Boston Calling’s third and final day put an exciting cap on the music festival — complete with memorable fashion, ground-shaking performances and hot performances on an even hotter day.
Temperatures approached the low 80s as hundreds of concertgoers lined up to get into the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston on Sunday, which was the only day of the festival that sold out of General Admission tickets.
Seventeen artists performed throughout the day on each of the festival’s four stages including several local acts such as Stefan Thev, The Thing, Tysk Tysk Task, Billy Dean Thomas, Zola Simone and Fleshwater.
Fans showed up in their best outfits, from black or white cowgirl boots to metal belts and white starred clothes.
There was a sea of pink cowgirl hats and outfits as many festival-goers told MassLive they were inspired by major acts like Chappell Roan and Megan Thee Stallion, who both played the Green Stage.
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Roan’s setlist included hits like “Femininomenon,” “Red Wine Supernova,” and “HOT TO GO,” which she compliments with her signature dance that she routinely teaches the audience. Her crowd was among the most tightly-packed at the festival Sunday.
Meanwhile, Megan Thee Stallion shook up the stage with an non-stop set featuring pyrotechnics and hits like “Body,” “Savage,” and her alleged dis-track “Hiss.” A fan handed the rapper flowers midway through as well.
Hozier took the Red Stage right after Megan Thee Stallion finished her set. The “Too Sweet” singer had several moments when he interacted with fans including warming up their vocals and teasing one man in the crowd with a t-shirt cannon, saying “It’s like this man has torn a limb off Jack the Pumpkin King” and comparing it to “the world’s longest rainstick.” This was just before Hozier went into a short monologue that touched upon topics like LGBTQ+ rights, woman’s suffrage and world conflict.
The Killers closed out the night shortly after that, opening with their 2004 track “All These Things That I’ve Done.” During the band’s set, frontman Brandon Flowers said The Killers have been coming to New England for more than 20 years, and while Flowers said “a lot has changed,” he promised fans looking for a night of rock and roll that they “came to the right place.”
The band put that statement to the test by playing a rendition of “Somebody Told Me” so hard that people could feel the ground shake. The Killers played several more hits before closing out with their most popular song, “Mr. Brightside,” and a massive exodus of concertgoers left the grounds for one last time.
Want to catch up on everything you missed at Boston Calling? You can see more of MassLive’s coverage of the festival here.
