy & Blues finale! It’s going to be such a great weekend of dancing, you won’t want to go back to work on Monday morning!

No Lesson tonight
Dancing: 8:00pm – Midnight(ish)
General Admission: $10
Students & Seniors: $8

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Swingin’ at the Charlestown Navy Yard! (Yes, we go all out for you) And we’ve found and secured permission for another new place to dance with an incredible view. We’ll dance alongside the ships and the U.S.S. Constitution. Another spectacular view of downtown, Pier 4 is a place we’re excited to hold an outdoor dance at for the very first time. We’ve got some great DJs lined up for you. Since we’re right on the water, and it is the ocean, it can be a little windy and get a little chilly, so bring a jacket, dress in layers…

Pier 4
Charlestown Navy Yard
Sunday September 23th
2:30pm – 5:00pm

Directions are here.

Get to know Carsie here:

Gordon Webster & Carsie have something super special planned for us tonight! We can’t tell you but we know it’s going to be intimate, crazy sexy cool and ultimately brilliant as only the two of them know how…

Dancing: 1:15pm – 4:30am
General Admission: $20
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $17

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

Springstep
98 George P. Hassett Dr
Medford, MA 02155

Gordon Meets Meschiya, last January at the Crosby Whistle Stop, tonight will be a reprise of this evening…and we’ll paint the town red, ie wear something RED. A tie, a scarf, a dress, a zoot suit, shoes, it doesn’t matter, just where something anything RED.

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $30
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $25

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

Kehillath Israel Epstein Auditorium
384 Harvard Street,
Brookline, MA 02446

The Dirty Water party continues with a late night and Meschiya & Gordon getting down and dirty, bluesy and gritty…here they are at the Whistle Stop earlier this year…

Dancing: 1:15pm – 4:30am
General Admission: $20
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $17

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

Springstep
98 George P. Hassett Dr
Medford, MA 02155

The outstanding Meschiya Lake & the Little Big Horns make their Boston Swing Central debut tonight! We can’t wait! And neither can you…check ’em out here:

And on the streets of New Orleans, busking up a storm…

Seriously, you don’t want to miss this intimate, ecstatic and exciting performance! Gordon Webster will be joining them on our 1901 Steinway Upright piano to transport us in their time machine back to a roadhouse somewhere in the South, 1933…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:30am
General Admission: $25
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $20

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Shawn Hershey has been a local favorite both on the dance floor and from the bandstand. His remarkable Lindy & Blues vocabularly makes him an awesome dancer and an excellent bandleader. He always knows a good groove and puts melody on top of everything which, for a dancer says, “play with me.”  He is joined by another dancer with an awesome set of pipes, Jan Marie.

Here they kick “St. James Infirmary” up a notch to a fever pitch…

You don’t want to miss our Dirty Water Lindy & Blues Exchange! It’s going to be such a great weekend of dancing, you won’t want to go back to work on Monday morning!  Dirty Water starts now!

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – Midnight(ish)
General Admission: $12

Students & Seniors: $10

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Have you ever wanted to learn to Lindy Hop but don’t have time to commit to a weekly class?  This is your chance! Our next weekend “crash course” workshop is 3 hours on Sunday Sept 16th, Noon-3:00pm. Come learn from experienced teachers who are also social dancers in the Lindy Hop scene. Np partner required.

We will cover six count basic (East Coast Swing), basic eight count (Lindy Hop), and Charleston Basic. Moves include swing out, Lindy circle, swing out from closed, and side by side Charleston. At the end of this class, you will be able to attend a social dance and dance to music.

Mike has been dancing since the Swing Boom of the early 2000s. He is also a founding member of Boston Swing Central, where he has served as music director, president and marketing director. He enjoys working with “new” dancers. And also sharing the epiphanies of dance that he has discovered. He has attended many camps, exchanges and National competitions in his tenure as Lindy Hopper. His motto is “Better living through dancing.”

