Lilypad

Great venue, cool staff and good beers on tap.

Lilypad offers a nice, intimate venue for watching emerging Boston area performers. The accoustics are decent, and the tiny little beer bar is cute. You won’t want to hang out here for too long though, as the seating in atrociously uncomfortable. Long wooden benches, old summer camp style, will cause your butt to scream after about 10 minutes. I am glad, though, to see spaces like this pop up in the Cambridge area. Go Cambridge!

Simple and pleasant please, where you’ll could listen to excellent musicians, have a great time for a cheap ticket price. I highly recommend it!!!
Monica Batkis Odonnell

Stopped in briefly this Saturday when I heard the jazz spilling out onto the street. The line-​up looks good… yes, the benches are uncomfortable per the previous reviews and also I wish they had a bigger sign to understand who was playing and if it’s free… but it really adds to a nice lazy weekend atmosphere that Inman is growing! Can’t wait to come back. (And hope they do a BLUES NIGHT, please!)

I’m so happy this place exists. So discreet, it’d be easy to walk past and miss it entirely, if it weren’t for the hum of jazz spilling out onto Cambridge Street. Lots of great shows for $ 10, some even as cheap as $ 3. Now serving craft beer, as well.

Very nice location for a small, intimate show. I agree with the previous reviewer about the benches being a bit stiff. if I return I’ll remedy that on my own with a seat cushion.
Pretty nice little bear selection on tap as well, which is worth 1 star all on its own because it was unexpected.

A discrete gem with great programming, intimate in a good way, classy though far from flashy. Over the years I’ve seen remarkable performances in diverse styles of dance and/​or music (including solo artists and bands with about ten musicians, jazz, funk, rock, «world,» various fusions, a lot of original compositions), and also some yoga classes, which were much more pleasant that I would have expected from such a non-​yoga space (very little waiting for the bathroom, although there’s only one). The grand piano alone is a joy. Shame on me for not Unilocaling about it earlier.
I don’t always love the art that’s on display, but I absolutely love this place’s bones, including the stained glass in window, the beautiful old door, the wood floor, and the front steps. It reminds me of some favorite places in New York and of European cities.
I just found out they’ve started a free monthly film event on Sunday afternoons, which starts with a presenter and opens to discussion after the viewing. To quote their site: «Bar will be open, food for sale from Olecito; bring your own cushions or lawn chair.»
I’m surprised there seems to be only one review from this year. Check their website for recent info and current schedule.
Bonus: lots of great places to eat and drink near Lilypad. Parking can be tricky, but can usually be found on Cambridge street, if you’re willing to walk five minutes.
Lilypad is definitely worth visiting often, a treasure for the Boston area. And if you do need to walk a bit from the red line or your car, you likely won’t feel it after your experience there.

Great space, cool vibe. Need to upgrade the sound system.

very cozy little place with awesome music. i was curious to see what a show was like in there. good sound. first time i went there was a jazz band performing. very good musicians. solid. then i came again to see my fellow 305’rs raffa & rainer. so that says it all. the lily pad is a cozy, very low key, intimate place to catch some great live music… and more, from what i understand.

Talk about community! From rock shows to yoga classes this place sends out nothing but positive vibrations. I love what they stand for and how they stand for it. There are very few accessible venues of expression left and this place has seemed to harness that along with a warm fuzzy feeling in the bottom of your soul.

Came here last night for a CD release party for a friend of mine Adam Rich. It was a good time. The Lily Pad offers a very cozy and intimate environment and live music sounds great here! One thing I would recommend is to work on the seating. I’ve never been here before so I don’t know if the seats were arranged this way for the event I was attending, but the seats aren’t comfortable and there aren’t enough seats. I would suggest maybe a movie theatre type seat or arm chairs spread throughout the place. Also, the bathroom is wicked quirky! There was a bookcase in there… and there was a beck-​tie on the bookcase. Very quirky.

Lily Pad, Lily Pad… how I love your simple acoustics and intimate bare bones performance space. It was a Thursday night and I almost passed you on the street, with little more than a light in the window and an unlit piece of lily pad motif stained glass to let me know you were there. The sweet sounds of soulful music slipping out from under your doorway and the small crowd gathered within told me that I was, indeed, in the right place.
We arrived at 9 pm for a show that started at 10 pm and were pleasantly surprised to find another set of musicians already playing that were equally intruiging. Once I stepped inside and planted myself in one of the metal folding chairs, I found myself forgetting about the outside world and being absorbed in the world of the musicians before me– no formal stage to separate us and just enough amplification to drown out the sounds of the street but not the sound of the musician’s breath.
Works of local artists adorn the walls, inviting artistic introspection and conversation starters in between sets. With room for barely more than 50 people, you’ll feel like part of a small community discovering something pure and authentic. You won’t find drinks or food here (which is good for the under 21 crowd), but feel free to bring your own or grab something at the café on the corner, at least there’s a bathroom with plenty of interesting reading material. Bring cash for a $ 10 donation at the door and a little extra in case you want to take some of the performance home with you on CD– what you’re likely to hear will be a refreshing change from today’s overplayed and overproduced music.

Cambridge’s most cutting-​edge performance space. A breeding ground for adventurous styles of music, theater, and more. The music ranges from jazz to chamber music to purely avant-​garde. Past events have included everything from dance performances to radio dramas. And dont forget Tango Tuesdays. Located in the heart of Inman Square, slightly off the beaten path, this is an excellent place to experience something unexpected.

Big fan. If you enjoy seeing your shows about as stripped down and hollowed out as possible, this is the place for you. Kind of like a Preservation Jazz Hall for unknown bands. And live music is exactly what Inman Square needs. Go often and support establishments like this one.
My two favorite shows there:
1. The Saturday Saints first show
2. Devendra Banhart and the Arcade Fire (c. 2003)

Formerly the Zeitgeist Gallery (which still exists at the Axiom around the corner, confusing, right?) the Lily Pad is an excellent no-​frills performance space, catering mostly to lovers of avant-​garde and generally adventurous music. There are no refreshments, no décor, no stage, just a piano, some folding chairs, and great music! Shows are $ 10 usually, and there are typically two a night, one at 8 or so, and another at 10. The legendary free-​jazz trio The Fringe is there every Monday, I recommend seeing them at least once.