By Leading up to , which took over the Harvard Athletic Complex Memorial Day weekend, I was nagged by a persistent question: Who, exactly, is Boston Calling for in 2024? The answer has undoubtedly evolved since the festival first dazzled audiences on a cold, rainy weekend at City Hall Plaza 11 years ago. That first edition, headlined by festival curator Aaron Dessner’s band The National, featured almost 100 percent bands that fell somewhere on the indie rock spectrum — a reflection of festival co-founders Brian Appel and Mike Snow’s origins at independent radio station WFNX and defunct alt-weekly the Boston Phoenix . But times and tastes change, and Boston Calling has changed along with them.
What was once indie becomes mainstream, what was mainstream becomes retro, and what didn’t exist until six months ago is the hottest thing on the planet. Dessner, a force in the indie rock world, has worked extensively as a producer for Taylor Swift, the most popular pop star of this generation — and quite possibly any generation, if she keeps breaking records. And since moving to Harvard Athletic Complex in 2017, Boston Calling has grown in capacity and ambition, landing stadium-level talents like Metallica in 2022 and Swift collaborator Ed Sheeran this year.
Change can be a good thing. Stars revered by Gen Z and Gen Alpha like Reneé Rapp and Chappell Roan were some of the highlights of Boston Calling 2024, and Megan Thee Stallion delivered arguably the most high-powered rap.