Abby started Lindy Hopping in 2007, and she immediately fell in love with it. In addition to Lindy Hop, Abby has studied Charleston, Balboa, Blues, and other authentic forms of early Jazz Dance. She has competed on a national level, both solo and partnered, placing first in the intermediate Jack & Jill at Beantown Camp this year. Abby’s philosophy on teaching is to make the learning process fun and energetic, not fearing mistakes or looking silly, with an emphasis on musicality.

Noon – 3:00 PM
$25 advanced on-line registration, $30 at the door (register here.)

Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland St
Charlestown, MA 02129

September brings a clearness to the air, and a bustle of kids coming back to school and the Dirty Water Lindy Exchange. First things first, however, let’s start with the BSC debut of Emily Asher’s Garden Party! Another band out of Brooklyn that is red hot and trad, just the way we like it. Uptempo and sassy…and fronted by Emily Asher who has played for us many times with Baby Soda and others.

Check out their version of “Muskrat Ramble” (not to be confused with Muskrat Love)…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
(we know you like the Muskrat Ramble)

The Jailhouse Five Plus Two returns with their authentic and enthusiastic Dixieland jazz…and we’re ready kick off September with a night of great music and fine dancing. This fantastic band brings an air of authenticity, as you can easily tell this is the music that they grew up with, cherish, and love and have played for many years.

The name, The Jailhouse Five Plus Two is inspired by the lawless characters of the Prohibition-era when Dixieland was adopted as the popular music of the time, “The Roaring Twenties.” This time is also fondly remembered as the Great Gatsby era which also happens to be the theme of our upcoming New Year’s Eve bash…

Checking out this swingin’ history lesson from 1953…

Bootlegging, speakeasies, bath tub gin, Bonnie & Clyde and other lawless activity was the way of life in major U.S. cities. The Jailhouse Five Plus Two tries to capture the exhaltation of the era. Happy, fast, boisterous, free, and improvisational are all descriptors of their music. Come on out and feel their electricity…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

This Friday Boston Swing Central will serve up some more of our summer favorites. Just another good night of music from our DJs. Guest DJ is Alex Abdoulaev.

Another preview of what’s ahead this Fall, Oct 14th, we’ll have the Grand St Stompers back!

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)
The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

This Friday Boston Swing Central will bust out some more of our summer favorites. Nothing fancy, just a good night of music from our DJs.

And just a reminder that September is right around the corner…Dirty Water will soon be here featuring Gordon & Meschiya, get your weekend pass today….have a little preview here:

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)
The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Swingin’ on the Charles is back! The dance is ON! We’ll be there at 7:00pm tonight, weather or not! Forecast says overcast, 70 degrees, 30% chance of rain, but we’re going for it. And rain doesn’t look likely until after midnight. We hope to see you there, tickets will be available at the door!

This is what Summer is all about! Dancing outside at sunset, on the banks of the River Charles. We Love that Dirty Water! This is one of the most magical nights of dancing that we have all year. It just doesn’t get any better than this. A summer classic and definitely a dance you’ll be thinking about next Winter when you’re driving down Storrow on a grey day.

It’s been a couple of years since we last danced on the docks of Community Boating and we are extremely excited to be back here!! You don’t want to miss this weekend (schedule your vacation for another weekend, we only do this once a year).

Community Boating has new docks since the last time we danced there, they’re smooth, level and have more square footage. So we’ll enjoy significantly better dancing conditions. This is going to be such a great night!

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Dancing: 8:00pm – 11:00pm
General Admission: $12
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $10
(Rain date is Aug 18th)

Community Boating (on the banks of the River Charles near the Hatch Shell)
21 David Mugar Way (Charles MGH T-Stop)
Boston, MA 02114

Validated Parking at Mass Eye & Ear is $5, please bring ticket to desk at CBI for validation.

Everybody loves summer and our summer is not complete without our annual Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest. It was quite a sight to see, everyone puckering up and spitting all at once on the back patio. Right out of a 1940s Life Magazine photo…or a Norman Rockwell painting or this…

This Friday Boston Swing Central will bust out some of our summer favorites including “Watermelon Man”. Game on…so practice up (if you are lucky enough to find a place that sells seeded watermelons, a feat unto itself in this day and age!) Or if you’re not game for seed spitting, just enjoy snacking on some of the seedless we’ll have available as well. It’s a summer celebration!

