The fields of the Harvard Athletic Complex once again came to life with the roar of the Boston Calling festival. This year’s edition of the festival kicked off on Friday, May 24, with a hot and sunny day.
Boston Calling’s festival grounds contain four stages. The Green and (Happy Valley) Red stages are the main stages, with set times alternating directly one after the other. Meanwhile, across the grounds, you can find the Blue stage, still a stage of decent size, with a party atmosphere and lots of places to lounge and even a Ferris wheel. Nearby, you will find the smaller Orange stage, which showcases local acts from around New England.
The first performer I caught today was singer-songwriter Maris, over on the Blue stage. She came out clearly super-excited, stating to the crowd that this was her first festival. The singer gave a high-energy performance. During the second song of her set, backup dancers ripped the sleeves off of her outfit, and she joined them in a choreographed dance while she sang.
Next up, I caught Luke Hemmings on the Green stage. I was unfamiliar with Luke by name, but a few minutes before his set I was made aware that he is a member of the pop rock boy band 5 Seconds of Summer. When he hit the stage, the girls in the audience were LOUD!
Following Luke's set, David Kushner came on the Red stage. While only in his early twenties, David is a performer with a soulful sound many years beyond his age. He writes emotional music, stating before “Mr. Forgettable” that it was written about Alzheimer’s.
Reneé Rapp gave one of the most energetic performances of the day. She introduced herself to the crowd saying, “My name is Reneé, and I’m a lesbian.” Again, the girls in the crowd went wild. Her fans had lots of signs and posters dedicated to this star of the Mean Girls musical. One sign stated, “Mean Girl, this isn’t high school, but you’re my hall pass.” Reneé commanded the stage, keeping the audience engaged as she ran around and sang. The fans backed her up on all the words in songs like “Poison Poison” and “Talk Too Much.” Reneé had an absolute powerhouse of a band, giving her the foundation for her amazing performance.
Leon Bridges’ blues rock performance may not have matched the physical energy of Reneé’s set, but his music was just as emotional. He introduced “Twistin’ & Groovin’” saying, “This is the story of how my grandparents met.” Occasionally playing guitar, occasionally walking around with his mic, his powerful voice gave life to the deep meanings of his songs.
Back on the Blue stage, Young the Giant put on a great show, with this being their first appearance at Boston Calling since the very first iteration of the festival 11 years ago. Fans were excited to have the band there, closing out the Blue stage for the first day.
The final act of the night was one of the biggest singers in the world, Ed Sheeran. He ran out onto the stage, playing his hit “Castle on the Hill.” He then addressed the crowd, explaining what they were about to see. If you’ve never seen Ed Sheeran live before, the man does not have a backing band, nor does he use any pre-recorded backing tracks. He has a set of looping pedals on the stage, where he can play a melody, tap a rhythm, play some keys, or even sing a vocal line, and when he taps that pedal again, that sound will be looped. With this foundation, he creates the backings to his songs that he sings along to. It is all done live and disappears when he’s done with it, never to be played the same way again. In the age of pop stars that are increasingly overproduced, I definitely appreciate his musicianship.
Sheeran told stories about when his first single, “The A-Team,” was gaining popularity, and that he was sure he was going to be a one-hit wonder. He says he can close his eyes and remember playing to an empty pub, and then open them to see thousands of people in front of him, singing along. He comes across as very humble and grateful for the success he has achieved. His two-hour-long set was packed full of hits, with songs like “Shape of You” and “Bad Habits” getting huge reactions. I felt like I saw a lot of “guy with a guitar” performances today, but Ed has a creativity and energy that set him above, and it’s easy to see why he was headlining.
