Massachusetts (942)

• March 18, 2025
• Colleen Johnson
• 161
• 0

While we’re still two or so months out from this year’s Boston Calling Festival, what’s come to be a slice of local music heaven, the Orange Stage just announced this year’s daily lineups. Conveniently located halfway or so between the Blue Stage and the Red Stage, the stage will be serving up some acts that will probably have as big or bigger crowds as some of the sets you’ll see on the main stages. It’s been home to packed performances from Allston stars like Actor/Observer and Bermuda Dance Party (formerly known as The Q-Tip Bandits) in the past, and this year is another classic repertoire of Boston favorites. 

Each day of the festival, four acts will be taking on the smallest in land space, but one of the loudest stages this now loved weekend. Kicking it off strong, Friday includes longtime punk rockers in Future Teens as well as rapper Latrell James. Both have tunes at over 2 million streams on Spotify and will surely garner some huge crowds.  

With Saturday being headlined by a duo of elder emo favorites in Fall Out Boy and Avril Lavigne, it’s only fitting to have a serious taste of punk greatness; let’s be real with Boston favorites Rebuilder taking on the Orange Stage this Saturday, it couldn’t be a more perfect choice.  A performance that is sure to herald in some memories of the previously mentioned Actor/Observer’s iconic mid-day Saturday performance at the 2023 rendition of the festival. Also, Boston-adjacent (okay, Wareham) Pinklids will be making their Boston Calling debut. The latter act only last month was hand-selected by the one and only Jack White when he did back-to-back sold-out nights at Roadrunner. If there’s any sense of the future that Pinklids has to come, the opener selected for the next night was none other than Portland’s Weakened Friends who most definitely cut their teeth for years in Boston. 

Closing out the festival on Sunday, whose tunes I’ve been checking out as I’ve been writing this, will be a perfectly curated and something to-be-savored lineup as the festival winds down. We recommend listening to Nate Perry & Ragged Company, one of the final acts to take the stage at this year’s festival. As well, Copilot will be the slightly jazzy and shimmery vibes that are clutch on that final day of a long weekend, one that will, of course, be anchored by Vampire Weekend and none other than Dave Matthews Band. 

While we’re still a while out from this year’s incredibly eclectic but delicious lineup, there is plenty of time to dive into some artists you may not be as familiar with before you have to make some very difficult choices this year around. I’ve been steadily rocking acts like Pinklids since the initial lineup was announced. When it comes to Friday, I was raised on country, and if his anthemic “ Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma” is just a small indication of what’s to come with Luke Combs’ Friday night headlining slot, we’re in for a really rowdy night. And when it comes to Saturday, after years of covering the Warped Tour, it’s sweet as sin to see acts like Phoenix’s The Maine have their first Boston Calling experience! 

Tickets can still be bought here for this year’s festival! I’ll continue to post more coverage closer to the show, including when that sure-to-be delectable food lineup gets dropped. For now, all I can say from several experiences, and honestly, always one of my first stops, two words- the pierogies.