The 13th edition of Boston Calling is this weekend and Allston Pudding will have all the artist interviews, pics, live coverage and behind-the-scenes scoop that you need whether you’re dancing alongside us, or enjoying from home. Kicking-off our preview coverage, we interviewed local legends Divine Sweater. A group of friends from the Boston area with deep connections reaching back through the years, Divine Sweater always brings a wholesome charm to every show. We recently had the chance to chat with members Alex Goldberg, Meghan Kelleher and Sean Seaver about their recent single “Deep Side”, playing the festival for the first time and being big yearners…

Allston Pudding: How did Boston Calling come about? What was the booking process like?

Sean Seaver: It was a pretty clear trajectory I would say. We got an opening slot of the Sinclair in 2022 and then we sold out the Sinclair with a headline in 2023 and the offer came right after that. I don’t think it was a coincidence… I feel like most of the local bands [on the lineup], they are not necessarily unknown. They’ve played the Sinclair, or they’ve played the Crystal Ballroom. We’ve done that and the email offer just kind of came about. It was very exciting, but it didn’t feel like something that fell out of the sky, really. It felt like something we had been working toward. Just not necessarily with this goal in mind.

Meghan Kelleher: I feel like they do a good job with including local bands in the lineup. A lot of festivals don’t do that at all. But if you are a band in Boston and you want to play, I feel like they do a good job to make sure that local acts get that chance.

AP: How far in advance was that email offering you a spot?

SS: Must’ve been in October because we were opening for Melt at the Royale and there was some anxiety because we heard the Boston Calling booker might be there but we actually got the offer about a week before that gig.

AP: How are you feeling ahead of the show?

MK: I’m so excited. I’m just ready to go to the festival. Obviously playing is going to be the best part, but I’m so excited to see other bands. Bands from Boston, nationally touring acts; I’ve only actually gone to Boston Calling once before so I’m excited to go back.

Alex Goldberg: I feel like it’s really important for us to stay in the moment. The reality is that we’re going to play the set and then it’s gonna be over like that, but this is a pretty significant opportunity for us. So I think it’s very important to just go up there and soak it in as much as possible. I’m really looking forward to it.

AP: You guys are on Friday too-

SS: Yeah, we’re the first set of the whole thing, on the Red Stage at 1:45pm. Grateful for that, grateful to be on the main stage; no one else is playing during that slot. It’s gonna be a real pinch-yourself moment when we’re up there.

AP: Which other BC act are you excited to see?

MK: Definitely most excited to see The Killers, but also Chappell Roan, I’m going to scream along to every song. Also really love Blondshell a ton and Alvvays. Love them so much.

AG: Gotta shout-out my girl Megan Thee Stallion, extremely excited for that, gonna be an awesome show.

AP: I want to get into your recent TikTok fame. Can you describe the moment the clip of Chris [Southiere] went viral? You guys have been working so hard on your social media game, so what was it like to get a comment from Kevin Bacon? When did you all realize it went viral?

SS: We were recording the single “Deep Side” about two days after it was written. It’s just me and Chris in the room and he’s playing and dancing and we had a bit of a troll bit where people would come up to Chris at shows and say that he looked like Anderson .Paak. So once we were done recording, at the end of the day we just had to post something. So I just threw up that video and over the next two days it was just wild.

@divinesweater He crushed it tho #fyp #indie #indieband #andersonpaak #musician #band #indierock #dancing #recording #song #studio #drums #bass #silksonic ♬ original sound – Divine Sweater

MK: I honestly think maybe Kevin Bacon was just scrolling through TikTok and just thought it was a video of Anderson .Paak and was just like “cool man!” and commented.

AG: I do think it’s a testament to the grind of Divine Sweater’s social media presence. Sean will make thousands of videos every day and it just takes one. He’s a real lunch-pail guy, a hard worker. First one in and out the gym when it comes to TikTok.

AP: The single “Deep Side” deals with that all consuming infatuation we can experience for another person. Having written the song and thus becoming experts on the subject, do you have any advice for someone going through that? 

MK: Oh man, I feel like the song is about being in a very delusional state which everyone has been in whether it’s a crush or just something that you want really bad. But, I think it’s fine to stay in that state for a little bit. Just ride it out. I feel like being a musician is a lot of just being delusional and wanting this thing to happen and convincing yourself that it’s going to. So, I’m all about that.

SS: Great musician tie-in there.

MK: Well, I guess if you have a crush on someone, you should tell them because if you don’t, you’re just gonna be in this wishy-washy place forever and it’s not gonna feel good. But if you do tell them, it could feel good, it could also feel bad, but at least you’ll know.

AG: this one is for all the yearners out there just trying to yearn. If you’re trying to make yearning a part of your lifestyle, this song is for you. If you wanna stay on that yearn-life perpetually, there’s space for that too. #Yearngang!

AP: Was the music video for “Deep Side” conceived just so you could all get back at Alex for his behavior in the “What If They Find Me Out?” video?

MK: Alex is clearly the best actor in our band so we just put him as the main character, but yeah I’m glad that you caught that. Anyone that’s watching our YouTube videos will catch that. But also I feel like there’s some leftover Twilight teen-angst that this came out of, at least for me.

AG: High school theater was a really influential time in my life, you wanna talk about yearning. The amount of yearning going on backstage in a typical high school theater production is off the charts. So it’s really just about tapping into those sources of energy in our own lives & making an authentic performance. We’re all just big yearners.

AP: Who’s your favorite pop culture vampire?

AG: Gary Oldman’s Dracula performance. The most insanely rizzed out vampire you’ve ever seen in your life. He has no reason to be that hot in that performance.

SS: I’d probably go with The Count from Sesame Street.

MK: Oh, I also am obsessed with the movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall and they do a Vampire rock opera at the end and, Twilight vampires have to be #1, but after that it’s the rock opera.

AP: What’s next for you after Boston Calling?

SS: Will start dropping some more singles and in the fall we’ll have a new record. Before then we’ll have a couple more shows in the summer.

MK: I’m psyched for Nice, A Fest this year too. Such a good lineup and really cool to see how it’s grown.

AP: What’s your go-to festival fuel? Small plastic cups of wine? Gold bond?

MK: Mine’s definitely going to be a combination of tallboy seltzers, and a burrito.

SS: I think burritos are included for Artists…

AG: That’s huge.

SS: I’m gonna survive on kombucha in the mornings and then dive right back in.

AG: I drink an alarming amount of coffee every day so that’s my go-to, and sunblock.

Catch Divine Sweater as they open the 13th edition of Boston Calling on Friday, May 24th at 1:45pm on the Red Stage. For more information on Divine Sweater head to their website here, and for more information on Boston Calling, click here!