What remains of a festival ground when all the glitter is washed away?
At this year’s Boston Calling, that question became less of a metaphor and more of a logistical reality. The city’s largest track festival opened with a day and a half of near-steady downpour, and the turf of Harvard Athletic Complex slowly vanished beneath a rainbow of single-use ponchos. Forget fit checks — this season’s headliner was practicality. Rain boots were the hottest accessory on site.
Yet the weather did little to deter the Memorial Day Weekend crowd. Friday’s lineup, with its country-heavy billing, left plenty of breathing room at the main stage. But by Saturday, that space was gone. The first day of the weekend, headlined by Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne and backed by Cage the Elephant and All Time Low, drew in a storm of its own. By midday, the Harvard grounds were flooded with more than just rain; Boston’s alternative faithful had arrived, spanning younger fans in band tees and older scene veterans reliving their heyday, unfazed by the elements. Even amid the weather, the mainstays of teenage emo playlists detonated like time bombs in the middle of Allston. “Dear Maria” and “Sk8er Boi” banger like they always do, rain or shine, and “Sugar, We’re Going Down,” tirelessly played by every other band hitting the stage of Midway Cafe, sent the crowd into a nostalgic emo-frenzy. Sunday, with its clear skies and crown-jewel headliners — Dave Matthews Band and Vampire Weekend — drew in a similarly energetic, age-balanced crowd.
Fall Out Boy performing at Boston Calling 2025. Courtesy of Arina Zadvornaya.
Still, Boston Calling’s foundation proved less than waterproof. After last year’s overcrowding concerns, the new grounds’ layout created more breathing room between stages, though it remains unclear whether the improved flow was a product of better planning, or a less universally thrilling range of offerings. Reddit, never short on opinions, caught the tone early: “The last festival I went to was 25 years ago, but I’m pretty sure this was the same lineup I saw,” one user commented, echoing the opinions of dozens of disappointed track fans.
Perhaps it is this very frustration, paired with last year’s public outrage about poor logistical decisions leading to overcrowding and medical issues, that resulted in a decision to cancel the 2026 edition of the festival altogether. Just a couple of days ago, the organizers announced that the festival will return in 2027 on the first weekend of June. Whether the cancellation was driven by underwhelming turnout or preemptive planning remains unclear, but it marks a significant pause in what had become a Boston tradition. For some, the cancellation disrupted a beloved Memorial Day outing; for others, it created a future scheduling dilemma: Boston immediately sets its sights on the first weekend of June — the same turf Gov Ball has long claimed. It remains to be seen whether Boston fans would stay local or head south for the Gov Ball experience, especially if the lineups continue to diverge — a seemingly likely issue given the booking challenges the overlap is sure to bring about.
There is, however, hope for Boston. Smaller stages offered space for rising and local talent. A few acts familiar to regulars of Somerville’s friendly neighborhood NICE, a Fest! or small-venue circuits, like Megan From Work, Sidebody, or Vivid Bloom, finally found themselves amplified on a festival scale. Boston’s local scene is remarkably multifaceted, yet rarely spotlighted. This year proved that Boston Calling could be that spotlight, if it chose to intentionally tap into the city’s sonic reserves and encouraged exploration beyond the main stage’s gravitational pull.
Vivid Bloom performing at Boston Calling 2025. Courtesy of Arina Zadvornaya.
Another meaningful direction for the festival lies in deeper engagement with local charities and community organizations — and, fortunately, Boston has those in abundance. This year’s festival presented a variety of vendors and advocacy groups, including a This Must Be The Place tent distributing free naloxone and informational pamphlets. While track is, predictably, the centerpiece of a festival, the touring acts alone don’t define a city. It is in the smaller things, like local bands and quiet booths, that a festival’s true pulse begins to emerge. And Boston’s heart, for what it’s worth, beats loud and clear. All it needs is someone to listen.
Arina Zadvornaya is a graduate student in the College of Engineering. She can be reached at az499@cornell.edu.
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