The Grand St Stompers are a delightful jazz band from Brooklyn led by Gordon Au. Their New Orleans meets New York sound has quickly become a BSC favorite and we welcome them back on October 18th for another night of hot jazz and dancing.

Here they are performing “Crazy Rhythm” at the Whistle Stop last year:

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

It is Columbus Day weekend and it’s safe to say that fall is now in full force! Come out and join us for another joyful night of dancing. The bands are taking a break this week but the fun isn’t as our DJs have a lively selection of songs put together to keep you out on the floor all night long!

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $10
Students & Seniors: $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

The Swing Legacy, a six piece little big band has been a fixture of the Boston swing scene since 1991 and BSC since the beginning, playing with style and informed of the great big bands from the swing era. Their repertoire concentrates on classic big band swing music including many Duke Ellington and Count Basie numbers ideal for Lindy Hop and swing dancing. Much of their great catalog of songs showcases their phenomenal singer, Debby Larkin. It promises to be a night full of killer-diller arrangements that will keep you dancing all night long!

Here they are playing “Roll ’em Pete” at the Whistle Stop…

Lesson (included w/ 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

Come join us Sunday night back at the Whistle Stop for one last night of dancing to close out a fun-filled weekend at Dirty Water. Your favorite DJs will be playing a variety of songs for us to dance to and bid a fond farewell to our out of town friends. Until 2014…

No Lesson tonight
Dancing: 8:00pm – Midnight
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

With some of the most beautiful views of downtown Boston, Piers Park is a hidden gem of a park in East Boston that we love to swing out in. Come join your friends, new and old, for our annual Dirty Water Sunday afternoon outdoor dance on the harbor with tunes spun courtesy of DJ RetroMike. Since we will be dancing right on the water and it is autumn, we recommend that you bring a jacket with you.

Dancing: 2:30pm-5:00pm
FREE!

Piers Park
95 Marginal Street
East Boston, MA 02128

Take the Blue Line to Maverick
Free parking

After dancing a blue streak in celebration of Gordon’s CD release, head down the highway down to Cambridge for another bluesy late night, co-hosted by Blues Cafe, featuring Jesse Selengut & Tin Pan with special guest Gordon Webster

Jesse is most well known for his trumpet playing alongside Gordon Webster, but for this late night, he and his Tin Pan Band take center stage for another special late night event.

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

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

Extreme Dancesport
26 New Street
Suite 3
Cambridge, MA 02138

The Dirty Water party continues with Mona’s Hot Four + 3 playing a late night for us. Expect things to slow down for the evening into the early hours of the morning at our late night venue.

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

Sorry no passes or coupons accepted during the exchange.

Extreme Dancesport
26 New Street
Suite 3
Cambridge, MA 02138

At Boston Swing Central, we love when our universe collides and we can experience some of our favorite artists coming together to craft something similar to what we’ve heard from each of them separately, but also unique, fresh and spontaneous. That is what happens every Tuesday at Mona’s on Ave B in New York. You’ll find the core members of Mona’s Hot Four holed up for a trad jazz jam session that rivals any in the world. Musicians filter in around 11pm and queue up to get a chance to sit in with the Hot Four, with the towering names of Dennis Lichtman on clarinet, Gordon Webster on piano, Jared Engel on upright and Nick Russo on guitar.

Here they can be heard at the Jalopy theater, where they played a show in celebration of a documentary that was produced about their famed jam session:

Seriously, you don’t want to miss this intimate, improvisational and exciting performance! We’ll also be joined by some guest musicians who are dancers and regular players at Boston Swing Central to recreate the spontaneous vibe of Mona’s.

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

Jan Marie will help us inaugurate Dirty Water 2013, our third year of Dirty Water with a set of swing, soul and blues. Jan Marie & the Mean Reds have really worked on their sound over the past year, and the last time they played Boston Swing Central they had a great groove going on.

