Photos From This Weekend's Boston Calling Music Festival
Jesse Costa, Hadley Green, Amy Gorel
Sunday
Now in its fifth year (but ninth iteration because it started as a biannual gathering), Boston Calling Music Festival is hitting a stride in its new home at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston.
After two sweltering days, cold temperatures and evening rain dampened the final day of this year's gathering, but crowds still showed in full force for headliner Eminem.
The day started out with acts with local connections — hip-hop act STL GLD and indie rock trio Weakened Friends. Boston-based rapper Cousin Stizz performed later in the day. Indie folk rock throwbacks like The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes took the stage in the evening before the energy grew for rising R&B artist Khalid and Eminem.
Khalid greets the crowd on Sunday night. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Fans cheer for Khalid at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Robin Pecknold performs with Seattle-based folk band Fleet Foxes. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Khalid performs on Sunday night at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Khalid dances on stage at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Colin Meloy performs with The Decemberists. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Fans listen eagerly for Julien Baker. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Colin Meloy of The Decemberists performs at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Eminem closes Boston Calling on Sunday night. (Courtesy Jeremy Deputat/Boston Calling)The crowd watches Eminem on Sunday night. (Courtesy Ty Johnson/Boston Calling)Jazz bassist Stephen Lee Bruner, better known as Thundercat, performs Sunday evening. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Comedian Cameron Esposito does a standup routine at the Boston Calling indoor arena. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Julien Baker sings at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Fans cheer for The Decemberists at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Felicia Douglass from The Dirty Projectors sings at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)David Longstreth performs with The Dirty Projectors. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Leo Son, Ryne Steinborn and Austin Allen of Boston dance to Weakened Friends. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Bassist Annie Hoffman performs with Weakened Friends at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)People dance during Boston-based hip-hop duo STL GLD's performance at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)The Arcitype, of SLD GLD, performs at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Moe Pope, of STL GLD, performs at Boston Calling. (Hadley Green for WBUR)Despite the rain, festival-goers still took a minute to rest on the AstroTurf. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Cousin Stizz performs at Boston Calling. He was a last minute add when Stormzy was no longer able to attend. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Boston-based rapper Cousin Stizz greets the crowd during his performance at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Canadian indie-pop band Alvvays performs Sunday afternoon. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Lauren MacAurther and Kyle Benor get into Alvvays. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Nick Allbrook performs with the Australian psych-rock band Pond. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Zola Jesus. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Wisconsin-based folk band Field Report takes the stage. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Zola Jesus, the stage name of Nika Roza Danilova, performs during Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Bernadette Buck dances as Weakened Friends performs Sunday afternoon. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Saturday
The second day of the festival this year was heavy on rock of all styles, with a couple of rap acts sprinkled in.
Rappers Westside Gunn and Leikeli47 started the day off. California rock band Thee Oh Sees, Atlanta indie rock outfit Manchester Orchestra and Boston's '90s alt-rock band Belly pushed the afternoon forward. St. Vincent's deeply personal pop rock set capped off the afternoon, focusing mostly on songs from her latest album.
Tyler, the Creator, balanced the evening acts out — drawing a decidedly younger crowd over the hill to the Blue Stage while another crowd formed for Queens of the Stone Age at the Red Stage (which bled into the adjacent Green Stage crowd for Jack White's finale).
Tyler, The Creator. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Josh Homme performs with Queens Of The Stone Age. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Tyler, The Creator performs Saturday night. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)St. Vincent performs at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)St. Vincent ordered up a different colored guitar for every song. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)The crowd cheers for Royal Blood. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)St. Vincent. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Jack White closes Saturday at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Mike Kerr performs with Royal Blood. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Royal Blood. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Security removes a crowd surfer from the audience. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Daniel Caesar. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Bassist Gail Greenwood performs with Belly. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Bassist Gail Greenwood performs with Belly. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Belly's frontwoman Tanya Donelly. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Tanya Donelly. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)A mosh pit formed during Thee Oh Sees' performance. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Thee Oh Sees perform Saturday afternoon. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees swallows the microphone during his set. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Drummer Isaac Teel performs with TAUK. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Lillie Mae. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Lexx Talbot and Bridget Bell relax on the grounds of Harvard Athletic Complex. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Rapper Leikeli47 performs. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Westside Gunn kicks off Saturday at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
Friday
Boston Calling Music Festival jumpstarted the unofficial beginning of Boston summer Friday afternoon under the scorching hot sun.
It seems like the organizers made some strategic changes to the layout of the field, opened more food booths away from trafficked foot paths and added a few more bathroom pods to respond to complaints of exceedingly long lines last year.
Top names on Friday's lineup included the feminist protest band Pussy Riot, on its first North American tour; rock band Paramore; The National, a band including Aaron Dessner who is one of the main curators of Boston Calling's lineup; and Brandon Flowers-fronted rock band The Killers. Ending the first night of the festival, Flowers, like most of the performers on Friday, made some pointed efforts to thank Boston for its support and show off his knowledge of our sports teams.
Brandon Flowers ends the first night of Boston Calling with The Killers. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)The gate at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Matt Berninger of The National. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Hayley Williams performs with Paramore the first night of Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)The crowd gets into Paramore. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)A crowd heads over to the Blue Stage to see Paramore. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)People stand in line to ride the Ferris Wheel. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)John Gourley of Portugal. The Man performs Friday night at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Two members of Pussy Riot. The activist band from Russia is on its first tour of North America. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Pussy Riot. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)A beach ball flies out into the crowd. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Natalie Portman introduces an act. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)A festival-goer takes a nap in between bands. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Noname performs Friday afternoon. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Eva Hendricks and Spencer Fox of Charly Bliss butt heads on stage while performing. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Eva Hendricks of Charly Bliss. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Kate Lietz sticks her head through the hole of an inflatable sculpture at Boston Calling. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Guitarist Nick Hamm of Citizen. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
This article was originally published on May 26, 2018.
