Boston Calling 2019 Preview

As the school season ends and the summer starts this Memorial Day Weekend, park your car in the Harvard yard for Boston Calling, Friday-Sunday, May 24th-26th:

FRIDAY, MAY 24th

Delta Blue Stage CHVRCHES, 8:20 PM Scottish electro-pop outfit CHVRCHES (QRO live review) have gotten very big very fast (QRO photos at a festival), before & after the release of debut full-length The Bones of What You Believe (QRO review) – but are fronted by the tiny Lauren Mayberry (QRO photos at a festival) and some giant lights. They successfully followed up Bones with 2015’s Every Open Eye (QRO review), with Love Is Dead (QRO review) out last year, and now come back to Boston Calling.

Tank & The Bangas, 6:30 PM Tank & The Bangas (QRO photos at a festival) have bounded onto the scene (QRO photos at a festival) with a lively mix of funk, soul, hip-hop, rock and spoken word (QRO photos).

Gang of Youths, 5:10 PM Catch the indie rock of Australia’s Gang of Youths, who come to Boston Calling behind 2017’s Down Under chart-topper & ARIA winning sophomore record, Go Farther In Lightness.

Bear Hands, 3:50 PM At Boston Calling is friend-of-the-Q Bear Hands (QRO spotlight on). Their alt-punk is more skilled than most in the genre (or their borough – QRO photos in Brooklyn), as seen in 2010’s great full-length debut, Burning Bush Supper Club (QRO review). Fronted by the engaging Val Lopez & Dylan Rau (QRO interview with both), play well at festivals (QRO photos at a festival), including U.K.’s Leeds (QRO live review), and outdoors like Prospect Park in Brooklyn (QRO photos in Prospect Park). Coming to Boston Calling just after the release of Fake Tunes (QRO review), following 2016’s You’ll Pay For This (QRO review) and 2014’s Distraction (QRO review), look for the great new material from the band (QRO photos)– even improvised songs (QRO video) – as well as old like “Vietnam” (QRO video) and newer like “Crime Pays” (QRO video), “Giants” (QRO review), and “2AM” (QRO review).

Adia Victoria, 2:45 PM The gothic blues of Nashville’s Adia Victoria (QRO photos at a festival) moves from Appalachia to New England (QRO photos at a festival).

Red Stage Greta Van Fleet, 7:50 PM New Michigan rock comes to Boston Calling in the form of the next generation of classic rock, Greta Van Fleet (QRO spotlight on). One of Robert Plant’s favorite young bands, they were touring behind 2017’s Grammy-wining Black Smoke Rising & From the Fires (QRO reviews). Now they’ve got full-length Anthem of the Peaceful Army (QRO review), and they’ve only gotten bigger.

Lord Huron, 5:35 PM The lonesome, lakeside dreams of Lord Huron (QRO photos) is also a festival regular (QRO photos at a festival), coming to Boston Calling behind last year’s Vide Noir.

Pale Waves, 3:50 PM Manchester’s Pale Waves (QRO photos at a U.K. festival) have been making serious waves on both sides of the Atlantic (QRO photos at an American festival), and come to Boston Calling after the release of last year’s debut full-length, My Mind Makes Noises.

Green Stage Twenty One Pilots, 9:10 PM The somewhat uninspired pop of Twenty One Pilots (QRO photos at a festival) comes back to Boston Calling for a second time (QRO photos at Boston Calling ‘14), now behind last year’s Trench, and 2015’s Blurryface. That record was somehow a hit, including single “Heathens”, which was in the soundtrack to the similarly inexplicably successful Suicide Squad. But people seem to love ‘em…

Christine & The Queens, 6:40 PM France’s Héloïse Letissier has wowed the world as Christine & The Queens (QRO photos), with a stage show mixing music, art, dancing, and more (QRO photos). Last year’s Chris was QRO’s Top Album of the Year, and now she returns to Boston Calling.