Here Jan Marie rocks “Slap that Bass”…

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

It’s 9/20 and what better way to celebrate this day than to have a tribute to Count Basie’s 9:20 Special. For those of you who don’t know this awesome tune…listen to it, here, off of an old 78rpm, listen carefully on earbuds and you can hear the static of the needle as it wobbles back and forth in the groove…

This tune is a true classic…so much so that it also herald’s the starting time of most of the bands at the BSC…

Tonight will be djed by RetroMike and special guest DJ Gina Helfrich

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $10
Students & Seniors: $8

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 March 3rd, Noon-3:00pm. Come learn from experienced teachers who are also social dancers in the Lindy Hop scene.

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.

12:00 – 3:00 PM
$30 advanced on-line registration, $35 at the door (register here.)

Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland St
Charlestown, MA 02129

Toni Lynn Washington and her crack band are back at Boston Swing Central this Friday!   And they’re ready to rock the house!  A night of soulful, groovy swing music awaits!  Toni Lynn is  the first lady of Boston Blues and Swing,  a local legend, an institution, a master, and a treasure!   You don’t want to miss this!

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

Summer is fading fast…but not to worry! There’s an entire Fall and Winter loaded with tons of dancing. This September kicks off with the grandness that is Beantown Swing Orchestra. Frank Hsieh has been leading this full scale big band for a great many years and he’s wowed us with his parade of American Idol finalists and sparkling arrangements!

Tonight we’ll have the talented Jan Marie sitting in on vocals!

Here is a great highlight reel of Beantown Swing Orchestra over the last several years kicking off with our own teachers Brian & Kellian’s first dance at their wedding!

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

It’s Labor Day weekend and school starts for a lot of people next Tuesday (or relatively soon). So come on out, get ready for an exciting new season of dancing at Boston Swing Central.

Dirty Water Lindy & Blues Exchange is coming up, along with a Fall Schedule that is packed with stars, Gordon Webster, Baby Soda, Emily Asher’s Garden Party, Grand St. Stompers, Phil McGowan, White Heat Swing Orchestra, and Beantown Swing Orchestra. Our calendar is packed!

Tonight will be djed by RetroMike and Alex Abdoulaev

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $10
Students & Seniors: $8

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Bandleader, Craig Ball brings his White Heat Swing Sextet to the Crosby Whistle Stop.  This smaller combo is a subset of the White Heat Swing Orchestra which will feature a banjo player this time out and they’re guaranteed to get things cookin’!

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students & Seniors: $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Shawn Hershey is a well-known Lindy Hop teacher and bandleader in the Boston scene and tonight, he’d like to introduce everyone to Shawn Mohney Quartet. Shawn met Jeremy Mohney at Lindy on the Rocks, a workshop weekend in Colorado where he sat in for a set on trumpet. Our good fortune has Jeremy and his band touring out our way and reuniting with Shawn for evening of hot jazz.

Here’s an easy breezy Summer tune for you.

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students & Seniors: $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Jan Marie is a superlative dancer, and an amazing singer. She made her Boston Swing Central debut this past March and her band was outstanding. For years she has performed as a singer/sideman with Shawn Hershey and Josh Fialkoff, but now she’s got her own band, the Mean Reds to back her up. And as a bandleader, her choice of material is as good as her singing and dancing. She does it all…

And, as an experienced dancer, she knows what we want more than we know what we want! We’re very excited for her to play the Whistle Stop again!

Here she is rockin’ “Slap that Bass”…

Lesson (included with admission): 8:00pm – 9:00pm
Dancing: 9:00pm – 12:00am
General Admission: $15
Students & Seniors: $13

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

Swingin’ on the Charles is back!

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 year’s most magical nights of dance. 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.

Tickets will be available at Community Boating tonight!

See you soon! 7PM is the start time!

You don’t want to miss this dance (schedule your vacation for another weekend, we only do this once a year).

Lesson (included in the price of admission): 7:00pm – 8:00pm
Dancing: 8:00pm – 11:00pm
General Admission: $15 (check out our website for advance tickets)
Students and Seniors (with Valid ID): $13
(Rain date is Aug 17th)

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 $7, please bring ticket to desk at CBI for validation.

