By Alex Melagrano, news staff
Boston’s favorite music festival is back for 2018, sporting an impressive set of performers and the largest food and drink lineup to date. Returning to the Harvard Athletic Complex for a second year, the festival organizers addressed many of the growing pains which arose from upgrading to a venue three times the size of City Hall Plaza. Thanks to the widespread upgrades to the festival, the ninth annual Boston Calling is gearing up to be the best one yet.
Returning to the three-day schedule of years past, the festival kicks off on Friday, May 25th with The Killers, The National and Portugal. The Man leading the charge into the action-packed weekend. Also featured on Friday’s lineup are (Sandy) Alex G and Charli Bliss, both of whom performed at AfterHours this past semester. Saturday’s frontrunners include Jack White and Queens of the Stone Age, sure to provide a healthy dosage of guitar riffs. Hip-hop and R&B are also prominent in Saturday’s lineup with Tyler, The Creator and Daniel Caesar taking the stage, plus the up-and-coming boyband Brockhampton, who will make their third visit to Boston in just nine months. On Sunday, Eminem will close out the festival in his first New England appearance since 2005, alongside performances by Bryson Tiller, Fleet Foxes, and platinum-selling prodigy Khalid.
Touting a massive 50% increase in food vendors, Boston Calling will be well-equipped to support the large crowds which will be in attendance. Food truck favorites Bon Me, Roxy’s Grilled Cheese and Zinnekin’s will all be making an appearance along with local burger icon Tasty Burger and the famed Union Square Donuts. Within the VIP and Platinum areas, an extensive menu will be offered by acclaimed local restaurants and chefs who will rotate daily. In total, 35 different food vendors will be present at the festival, catering to all varieties of dietary needs and preferences. See Boston Calling’s website for the full list of offerings.
If the lineup and food vendors aren’t enough, the festival also boasts other upgrades to the overall experience. Art installations will be scattered across the festival complex, providing entertainment even for the walks between the four stages. At the stages themselves, all new sound systems are being deployed for an enhanced festival experience.
Festival organizers have also set out to improve the logistics of the festival as well. Entry point capacity will be double that of last year, allowing for faster and more organized entry into the festival grounds. Within the complex itself, there will be more bathrooms available in addition to an increased number of signs to help direct festival-goers to their destinations. A new eco-friendly waste program has been devised to increase recycling capabilities and overall capacity to help minimize the ecological impact of the festival. Improvements have also been made to the complex’s Wi-Fi network, empowering attendees to snap, post, stream and tweet to their heart’s content.
“Each year we continue to push ourselves to bring fans the very best festival experience,” said Brian Appel, co-founder and chief executive officer of Boston Calling Events in a press release. “With some new changes and features already announced for this year’s festival, and many more on the way, we are ready and excited to treat our fans to an incredible weekend of performances from some of the world’s most iconic music acts.”
Be sure to check out our coverage of last year’s festival to learn more about how Boston Calling transitioned to the Harvard Athletic Complex, or those of years past to see the full explosive arc the event has seen as it continues to grow in popularity.
With tickets still available, grab your 3-day or single-day passes now before they sell out!
Photos courtesy of Boston Calling.
