By Christie Young, News Correspondent
This past weekend, Boston welcomed a few artists and their thousand of fans to City Hall Plaza. The skies were clear and the sun was strong, but a soft breeze offered relief to concert goers attending the two-day, two-stage music festival, Boston Calling.
Artists like Major Lazer, Kendrick Lamar and Vampire Weekend gathered at City Hall Plaza on Saturday and Sunday for Boston’s newest music event. The somewhat dull atmosphere that tends to accompany the downtown venue was brightened immensely by the cheerful attendees decked out in their best festival attire, countless food trucks selling some of Boston’s favorite foods, and most notably, the live music coming from the stages. Volunteers, most of whom were college students, answered questions, directed traffic and handed out free water bottles, which allowed for an organized and safe environment.
“To be able to bounce from stage to stage with all my friends, as well as the chance to see my favorite acts was a special music festival experience,” sophomore digital art and cinema studies major Andrew Hague said. “Boston Calling delivered on all ends. It’s not often that you get to see every musical act on the lineup without having to miss out on another.”
This was the second Boston Calling festival. The first was held in May and featured bands like Fun. and Matt and Kim.
Royal Teeth, who opened the festival on Sunday afternoon, earned their place at the festival by being chosen out of thousands of contestants who entered a Sonicbids competition to win the chance. According to their website, Sonicbids considers itself an “online matchmaker” for bands and backers. Bands sign up, and Sonicbids works to match those bands up with sponsors, music festivals and promoters – anything to increase the band’s publicity.
“Sonicbids chose the top ten and then Boston Calling picked us out,” vocalist and guitarist Gary Larsen explained. “The timing worked out perfectly with our tour.”
When asked how Royal Teeth would describe their sound to someone who had not yet heard it, Nora Patterson, the band’s vocalist, said: “afro hug-step.” This description is perhaps the best way to describe the band’s vibrant and exciting music.
Royal Teeth is based out of Louisiana, where band members Gary Larsen, Nora Patterson, Joshua Wells, Josh Hefner, Stevie Billeaud and Andrew Poe came together.
“Louisiana has a lot of music so we all knew of each other,” Larsen said. “When a few of our bands broke up, we came together. It was very organic.”
The group formed in 2010 and have been producing music and touring ever since. They released a 5-song EP in 2011 called “Act Naturally” and their first full length album, “Glow,” hit stores in August. Since then, they’ve been touring the country with shows from Vermont to California.
“We wanted to capture the energy we have when performing live,” Larsen said while describing their new album. “Glow” was recorded in Toronto, where it snowed every day. This was a big change for a band from down south, but they wanted to work with Toronto-based producer Gavin Brown.
“Being trapped inside with a constant snowfall allowed us to be very productive,” Larsen said.
They cited their influences and inspirations as a wide range of music from fellow Boston Calling performer Kendrick Lamar to The Colourist, a band they recently toured with.
“I think we all collectively really like Fleetwood Mac,” Hefner said.
Boston Calling was not the band’s first time playing Boston. “Our first show was at the House of Blues opening for the Kooks,” drummer Josh Hefner said. “It was the perfect first show in a new city.” They’ve also played at T.T., The Bear’s Place and Brighton Music Hall.
Although proud of their Louisiana roots, the band is happy to explore new cities and venues.
“Being in front of new faces and places is something we’ve gotten used to,” said Nora Patterson, whose vocals have become the trademark of the band’s sound.
Patterson also does a lot of the artwork for the band, including covers, t-shirts and posters. “I like to use color, but I pretty much just go with what I like,” she said. All the band members were quick to add that they are always pleased with her simple yet intriguing designs.
As for their Boston Calling performance, Royal Teeth was ready to kick off the exciting second day of the festival. “Whatever they allow us to do on stage, we’ll do it. We’re very interactive, we want to minimize the barrier between us and the audience,” Larsen said. “We want our live performances to be an experience.”
Next up for the band? Annapolis is the next stop on their tour. They plan to continue touring for a while before they head back to the studio.
Their new single, “Wild,” is available for free download on the band’s website at royalteethmusic.com.