Mura Masa, 4:40 PM Out of Britain’s Channel Islands comes producer/multi-instrumentalist Alexander Crossan, a.k.a. Mura Masa (QRO photos at a festival). Also: Turnstile, 3:00 PM

Arena Yaeji, 9:20 PM Naeem, 8:15 PM DJ Frank White, 7:30 PM Fred Armisen, 5:05 PM Sam Jay, 4:40 PM Lamont Price, 4:25 PM

SATURDAY, MAY 25th

Delta Blue Stage Hozier, 8:00 PM Ireland’s Andrew Hozier-Byrne (QRO live review in England) comes back to Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival) off of 2014’s massive breakthrough single “Take Me To the Church” – not to mention being impersonated by Kate McKinnon on Saturday Night Live!

King Princess, 6:10 PM The latest behind by big-name producer Mark Ronson is twenty-year-old Mikaela Straus, a.k.a. King Princess.

Denzel Curry, 4:40 PM Florida’s Denzel Curry (QRO photos) first got attention from SpaceGhostPurrp, and comes to Boston Calling behind last year’s Ta13oo.

Shame, 3:15 PM South London’s Shame received tons of praise for last year’s Songs of Praise.

White Reaper, 2:00 PM Giving Boston Calling a kick in the ass is White Reaper (QRO photos at a festival), coming off of 2017’s oh-so-humble The World’s Best American Band (QRO review).

Princess Nokia, 1:00 PM Get ready for the in-your-face hip-hop of Princess Nokia, including crowdsurfing and shirt removing (QRO live review, with both).

Red Stage ODESZA, 8:00 PM Harrison Mills & Clayton Knight managed to put out their debut as electronic duo ODESZA (QRO photos) while still in their senior year back in ’12 with Summer’s Gone, and come back to Boston Calling (QRO photos at a festival) off of 2017’s A Moment Apart, and big live show (QRO photos at a 2018 festival) – including lots of drums (QRO photos headlining a festival).

Big Red Machine, 5:40 PM Emerging out of their work on compilation album Dark Was the Night (QRO review), Big Red Machine is a new experimental team-up between Justin Vernon, a.k.a. massive hit Bon Iver but also much more, and Boston Calling curator Aaron Dessner of The National (QRO photos at Boston Calling ’14).

Superorganism, 3:45 PM Eight-member London indie-pop outfit Superorganism head to Boston Calling after last year’s attention-getting self-titled debut.

Also: Betty Who, 2:05 PM – QRO photos at a festival Sidney Gish, 12:45 PM

Green Stage Tame Impala, 9:20 PM From Perth (QRO photos at a home) in Western Australia (QRO photos at a hometown festival), comes the psychedelic rock of Tame Impala (QRO live review), touring off of 2011’s Innerspeaker (QRO review), 2012’s Lonerism, and 2015’s Currents, whose critical acclaim has won them fans across the world (QRO photos at a festival), and spots headlining a ton of 2019 festivals (QRO photos headlining a recent festival), including in their return to Boston Calling (QRO photos at Boston Calling ‘15). And they come with country-rap overnight sensation Lil Nas X!

Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, 6:45 PM Pretty quickly, Brandon Park Anderson became Anderson .Paak (QRO photos at a festival), and with his band The Free Nationals (QRO photos at a festival), has gotten major notice with his soul-funk styles (including Paak playing drums and dancing in the pit – though not at the same time…). He comes to Boston Calling on his biggest tour yet, behind this year’s Ventura.

Mitski, 4:40 PM Gotta love anyone who names an album after a Milhouse Simpsons quote, like Mitski’s 2014 Bury Me at Makeout Creek. She comes (QRO photos) back to Boston Calling for her second time in three years, behind last year’s Be the Cowboy.

Clairo, 2:55 PM Boston electro-pop artist Claire Cotrill comes home as Clairo. Also: Pile, 1:15 PM Boston Ballet, 12:25 PM

Arena Snakehips, 9:20 PM Oliver Lee and James Carter made their Snakehips name doing Hype Machine remixes of everyone from Banks to The Weeknd, but found their own hit single in 2015’s “All My Friends”. They play twice at Boston Calling ’19 (see below).

