When this year’s Boston Calling lineup was revealed back in January, much of the focus was given to both the trio of headliners (Luke Combs, Fall Out Boy, Dave Matthews Band) and deep roster of legacy acts (Sheryl Crow, Public Enemy, TLC, Sublime). But a quick look beyond the poster’s large fonts and familiar names reveals another eclectic collection of sounds from an emerging new wave of artists. And as is often the case with the annual Memorial Day weekend festival, we’ll likely look back on it after this weekend with a fresher perspective — and rebooted playlist — than we had going in.
Last year, midday sets from Maris, Beach Weather, and The Heavy Heavy turned heads and helped decorate the weekend with buzz (alongside the Chappell Roan dance party that we first warned about more than a year prior, of course). This year, a handful of bands and artists have a chance to impress, perhaps for the first time, those rolling up to Harvard Athletic Complex looking for their new favorite artist.
As we’ve stated countless times, Boston Calling has always been a discovery festival at its core, and this year’s lineup provides ample opportunity for a rising act to steal the weekend — and that’s to say nothing, just yet, of the absolutely loaded Orange Stage lineup (Vivid Bloom! Latrell James! Sidebody! Layzi!), which boasts a dozen homegrown acts all worthy of a pit stop as the masses make its way from the Allianz Blue Stage to the new, centralized, platform-rotating Green Stage.
With that in mind, here are five under-the-radar songs — certified bops, if you will — that we’re amped up to hear this weekend in between reveling in all the ’90s jams that helped shape our youth.
(*Disclaimer: We assume these songs will be in the artist’s setlist. Don’t @ us if they aren’t, we don’t control that shit.)
Sofia Isella, ‘Hot Gum’
Perhaps the most intriguing name on the Boston Calling lineup this year is Sofia Isella, the 20-year-old alternative singer, songwriter, producer, and violinist from California. She’s already shared a Wembley Stadium stage with Taylor Swift, so there will be no jitters on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. when she opens the Green Stage. In 2023 she unleashed “Hot Gum,” a sleek and shadowy noir-pop cruiser embedded with Bats For Lashes and Billie Eilish in its DNA; the bass n’ percussion-led bop flew a bit under the radar two years ago, and feels like the type of track that’ll get second life once properly utilized in some must-watch Hulu series. Isella has said she’s a “slut for words,” and when she sings “The flick of flames weaving through my teeth / If the hot gum were to slip out, where would we be?” our only answer, this weekend, at least, will be Boston Calling. When she purrs “Do you feel anything?”, you’ll finally be able to say yes. Clench those teeth and dig in.
Sam Austins, ‘Say what you mean’
The weather forecast for this weekend is a little sketchy, but by the time Sam Austins takes the Allianz Blue Stage on Sunday at 2:15 p.m., the skies should open up, the sun will finally shine down, and the air will be filled with the breezy hypnotism of “Say what you mean.” The buoyant alt-R&B track, which recalls some of Sky Ferreira’s early work, dropped in the fall, but it has summer jam written all over it. The Detroit-born, Los Angeles-based Austins has toyed with genre limitations since his 2021 debut album HOMELESS STAR, and 2023 EP Boy Toy showcased a new artist on the rise and unconcerned with adhering to a specific sound. But “Say what you mean” captures the spirit of now with such eloquent, expansive ease, and it’s the type of track festival-goers will hear from afar, only to be pulled in to Austins’ magnetic charm as it ricochets across invisible borders in the open air.
Mo Lowda & the Humble, ‘The Painter’
From Catbite’s upbeat ska-punk to Korine’s moody goth-pop to Johnny Dynamite and the Bloodsuckers’ glossy ’80s revivalism, Philadelphia’s diverse music scene is having a moment — and it’s often documented in these pink ink digital pages. But Mo Lowda & the Humble are coming into view from an entirely different angle, and bring some Yacht Rock cool to the Green Stage on Sunday at 2:10 p.m. Recent single “The Painter,” off the crew’s forthcoming June album Tailing The Ghost, offers up a casual swagger disguised as a smooth groove, an intrepid mix of ’70s AM gold with the crystalline echo of 2010’s indie, and is the type of track we’ll put on the earbuds as we walk back to the Red Line to get home (and we don’t think it’s about top Phillies pitching prospect Andrew Painter). There’s usually one artist performance that everyone back at the Media Tent keeps talking about through the weekend, and these cats with massive mainstream appeal seem primed to impress everyone who puts in the work to see what’s up.
Megan From Work, ‘Life Into A Movie’
As noted in the intro, the Orange Stage is popping off with must-see locals each day, and perhaps atop the list is Megan From Work. The Manchester indie power-punk project led by Megan Simon first caught our attention in the fall with the dizzying “Girl Suit“, a punchy guitar-pop track so poignant in its brilliance that it instantly made the band maybe our most favorite thing to ever come out of New Hampshire. Recent single “Life Into A Movie” raises the game even higher, giving some Letters To Cleo vibes (high praise) in its ambitious suite of immaculate power-pop. It’s easy to call the new single cinematic given its title, but hey, that’s exactly what it is. But it’s also oddly charming and inviting. There are a handful of acts playing the Orange Stage this year that feel destined for the main stages at big-ticket festivals across the country in years to come, and Megan From Work leads the charge.
I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, ‘Do It All The Time’
One can easily spot those who don’t really pay attention to modern music by their reaction to seeing a name like I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME on this year’s lineup. But the Salt Lake City indie-pop project led by Dallon Weekes, formerly of Panic! At The Disco, is no novelty act in name alone. Slotted to play The Allianz Blue Stage on Sunday at 3:15 p.m., right after Sam Austins above, IDKHow’s 2018 post-disco romp “Do It All The Time” is an instant dance party starter, the type of glistening jam to loosen the mood and cast a spell over the shoulder-sway crowd. Last year’s Gloom Division album had some belters on it (“Gloomtown Brats”, “Infatuation”) but we’re throwing it back pre-pandemic for a desperate call to the good times — and an impromptu dance party on the turf.
Bonus: Snacktime, ‘SPACELUV’
Hey real quick: Fellow Philly risers Snacktime flashed across our radar just recently, and we’re adding them here as a bonus. The American soul, funk, and alternative septet dropped lively banger “SPACELUV” last summer, and holy shit this might be the bop of the festival. Hear it (hopefully!) on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. when they kick off the Green Stage. Come find us up front.