Thursday nights in summer, the Museum of Fine Arts Boston transforms into one of the city’s most unique music venues. The Calderwood Courtyard, located in the heart of the museum, is home to its annual Concerts in the Courtyard series.
The weekly outdoor tradition, named the Elaine and Jerome Rosenfeld Concerts, after donors, began in 1983, according to Kristen Hoskins, the MFA’s director of public programs.
“It’s incredible [that] the museum has celebrated music as part of an art form within the museum for so long,” Hoskins told the Globe.
“We’re still building back from the pandemic and growing each year,” she added. The museum hosted four concerts in the 2022 series and six in 2023, after canceling the series in 2020 and 2021 because of health precautions. This year, the calendar includes seven performances .
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Hoskins curated a range of musical acts for this summer’s series: national and international, some of them local, aiming for a variety of styles and forms of storytelling. The series kicks off Thursday with Afro-Latin band Quitapenas.
Originally from San Bernardino, Calif., Quitapenas consists of first-generation sons whose parents emigrated from Guatemala and Mexico. The band officially formed in 2016, but the concept began when the former high school classmates reconnected over music after college.
“We began learning songs that we liked and reinterpreting the style,” drummer Eduardo Valencia told the Globe via a Zoom interview. “But we were already friends for a long time, so we were jamming out, having fun, busking, playing for fun, and music began to flow.”
Quitapenas is currently on tour in the United States, with the MFA show being their second stop.
Valencia hopes the band’s upbeat music will get audience members to dance with their families, partners, or by themselves.
“[Performing] in established spaces like the MFA is always fun to do, because you’re going to get a mix of people who are there to see you, and then people who are fans of art,” said Valencia.
The combination of art and music is a highlight for the museum, as well.
“You’re able to walk past and experience art on your way to see the concerts, which I think is a really unique experience. And you can also take a break from the concert and go to the gallery if you want, so you’re able to balance the different art forms,” said Hoskins.
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Following Quitapenas, the series will feature six more musical nights — including singer-songwriter Patty Larkin on Aug. 15 and Boston-based folk-rock band Session Americana on Aug. 29.
Doors open at 6 p.m. and the performances start at 7:30 p.m. Courtyard seating is limited, and guests are encouraged to bring low lawn chairs or picnic blankets to this family-friendly event. Outside food and beverages are not allowed, but the museum’s dining options are available for purchase when doors open.
At the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave., from July 18 to Aug. 29 at 6 p.m. Tickets are $24 for members, $30 for nonmembers. 617-267-9300, www.mfa.org.
Arushi Jacob can be reached at [email protected].