What the Midway Cafe's Next Owner Inherits Is a Weekly Calendar

Jay Balerna's description of the Midway Cafe as a business for sale is short. In an interview with The Boston Globe, he called it a "turn-key" live music venue with a PA system, lights and refrigeration that needs "a little TLC." The same article says the club's bread and butter has always been its weekly theme nights, especially Queeraoke and the Friday "Hippie Hour," which rotates through Grateful Dead cover bands.

Whoever takes over 3496 Washington Street gets both of those things. The equipment comes with the room. The weekly schedule is what has kept the place running for close to 40 years, and it's also what the Midway itself has said it wants to protect.

Where Things Stand on Washington Street

Here's what the Globe reported on November 3. Balerna's family sold the building at 3496 Washington St. The new owner wants to double the rent he has been paying, but has agreed to hold off on the increase until about this time next year. Balerna hopes to have a buyer in place well before that. He and his brother David started managing what the Globe calls "the old neighborhood watering hole" in 1987, and Jay has been the sole owner since he bought out his brother in 2011. "It's a young man's game," he told the paper.

Not long after the article ran, the Midway posted an update on its website. It said a potential new proprietor had come forward, "a long-time JP Resident and Boston music scene veteran," who has already started the due diligence needed to transfer ownership. The club also said it is still early in the process, and that "keeping the Midway accessible is a priority, as well as preserving the longstanding residencies."

The club has set up an email address, [email protected], for anyone who wants to offer help. It says its needs aren't defined yet and could include people in the trades, entertainment or professional fields, plus volunteers for events. The same post closes with "The beer is still flowing and the shows are still rockin' so come on by!"

The Week the Midway Runs On

Both the Globe and the Midway keep coming back to the residencies, and the club's posted schedule explains why. The Midway is open until 2 a.m. seven days a week. Doors open at noon Tuesday through Friday, at 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, and at 4 p.m. on Monday. Most of what happens inside follows a weekly pattern:

Queeraoke runs every Thursday, according to the Midway's about page. In 2024, Boston Spirit reported that the night started in 2004 and grew out of the bar's long-running LGBTQ-friendly atmosphere, with karaoke and dance breaks as the format. Back in 2017, WBUR profiled the club as a 100-capacity room that started out booking blues acts in a former neighborhood bar and grew into one of the city's more eclectic stages.

The weekend afternoons matter as much as the nights. The 3 p.m. shows on Saturday and Sunday are mostly listed as all ages, so the Midway is one of the few places on this stretch of Washington Street where a full band plays before dinner. Those slots also hold recurring series, such as the Martin / Morell / Fredette monthly Sunday residency, along with community bookings like a December showcase presented by JP KidsArts.

Tonight Through Christmas Eve, Date by Date

This post publishes on Thursday, November 19, and Queeraoke is on that night at 8 p.m. with an $8 cover. Here are some of the dates on the calendar through December 24, as currently listed:

1. Friday, November 20. Third Fridays are DEAD, the monthly Hippie Hour, starts at 6:30 p.m. for $10. The Femmes play at 9:30 p.m. for $15.
2. Saturday, November 21. An all-ages 3 p.m. bill with Spectacle, Modern Day Idols, and Tad Overbaugh and the Late Arrivals, $10. At 8 p.m., Little Billy Lost, Typhoid Mary, Crow Follow and The BickerSins, $15.
3. Sunday, November 22. Ghost Painted Sky, Bloodx3, Architrave and Hidden Fountain at 3 p.m., all ages, $10.
4. Wednesday, November 25. The Diamond Blues Jam at 7:30 p.m., $10.
5. Thursday, November 26. Queeraoke is listed for Thanksgiving night at 8 p.m.
6. Friday, November 27. Hippie Hour with The Reckoning Crew at 6:30 p.m., then Emo Night with Smile Lines at 9:30 p.m., $10 each.
7. Saturday, November 28. Eddy Dyer, Larseny, Zipper and the Teddy Larkin Trio at 3 p.m., all ages, $10.
8. Sunday, November 29. Tunes For Tots, an all-ages 3 p.m. fundraiser show for Toys for Tots. The listing says more details are coming.
9. Tuesday, December 1. The Bars Over Bars Hip Hop Showcase at 8 p.m., $10.
10. Friday, December 4. Hippie Hour with the Owsley's Owls at 6:30 p.m., then Under The Influences, a Social Distortion tribute, with BOLLOCKS at 9:30 p.m.
11. Saturday, December 5. Jittery Jack with Amy Griffin, the Rover Boys Trio, and Buck Lonesome and The Table for One at 3 p.m., all ages, $15.
12. Sunday, December 6. The Martin / Morell / Fredette monthly residency with special guests at 3 p.m., all ages, $10.
13. Wednesday, December 9. Fully Celebrated Orchestra with Mirror Stars and Liz Hogg at 8 p.m., $10.
14. Friday, December 11. Hippie Hour with Catfish at 6:30 p.m.
15. Sunday, December 13. Showcase for Grown-ups, presented by JP KidsArts, at 3 p.m., all ages, $10.
16. Friday, December 18. Third Fridays are DEAD at 6:30 p.m., then Mama Roux with Daydream at 9:30 p.m.
17. Saturday, December 19, and Sunday, December 20. Back-to-back all-ages 3 p.m. bills. Saturday has The Granfield Six, Wayward Vine, The Molly Pinto Madigan Band and Goldfishers. Sunday has Shepards, Sublimbic, Trouble With Parachutes, and Adam Femino of OC45.
18. Monday, December 21. Chamber, a goth and industrial night, at 8 p.m., $10.
19. Wednesday, December 23. The Diamond Blues Jam returns at 7:30 p.m.
20. Thursday, December 24. Queeraoke is on the calendar for Christmas Eve at 8 p.m.

Small-room calendars change, so check midwaycafe.com before you head over.

Why the Weekly Format Is the Part Worth Keeping

The Globe places the Midway's news within a wider squeeze on small performance spaces around Greater Boston. The Lizard Lounge in Cambridge will close in May after 30 years, and ONCE Ballroom, Atwood's Tavern and Thunder Road have all shut since the pandemic. Great Scott is working toward reopening at a new location in Allston. Boston Restaurant Talk also listed The C Note in Hull, Rockwood in the Fenway and Wonder Bar in Allston among the music rooms that have closed in recent years.

The Midway's own description of itself shows what has kept it going. It has booked rockabilly, metal, blues, punk, jazz, reggae, surf, hip-hop, comedy, country, rock and dance since 1987. The Globe names the Lyres, Treat Her Right and the Upper Crust among the Boston bands that have played there. With that many genres, the weekly nights are what bring the same people back to the room. A Hippie Hour regular told the Globe the Midway is "a cultural institution in this neighborhood."

Balerna told the Globe what he'd like a successor to keep: modest covers and four-dollar Narragansetts. The club's update adds keeping the place accessible and preserving the residencies, and says, "It took a village to make it this far and it's going to take a village to keep it going." The Globe notes that next year marks 40 years of live music at the club. The rent deferral runs to about the same point. Until then, the Thursday and Friday nights on the calendar above are still running.

At Muncey Group, we pay attention to what happens when a Washington Street building changes hands, because places like the Midway are part of what Jamaica Plain is to the people who live here. If you'd like to talk about how changes along the corridor might affect a home you own or one you're considering nearby, Schedule a Consultation with our team.