Bellforge Arts Center plans a rockin' tribute to the Rat’s legacy

The Rathskeller — affectionately known as the Rat — delivered a steady parade of raw and raucous live rock to fans in Boston from 1974 until 1997. Bands from Boston and beyond graced the stage at the storied club in Kenmore Square, including R.E.M., the Ramones, the Replacements, Talking Heads, the Dead Kennedys, the Cars and the Pixies. Other hometown rockers, like the Remains, the Neighborhoods and the Dogmatics, also found support and community there.

A loyal music contingent has missed the Rat since it shuddered more than a quarter century ago. But on September 21, the burgeoning Bellforge Arts Center in Medfield will revive the legendary club’s legacy with a celebration.

“I’m old enough to have been at the Rat in it’s heyday,” executive director Jean Mineo said with a laugh. “Bellforge is really presenting a wide range of programming, and this falls squarely within that.”

The non-profit arts center itself represents a resurrection. Bellforge occupies the defunct Medfield State Hospital’s sprawling campus. The multi-genre arts and recreation concept is in the middle of its third year presenting outdoor concerts, festivals and an array of community events.

Bellforge is located between Boston, Worcester and Providence, and more than 17,000 spectators have visited over the past two years. The vast majority of the music, visual arts, theater, dance, fitness and other family-friends activities are free, including the mid-week Summer Sounds series that showcases local musicians through July 31. Bellforge’s Rat reunion tickets cost $25 and go on sale June 14. Big picture future plans for the center include adding a live music venue, recording studio, and arts and education center.

“We are still in a capital campaign to renovate the buildings and physically open an indoor space, “ Mineo said. “We’re not quite there yet, but with a little luck, we’ll be open in the middle of 2026.”

When Paul Armstrong, Bellforge's programming director and CEO of Redefined (the company behind the planned reunion), books events, his goal is to surprise and excite, “and obviously the Rat celebration is a great example of this,” he said. “I never had the pleasure of meeting Jim Harold, the owner of the Rat," Armstrong added, "but it's a very well known fact that he treated members of the punk scene like family — often helping musicians on the rise — and that's very much in line with what Bellforge is trying to do.”

Harold ran the Rat for nearly 25 years. He died in 2022. Armstrong reached out to other people who lived and breathed the Rat while working to make the reunion a reality. “Obviously, that’s vital,” he said. Armstrong contacted the WBCN radio legend known as Oedipus earlier this year to talk about a tribute's possibilities. “As I was talking through the idea, his smile grew bigger and bigger,” Armstrong recalled. “And we ended up talking for hours about Boston's history and its future.”

Oedipus agreed to host the homage. So far the music lineup includes the seminal Boston punk band Nervous Eaters, along with garage rockers the Dogmatics. Armstrong said a few other surprises are falling into place and will be announced soon. “In putting the show together, I was doing as much research as possible,” he said, “and there was a sign outside the Rat that stated, ‘food, drink and music.’ So we will have all three.”

Then, Armstrong joked the outdoor venue won’t be as sticky as the floors were at the vaunted Boston club, “but we promise to deliver the authentic sounds and stories from the Rat.”

Tickets for the event on Sept. 21 at Bellforge Arts Center go on sale via TheRatReunion.com  June 14.