If there’s one common critique of Boston Calling Music Festival, it’s that not enough local artists represent on the bi-annual lineups. This spring, organizers are attempting to rectify that with the addition of a new third stage, which will bring in four new homegrown bands and five local comedians. The new blood will join guitar-rock band Palehound and breakout rapper Michael Christmas on the Memorial Day weekend slate, which is headlined by Robyn, Sia, and Disclosure.
The new additions to Boston Calling will perform on a separate third stage located at the Washington Mall side of City Hall Plaza. On the band front, there’s a nice variety of young bands ready for bigger stages: the scuzzy garage-punk of Middleboro’s Black Beach, polished Americana upstarts These Wild Plains, lo-fi guitar-rock trio Lady Pills, and the energetic, stomping folk-rock of Nemes.
In addition to the music, Boston Calling has enlisted Boston comedian Lamont Price to curate a weekend of comic relief, enlisting the ha-ha talents of Ken Reid, Sean Sullivan, Orlando Baxter, and Kelly McFarland.
“It’s no secret that Boston Calling has quickly become one of the premiere live music festivals in all the land,” says Price in a press release. “When the festival called and asked me to help curate a brand new Comedy stage I immediately said, ‘Yes — as long as I get to be Janelle Monae’s hype man and best friend/husband!’”
Price adds that it was “difficult to choose just four comics,” but he “can’t think of four better people to slang jokes with on a Memorial Day Weekend.”
Each comic will perform on both Saturday and Sunday of Boston Calling. Nemes and Lady Pills will perform on Saturday, while These Wild Plains and Black Beach will rock out on Sunday. Check out a preview of each new act below, and peep the full lineup of Boston Calling’s two main stages after the jump.
