STARLABFEST: AN END-OF-SUMMER PARTY TO REMEMBER

Photo courtesy of Starlabfest

The dreaded time has come. Grocery stores stopped restocking Polar Seltzer’s summer flavors, the sunset is lowering earlier each night, and streets throughout the city are still dusty from Allston Christmas. Technically it’s still summer despite the season’s vibe almost vanishing entirely in the cool breeze of the last few days, but boy, does it feel like fall is here. Luckily for you, there’s one last chance to celebrate summer 2017, and it’s an event all your friends can tag along for, too.

On Sept 9, the eighth Starlabfest Music & Arts Festival will go down in all its fanfare. The annual event will take over the Somerville Arts Council’s ARTfarm that Saturday to bring a rousing roundup of music, comedy, food, and arts that lets you escape into the carefree joy of summer one last time. It’s open to all ages and costs a sliding scale of $15 to $25.

This year’s musical acts will lift your spirits one after the other thanks to the beach pop of Baby!, the beery songs of Jeff Rowe, the disco punk of Boston Cream, the straightforward punk of Bundles, the garage rock recklessness of JoJo & the Angry Girls, the twinkling pop of Me in Capris, the polished indie pop of Laika’s Orbit, the noise garage of Black Beach, and the mesmerizing jams of Lyres. It all leads up to New York rock icon Paul Collins Beat who will headline the event. That much quality local music all in a single afternoon? Yeah, we know, it seems too good to be true.

The fine folks of Starlabfest take the entertainment a step farther. This year, comedians Al Park, Xazmin Garza, Peter Martin, and Sam Ike will perform stand-up sets throughout the day. It gives you a chance to lift your spirits, grinning ear to ear, without having to stuff earplugs into your cranium.

Perhaps what’s got us most excited, though, is the flea market. High Energy Vintage is curating a selection of rare finds and cheap scores for you to snag, plus other local vendors will pepper the area. On top of that, there are raffles and games to play, which means you could waltz away with some seriously baller free wins.

Bringing it all home is the gossip-worthy food Starlabfest sets up for patrons. As always, there’s a surprising stock of beer on-site, as well as wine and cider. Scott Brothers New American Meat Co. will provide free BBQ—including vegan and veggie options!—throughout the day, but it goes fast. Get there early to secure yourself some delicious lunch and a cold beer.

If you’re still waiting for a big reveal, then you got to the best part: The festival is open to dogs too. Be still our hearts. Try not to let all the goodness overwhelm you or else you’ll get too starry-eyed to walk there, and given Starlabfest is the summer party you’ve been waiting for, you’ll want to arrive right on time to maximize the summer joy.

STARLABFEST VIII. SAT 9.9. ARTFARM, 10 POPLAR ST., SOMERVILLE. 12PM/ALL AGES/$15-25. STARLABFEST.COM