Rat’s amore in Allston, as Rat City Fest 2025 is in the books. The now-annual festival upgraded to two stages for 2025, moving down the street from Zone 3 to the Charles River Speedway, which proved to be a borderline-perfect setting. The festival retained its lighthearted spirit, offering more than two dozen local art vendors and a food truck alongside the music. Rat City’s opening ceremony included a unicycling, sousaphone-playing “Rat Jester” who offered a series of donations to the rat head that sat at the front of the main stage. This played well with the fest’s continued focus on community engagement, housing and, yes, dealing with the pervasive rodent problem for which Allston has been long-dubbed “Rat City.”
On the main stage, festivalgoers (dubbed simply, “rats”) were greeted by Big Brute, whose blend of guitar-focused indie rock really set the stage for nearly all of the bands that would follow. The set was energetic and jovial, pulling cuts from their EP Mullin’ and their split with Dwarf Cannon. Due to the open air nature of the Speedway’s permanent businesses and the free admission, there was a healthy crowd at the start, and long-haulers were treated to a robust opening set.
The biggest outlier on the main stage was nurse joy, whose feral set provided for the night’s only mosh pit, and an earache for the stage’s ASL interpreter. The dance-punk group played cuts from their genuinely outstanding debut and final album can I say something…?, disorienting some of the Speedway visitors who were not there for music. It was the band’s penultimate set, so they went all out in the midday heat. Singer Mae Flux was the only musician to don the rat head centered near the stage, and ended the set by letting moshers play their guitar. Head over to Fuzzstival next month to catch the final nurse joy show – they’ve never been one to miss.
Zion Rodman proved to be a great antidote to nurse joy, following up with an excellent dose of more lowkey, groovy indie. Rodman’s set pulled inspiration from folk-rock and alt-country, though still firmly rooted in alternative. The music paired with the cooling temperature and onset of the evening, keeping the crowd going without overworking anyone. Shallow Pools followed, and although they have not released any new music in a few years, their indie-pop sounded no less fun and urgent. The band dedicated their song “Say What You Want” to the ongoing fight for transgender rights, itself a central and important aspect of the fest. The band’s bouncy and motivated tunes proved extremely successful with the joyous crowd, which by 7pm had grown to capacity.
Tiberius followed swiftly after, who quite possibly had more fun on stage than any other act. The band played some cuts from their upcoming album Troubadour, due out in November, and it’s sure to be a doozy. The band’s eclectic background also made for the most unpredictable set of the day, branching wildly into emo, country or heavier alternative at a moment’s notice. Although the band is well-traveled, having just returned home from a Midwest tour, singer Brendan Wright emphasized that the project is initially from “right down the road, literally, this road” pointing out to Western Avenue. They also dedicated a song to their favorite Dunkin’-7/11 combo which is the one that is, presumably, right down the road.
As the sun fully set and a gorgeous night drew, Beeef took the stage, a band foundational to Allston Pudding itself. The band’s easygoing and melodic indie-rock sounded excellent, including a particularly rousing version of “Hummingbird.” They played cuts from Somebody’s Favorite, one of the best local releases of 2024. The beauty of a festival completely Allston-centric is seeing so many legitimate hometown acts play, and Beeef may be the most “hometown” of them all. They closed their set with the 2017 tune “Dogshit Paradise,” a song that is about, indeed, Allston.
oldsoul closed out the main stage, and although they’ve branched out beyond the local community, they made repeated devotions to early years in Allston. The group is signed to Counter Intuitive, itself Boston-based, and they are prepping a new album of their own. It was a fun and slightly raucous set, the most straightforward ‘rock’ band that graced the stage all day. The band pulled from 90’s downer alternative, and roped in a little classic emo as well. In a day full of guitars, it was their best deployment. The group closed out the fest on a high note, leaving the very full crowd satisfied.
Over in the Artist Alley in the Speedway’s garage, a number of solo acts got a corner to perform while people shopped the vendors. Brat Attack kicked off with a riveting and engaging DJ set that set the off-kilter tone for the whole room. Later in the day, Kold Kwan delivered a thrilling rap set that kept the energy high. The evening saw some more toned-down acts, as Lavagxrl’s unique bass-and-vocals brought a smooth and chill vibe, as did the closer Daphne Blue Underworld, whose dreamy experimental-pop seemed perfect to conclude the night. Right in the middle was friend of the ‘pud Marquis Lavoie, who traded in his normal post-hardcore act Actor|Observer for a tender acoustic performance, anchored by a heart-wrenching cover of Manchester Orchestra’s “The Gold.” While the actual crowds at this stage rarely exceeded a dozen devotees, the Alley was constantly brimming with shoppers who were engaging with the music while walking. Vendors at the Alley were selling unique art items like wooden rat ornaments, bog postcards, and bad poems written on the spot. It was an off-beat set of vendors that fit the festival’s unique personality perfectly.
The main stage was semi-occupied by a probably 25-foot tall inflatable version of Scabby the Rat, who oversaw all of the proceedings. It was things like this that called how well the team behind the festival paid attention to details. The main stage had two ASL interpreters that worked all seven bands, the hardest-working people all day. There were plenty of Rat City volunteers everywhere, possibly even too many, all running around like…what’s the simile to use? The permanent food outlets stayed open, but a food truck ensured that lines were never too long anywhere. From the opening procession to the final oldsoul song, it was a jovial and engaging day of music.
Check out some photos from the festival below!