Also: Dessa, 8:15 PM Naeem (DJ set), 7:30 PM Jenny Slate, 5:05 PM Marina Franklin, 4:40 PM Lamont Price, 4:25 PM Boston Ballet, 4:00 PM Imogen Heap, 2:45 PM – QRO live review

SUNDAY, MAY 26th

Delta Blue Stage Brandi Carlile, 8:00 PM Singer/songwriter Brandi Carlile (QRO interview) has emerged alongside a whole new generation of socially minded melodic songstresses (QRO photos), and in last year she (QRO spotlight on) put out her latest (QRO photos outdoors), the multiple Grammy-nominated By the Way, I Forgive You, now returning to Boston Calling for her second time in three years.

Rainbow Kitten Surprise, 6:00 PM North Carolina’s Rainbow Kitten Surprise, or ‘RKS’, come up to Boston Calling behind last year’s How To: Friends, Love, Freefall and this year’s Mary (B-Sides).

Guster, 4:25 PM A festival mainstay with a loyal fan base, Guster (QRO photos outdoors) has managed to balance alt-rock and jam band – as well as underground cult status and mainstream attention. They (QRO photos) come to Boston Calling behind their eighth album, this year’s Look Alive.

Snail Mail, 3:00 PM Lindsey Jordan has been getting a lot of attention for her indie slowcore work as Snail Mail (QRO photos) – including a feature article in none other than the New York Times!

Also: Rolling Blackouts Coastal Fever, 1:40 PM

Red Stage Logic, 8:05 PM Sir Robert Bryson Hall II (“Sir” is part of his name, not an honorific, apparently…), has become a top songwriter as Logic (QRO photos at a festival).

Marina, 6:10 PM Great Britain has been putting out accomplished, interesting pop songstresses at an incredible rate, such as Adele, Ellie Goulding, and the woman who came in second to Goulding in the BBC ‘Sound of 2010’ poll, Marina Diamandis (QRO photos) – previously Marina & The Diamonds (QRO photos at a festival), who comes to her third Boston Calling (QRO photos at Boston Calling ’15 – QRO photos at Boston Calling ’13).

Snakehips, 4:15 PM Oliver Lee and James Carter made their Snakehips name doing Hype Machine remixes of everyone from Banks to The Weeknd, but found their own hit single in 2015’s “All My Friends”. They play twice at Boston Calling ’19 (see above).

Also: Cautious Clay, 2:30 PM – QRO photos at a festival Skegss, 1:00 PM

Green Stage Travis Scott, 9:30 PM Texan rapper Travis Scott (QRO photos at a festival) has succeeded in everything from producing (for GOOD Music’s Very GOOD Beats) to mixtapes to studio albums to team-ups (with Quavo as Huncho Jack) – not to mention being Kylie Jenner’s man. He comes to play Boston Calling after the release of his highly anticipated AstroWorld, so look for new material like single “Watch”, which featured Kanye West and Lil Uzi Vert.

Also: Sheck Wes, 7:15 PM SOB X RBE, 5:10 PM Ravyn Lenae, 3:20 PM – QRO photos at a festival Easy Life, 1:40 PM Boston Ballet, 12:25 PM

Arena Chromeo, 9:20 PM There are combos and then there are combos: Montreal’s Chromeo (QRO live review) are the electro-funk duo of Dave 1 (David Macklovitch) and P-Thugg (Patrick Gemayel) has been best friends since childhood (QRO live review), billing themselves as, “The only successful Arab/Jewish collaboration since the beginning of time” (but what is their stance on Québécois independence?…). And their electronica works outdoors (QRO photos outdoors), day or night (QRO live review), even at a festival (QRO photos at a festival). They come back to Boston Calling (QRO photos at Boston Calling ‘15) with their great show (QRO live review), off of this year’s Head Over Heels (QRO review), to do a DJ set (QRO photos DJing).

Also: Kilo Kish, 8:15 PM DJ Joshua Carl, 7:30 PM Michael Che, 5:05 PM Melissa Villaseñor, 4:40 PM Lamont Price, 4:25 PM Boston Ballet, 4:00 PM Imogen Heap, 2:45 PM – QRO live review