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)
The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

The Jazz Age was a golden age, the roaring 20s, prohibition, F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby. Boston Swing Central and the City of Boston recapture the spirit and energy with the Jazz Age Revival at Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park in the North End.

This dance is free, it’s outside, and it’s down near the Harbor. The evening starts with a free dance lesson at 6pm, so bring your friends who have not experienced dance. We encourage you dress up in some light summery vintage attire if you’ve got it…

After which Phil McGowan & the Easy Winners Jazz Band will start swingin’ their red hot jazz. The Easy Winners are a crowd favorite at Boston Swing Central’s dance hall.

Location: Christopher Columbus Waterfront Park, North End right where Atlantic ave takes a 90 degree bend and (sort of turns in to Cross St). The park is on the blue line at the Aquarium stop.

Time: 6pm – 8pm (Lesson from 6:00-6:30pm)
Cost: FREE!

It’s going to be a Red Hot August night with our musical guests the Red Hook Ramblers. This band creates quite a ruckus and they’ve managed to tear the Whistle Stop down both times they’ve played. An annihilation of pure New Orleans-style energy.

We thought we’d invite them to make an August appearance and get this weekend really cooking…check them out here performing the St. Louis Blues at the Whistle Stop:

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $17
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $15

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

It’s a hot August Night and we welcome back the fantastic Downtown Julie Brown and the enigmatic Gina Helfrich to DJ for us. They’ll start off spinning swing tunes and sink into the soulful grove of motown and blues as the hours tick on. We’ll be recreating the feeling of those old summer night parties with the lights turned low, and the music drifting you into a sense of long summer night timelessness: all it’s going to take is our beautiful venue and two of our favorite New School Swing teachers cooking up amazing set lists from their mp3 collections.

Just say, “Downtown Julie Brown”..

Gina stands up!

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included with admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12 midnight
Admission: $10 (general), $8 (students and seniors with valid ID)

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

No, the Lemonade Stand is not the name of Toni Lynn Washington’s backing band…even better!  It’s exactly what you think it is, a full-blown Lemonade Stand, with fresh squeezed lemonade to parch our heatwave-strained brains. 

So c’mon out, enjoy the libations…we did this last year and the girls working at the Lemonade Stand squeezed over 80 lemons…they look to beat their record this year…

Toni Lynn Washington and her crack band will provide the soulful and deep swingin’ soundtrack to a perfect Summer’s evening of dancing…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Boston Swing Central is really excited to present the Crosby Whistle Stop debut of the Hot Club of Cowtown.

Normally, Hot Club of Cowtown play venues where this isn’t much room for dancing, but we were lucky enough to convince them they should play for dancers. This is American Roots music at it’s finest! A fun-filled Yee Haw of Honky Tonkin’ swing crossed with some infectious Django/Stephane Grappelli Hot Jazz…and kablooey…you’ll be thanking BSC for getting such a whoop-ass band! Tonight, it’s a Special Thursday BSC and we encourage you to break out your Western shirts, jeans and other Cowboy duds…

If you have not seen Hot Club of Cowtown, they seriously kick ass! And hence we’ve had a handful of dancers beg us to book them…Based in Austin, Texas, they don’t get around these parts very often, this is some rowdy Western Swingy Hot Jazz…check ’em out here:

And here…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
We’ll have a special 2-Step lesson at the end of the regular lesson.

Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $17
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $15

Tickets are still available tonight at the door. Come and join us!

Advanced Tickets are no longer available and if you’ve already purchased them are held at the door. We are unable to issue refunds.

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Josh Fialkoff & J Street return to Boston Swing Central to release his debut CD that he recorded here this past Winter at Blues Cafe. And to celebrate this party, we’ve decided we need ice cream!

Josh will bring his smokey voice, soulful piano playing and quirky cover choices back to the Whistle Stop for a party to celebrate a major milestone for him and for the Boston Swing Scene. This promises to be a groovy night, here’s Josh singing “Save the Bones for Henry Jones”…

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129