It’s that time of year again. Boston Calling is almost upon us, and we’re here with daily artist-by-artist rundowns to help you determine which sets to stake out, which new acts to catch, and when you’ll be safe to hit up the food trucks without missing a beat.
Gregory Alan Isakov: 6:15, JetBlue Stage
Genre: Indie Folk
Recommended If You Like: Iron & Wine, Alexi Murdoch
The earliest weeknight slot is also probably the festival’s most challenging time to fill, but Gregory Alan Isakov’s delicate, Americana-tinged folk makes a clever match for what’s likely to be one of the weekend’s quieter crowds. Though the tricky timing means his set will probably be a little underappreciated, it also filters out the fair-weather festivalgoers, so you won’t have to fight a rowdy crowd to appreciate his delicate fingerpicking or complex lyrics.
Essential Listen: Big Black Car
Of Monsters and Men: 7:25, JetBlue Stage
Genre: Folk Pop
Recommended If You Like: The Head and the Heart, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros
Boston Calling alums Of Monsters and Men lend a little variety to Friday night’s mix by breaking up the opening and headlining folk sets with a burst of triumphant (and still very folky) pop. If the last you’d heard of the Icelandic quintet was airwave-flooding 2011 single “Little Talks”, their newer material might come as a slight surprise; recent sophomore release “Beneath the Skin” edges away from Mumfordy suspender-folk territory in favor of a more cinematic, electric sound. Armed with enough dramatic landscape imagery to soundtrack Iceland’s next tourism campaign, it’s charmingly fitting—and totally Snapchat-baiting—that OMaM wound up with the evening’s sunset time slot. Considering that their last Boston Calling managed to energize a chilled, waterlogged, and poncho-clad crowd back in 2012, I’m hoping for a proportionate effect with Friday night’s more promising forecast.
Essential Listen: Crystals
The Avett Brothers: 9:10, JetBlue Stage
Genre: Folk Rock
Recommended If You Like: Old Crow Medicine Show, Langhorne Slim
Full-day lineups aside, it would be easy to look at Friday night as a grandiose and bizarrely located Avett Brothers concert. The folk-heavy bill feels strategic: an influx of chill vibes holds up on a post-workday festival evening, whereas a sun-baked afternoon acoustic set might take the energy down a few notches too far. Still, that principle seems like it wouldn’t apply to the Avett Brothers themselves. With a prolific discography and the devoted following to match, these guys are the kind of aggressively likeable festival champs that could pump up the plaza at any hour, under any conditions. Thanks to their feelgood songwriting and catchy melodies, their live performance comes with a built-in singalong expectation. “But I don’t even know the words!”, you might protest, but that won’t be the case for long. They’ll get hopelessly stuck in your head, and you’ll feel better for it. Chances are that you’ll find yourself singing along sooner or later, but even if you don’t, the warm fuzziness of twenty-thousand or so voices chiming in on the choruses will put a grin on your face.
Essential Listen: I And Love And You