The Swing Legacy, a six piece little big band has been a fixture of the Boston swing scene since 1991 and BSC since the beginning, playing with style and informed of the great big bands from the swing era. Their repertoire concentrates on classic big band swing music including many Duke Ellington and Count Basie numbers ideal for Lindy Hop and swing dancing. Much of their great catalog of songs showcases their phenomenal singer, Debby Larkin. It promises to be a night full of killer-diller arrangements that will keep you dancing all night long!

Here they are playing “Roll ’em Pete” at the Whistle Stop…

Lesson (included w/ 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

Tonight, we’re celebrating Summer. And because it’s a DJ night, we don’t have much to present here, but we did find this awesome old Mickey Mouse cartoon for you viewing pleasure…

Our DJs will look to Mickey’s Jazz Fool for some lighthearted inspiration and wherever else they decide to take us, it will surely be a swingin’ affair. Dj’s tonight will be Gina Helfrich and RetroMike

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

Come join us for a Boston Swing Central Field Trip! We’re taking our dance up to Castle Hill on the Crane Estate for our first vintage swing festival. And this is going to be humdinger of a Sunday afternoon! So pack your picnic, put on those glad rags and get in that jalopy and head up to Ipswich for the Roaring Twenties Lawn Party featuring Baby Soda with Tamar Korn, vintage fair and vintage attire contest, Ipswich Ale, Mill River Winery, Ipswich Shellfish Fish Company, dance performances and lessons all on the spacious and beautiful grounds of the Crane Estate.

There will also be vintage cars, croquet and bocce ball.

We hope that you can attend, experience and bring your energy to this event. The Lawn Party is something super special that we’ve been planning and working on since last November. You really really don’t want to miss this! We are hoping that the Crane Estate will be happy with the event and they’ll let us make the Roaring Twenties Lawn Party and annual occurrence. Tickets available at the Crane Estate on the day of the event. Gate opens at 2:30pm at the Castle Hill.

Phil McGowan & the Easy Winners return to this Whistle Stop with their awesome hot jazz charts that are good for your soul! The Easy Winners always bring an exciting air to the Whistle Stop!  And this Friday will be no exception, digging deep into their catalog of hits from the past, they’ll light fire to tunes like the 1921 Eddie Cantor hit: “Margie” and Louis Armstrong’s “You Rascal You”.

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

Lesson (included w/ 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

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 the last two years and the girls working at the Lemonade Stand squeezed over 80 lemons each night…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 extending the 4th of July celebration this July 5th with our annual night of All-American Swing. 

That means that the Bjork,  Swedish and French songs DJ RetroMike occasionally plays will have to wait another day…for tonight we’re going to be true to the Red, White & Blue and only play American artists!  Americans like Benny Goodman, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and Sidney Bechet (who sounds French but is as American as apple pie).  So, come on out and celebrate all that is American with American music and an American dance: The Lindy Hop!

Wear red, white, blue or all three on any combination on this night!

Lesson: 8pm to 9pm (included w/ admission)
Dancing: 9pm to 12pm

Admission: $10 General Admission, $8 for Students and Seniors

The Crosby Whistle Stop
24 Roland Street
Charlestown, MA 02129

After too many years to count, Johnny Boyd from Indigo Swing makes his triumphant return to Boston. You should know that our staff at BSC goes to great lengths to secure you the best bands and talent orbiting our big blue marble and this is one of those special nights that you don’t want to miss!

Johnny Boyd and Indigo Swing were legendary back in the day. Indigo Swing was a very special band and left a legacy of great recorded music that is still played by many DJs at swing dances across the country. Johnny has assembled a new band that he swears “cuts glass”. Sharp as a diamond, and gleaming too…

Here they are rehearsing “Violent Love” in Johnny’s living room for the upcoming tour…always a staple of the Indigo Swing setlist.

…vibratin’, swingin’, like some sort of 241st chorus of Mexico City in the Nirvanas of your brain, he was tight.

Lesson (included w/ 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