When there are nearly 50 bands and artists playing a music festival across a summer weekend, it helps to know who is playing when. So NICE, a fest has this week unveiled set times for all three days to help with the planning — and the info is available down below is sweet flyer form.
NICE kicks off three weeks from today, with 49 acts spread out from July 28 to 30 Somerville’s Crystal Ballroom and The Rockwell, located a short walk from each other in Davis Square. Planning. for the opening night Thursday edition is easy, and three bands — Infinity Ring, Seed, Leopard Print Taser, and CERCE — help kick things off at Crystal Ballroom. But come Friday and Saturday, a bit of planning is necessary, so this early heads up provide a bit of a roadmap across the two venues.
This year’s lineup features Speedy Ortiz, Future Teens, Weakened Friends, Colleen Green, House of Harm, Zola Simone, Born Without Bones, Lady Pills, Raavi, Kal Marks (pictured), Hallelujah The Hills, Bat House, Mallcops, Maneka, shallow pools, Evolfo, Kitner, Old Soul, TWEN, Layzi, and plenty more. There’s also midnight screenings of both Wayne’s World movies in the Somerville Theatre after the Friday and Saturday night headliners have finished.
Vanyaland is on board as the festival’s official media partner. Get all the ticket info here.
“NICE, a fest 2022 is going to be the NICEst local fest you’ve ever been to!” proclaimed organizer and Get To The Gig’s Alex Pickert back in April, when NICE, a fest was first unveiled. “Last year’s fest was sure NICE but this year is triple the NICE… literally. For this year’s NICE, a fest lineup, I focused on getting as many local Boston area bands as possible, as well as bands who started as Boston locals who haven’t played the area in quite some time.”
That includes Speedy Ortiz, who are now in Philadelphia; CERCE, who are spread all over the country; the NYC-based Bat House; Portland, Maine’s Weakened Friends, and TWEN, the Nashville duo who came up in the Boston DIY punk scene. Pickert says he had trouble limiting the artist and band participation this year, so he just expanded NICE as much as he could to organize a stylistically diverse lineup.
“Admittedly, I went a little nuts and booked a few more bands than I started out to book but figured, hey, this will just be EXTRA NICE this year,” he adds. “I really wanted it to be all over the place genre-wise with emphasis on indie rock but you’ll see some hip-hop, hardcore, pop, and post-punk bands on this lineup as well. I’m really excited to see how it all goes, this is the first year I’ve worked with sponsors on a festival and I’m really excited. “
Other sponsors on board for NICE this year include Musicspace, Grillo’s Pickles, Topo Chico, Wanna Hear It Records, Cambria Hotel Somerville, Red Bull, Bully Boy Distillers, and Foundry on Elm, Pickerts’ “favorite restaurant in Davis Square.” Independent online radio station UncertainFM will be broadcasting live.
It all adds up to a bold and ambitious mid-summer weekend, but Pickert is confident in the lineup, and the fest in general.
“After 10 years of booking shows in Boston from basement shows to venues, NICE, a fest 2022 is the largest endeavor I’ve ever set out on so I can’t wait to see it come to fruition,” he admits. “I am so happy with the lineup and all the amazing acts we have on it this year and I can’t wait to bounce back and forth from both venues all weekend. This is gonna be certified NICE™.”
Check out the complete lineup, now with set times, below. And start planning the weekend.
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