As anyone who lives here can tell you, Boston has seen its fair share of electronic music come through as of late. So much, in fact, that it has been overwhelming. Between Ocean Club‘s relentless all-star line up this summer and DJs of all kinds coming to play at clubs big and small throughout the city, Boston is quickly making a name for itself as a destination for great dance music. But there remains one unequivocal fact that separates Boston from cities like New York City, Miami, LA and even Denver: there is no electronic music festival for Boston. That’s not changing quite yet, but Boston Calling is making all the right moves to make it much closer to a reality.
Boston Calling, which celebrated its inaugural dates only a handful of months ago, is already poised to make a return in September, bringing with it this time a lineup that is much more diverse and tailored to a different (and more relatable, for us at least) segment of the Boston music scene. While the 2-day lineup in May featured an indie-heavy roster with names like Fun., The Shins and Of Monsters and Men, they have decided to go a different direction this time around. Day one looks to attract the same crowd as last time with headliner Vampire Weekend and a supporting cast of names I’m not ashamed to admit I don’t know. We’ve got our eyes on Day 2, though, and you should too.
Headlined by Passion Pit, Sunday promises to appeal much more to the dance crowd than Saturday. The festival managed to recruit electro heavyweight (and personal favorite) Wolfgang Gartner, Trap pioneers Flosstradamus and even Australian wunderkind Flume, not to mention Diplo‘s wildly successful project Major Lazer, who consistently put on varied and extremely fun performances. And a nice surprise is Kendrick Lamar mixed in, who I’ve had the opportunity to see several times live and have never been disappointed.
Besides the music, the festival itself takes place in City Hall Plaza in Government Center, affording beautiful views of the downtown. The Boston food truck scene will be in full effect as well as many local vendors providing for a very community-centric festival. It should be interesting to see how the Boston music crowd responds to the presence of electronic music at an Indie festival and whether it will be pulled off properly, but we are very excited to find out. Tickets are still available for the weekend or for individual dates on Boston Calling’s website here. Sunday single day passes are currently selling for $75 plus taxes and fees but will likely go up, so be sure to secure yours soon.
What: Boston Calling Music Festival
Where: City Park Plaza, Boston, MA
When: Saturday September 7 – Sunday September 8
Who: Passion Pit, Major Lazer, Flume, Wolfgang Gartner, Flosstradamus, Kendrick Lamar and more
How: Tickets Here