Last weekend was a whirlwind of local indie and DIY music in Davis Square as NICE, a fest celebrated its fifth year. Whether there for the whole weekend or simply a day, the weekend was simultaneously packed with activities, but also quite laid back and gentle.
We arrived promptly on Friday for the opening sets of the day: Evan Greer’s humorous folk-punk and trans rights advocacy at Crystal Ballroom, PINKLIDS’ singer Amber Lawson rolling on the floor at the Rockwell, and Autumn Astronauts ripping at new venue the Dragon’s Lair.
The rest of the evening was like a whirlwind, a sobering reminder of what the four-day version was like two years ago: too eager to get a taste of every little thing, it can be tempting to start running back and forth between Davis Square like a pinball bouncing off the bumpers. It was important to stay well fed and hydrated throughout the weekend, so credit to the festival venues and their staffs, as well as the various eateries around Davis like Dragon Pizza, Mike’s, Diesel, Mr. Crepe, Los Amigos, Anna’s, and more for keeping the ovens hot.
Friday was rounded out by sets from Sad13, Landowner, Mal Devisa, Johnny Tex, and a late night DJ set from techno troubadour Biproduct. The biggest highlights after the sun went down were Perennial closing out the Rockwell with the most chaos possible, the entire band at one point entering the pit with instruments in tow (drums included); plus the long-awaited return of 2010’s local legends Krill, who still sounded as tight and fervent as they did a decade ago.
At NICE 2024, I ate an absurd amount of Grillo’s pickles from the bar at Crystal Ballroom (about 56 for the four-day weekend). I slacked this year, only eating 5 on Friday, 9 on Saturday, and a whopping goose egg on Sunday. Maybe I could have used the electrolytes. I did glitz up some glizzies from the bar with a few spears, crafting a poor man’s version of a Chicago dog (picture below, in black and white, a useless color profile for food).
Arriving Saturday, I was looking forward to taking it easy, since my colleague Greg Wong was also going to be there running around taking photos. I planted myself firmly at Crystal Ballroom for about an hour and a half to see all of JVK and Bus Crush. Both these bands played NICE two years ago, and I was electrified to see them on this stage again. JVK’s kick-in-the-gut hard rock, led by vocalist Jo Krieger, is mesmerizing for fans of all ages. Bus Crush returned to the NICE stage after playing their first ever show at the festival two years ago. What a difference two years makes, huh? Led by Olivia Sisay and Ben Walker, the group went from breakout stars of 2024 to packing the Crystal Ballroom with an audience that knew every lyric.
After that, Jelani Sei held down Crystal Ballroom while Kind Being shed some light in the dark basement of the Rockwell. I was gearing up for Dot Dev’s 7:30 performance at the Rockwell. Since changing their moniker from Pink Navel last summer, Dev has grafted their glitchy indie hip-hop with emo-influenced rock. This set was the debut of their new band Birdbath. For one brief second, they reminded me of Hobo Johnson, until Dev’s deft and dense lyricism made that comparison totally moot.
After dinner, it was time to see Mallcops, who were using the festival as the release show for their new EP 35mm Memories. The title track, in addition to new songs like “Make You Smile” and “Peach Tree” sounded tight and sharp, and reinforced the notion that Mallcops are Boston’s power-pop kings. During their set two years ago, my camera broke. Thankfully, this year, it escaped unscathed. After that, I stopped by Malik Elijah at the Rockwell for my daily dose of the rap music, and camped out until Gym Shorts closed the evening with maximum energy. At NICE, for every band that gets to close out the larger stage at Crystal Ballroom, there’s also a band tearing shit up in a biblical way at the Rockwell. Tonight’s late night DJ set was Allston Pudding’s own Dillon Riley aka DJ Wholesale Club. I had to support my boy.
Remember how I said earlier that my camera didn’t break during Mallcops’ set this year? Well, then came Sunday. I arrived in time to catch Skylar Symone’s Crystal Ballroom set, got some quick pics, and filled up my SD card. After popping it out of my camera, I was unable to get a new one to stay in. After a two hour detour back home to Brighton, I had a solution, and it was all fine. But I do seem to have a bit of personal bad luck as far as NICE and cameras are concerned.
I made it back to Davis having missed Justin Schaefers at Crystal Ballroom, but managed to get some portraits of him and his band (which is Doss). After that, I zipped over to Dragon’s Lair to get some shots of Monaveli, one of the artists I was most excited to see. She’s an electrifying rapper and singer who is meant for larger stages. Definitely one to watch in the near the future. Mercet and DJ Wholesale Club were spinning tunes in the plaza, so I went to hang with the boys for a bit.
I felt I had neglected Dragon’s Lair on Saturday, so I camped there Sunday, popping into the Rockwell every now and then as well. Jermaine Kelly, Buddy Summer, and Keyfound all did themselves proud at the smaller of the venues. At 9PM, I headed to Crystal Ballroom to see Twen, though I didn’t know what to expect as I was unfamiliar with their music. I very quickly became a fan due to singer Jane Fitzsimmons’ energetic performance and the crowd’s rampant enthusiasm.
Dimitri Onixx closed the weekend at the Rockwell, adding a heavy dose of bass-laden hip-hop. While his set didn’t pull in a lot of attendees (their loss), he used the extra space to charge around the pit, jump off boxes, and even dry hump the stage for a bit.
NICE 2026 was worth the two year wait. The environment that the festival has established is one where you can walk down the street on your way to see your friend’s band and run into five other friends who are playing or attending. It’s a special feeling, a communal feeling, that can only be built, not manufactured. See you next year, fingers crossed.
Check out all of our photos from NICE, a fest in the gallery below.
