I’m a big fan of this years Boston Calling lineup and you should be too! Enjoy my take on the 10 must see Musical Artists of the stacked 50+ acts performing at the three day festival.

#10 Shame

The post-punk all boy band hailing from London jam hard and will have your ears ringing by the end of their set. I recently saw Shame at Treasure Island Music Festival for the first time. Punk rock is not something I typically listen to or enjoy at all..but the abundance of energy shared between the lead singer and the lead guitarist greatly propelled their set. I appreciate it when bands make an effort to get the audience involved, are juiced up, and ready to go crazy for there 40 minutes on stage. The guitarist constantly runs across the stage doing leg kicks and all sorts of different tricks whilst rapidly strumming his fender. The lead singer took off his shirt, was held up by the hands of the crowd before eventually stage diving into the crowd.

#9 Lord Huron

The indie folk band has enjoyed great success since their debut album Lonesome Dreams back in 2012 becoming a staple among the alternative music scene. Most recently Lord Huron climbed music charts with “The Night We Met” which is featured in the very popular Netflix Original series 13 Reasons Why. Ben Schneider (Lord Huron) also performed at Treasure Island music festival in the slot right below headliner. He put on a great show! His calming voice goes well with his catchy tunes…you will find yourself swaying from side to side with the rest of the crowd throughout the set.

#8 Anderson .Paak

Anderson .Paak has begun making a name for himself in the hip hop game. Originally rising to fame from his hit song “Suede” as part of the hip hop duo Nxworries (a favorite that my roommate and I used to BLAST frequently), and continuing his success as a solo artist, Paak has enlisted the help of rap icons Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole on two of his heavily played tracks “Tints” and “Trippy”. Paak’s smooth rap style should make for a fun energizing performance. I’m hoping J. Cole or Kendrick will join him on stage for a song, but if not it’s all good. Paak and the band behind him will, for sure, make their presence felt at Boston Calling.

#7 ODESZA

The electronic music duo Odesza is sure to entrance the Boston Calling Crowd! Formed in 2012 and steadily gained a following in the alleged underground electronic music scene before bursting on the scene in 2016 with “Say My Name” granting them there first Grammy Nomination. I have to admit that I haven’t always been a big fan of Odesza. In College a couple of my friends LOVED Odesza and in the beginning I couldn’t quite understand all the hype. They’ll be glad to know that they eventually converted me and I’m fairly excited to see Odesza live. I’m confident the crowd is going to be WILD.

#6 Skegss

Skegss..who the fuck are they? (Probably exactly what you are thinking which is OK). Skegss are a Garage Rock trio from New South Wales Australia. I’m not sure why but about 75% of my favorite musical artists are from Australia. I actually stumbled upon Skegss while watching a Courtney Barnett music video on Youtube. The clearly non professionally filmed music video for one of there well liked songs “Up in the Clouds” is video footage of the three band mates hanging out, partying and adventuring with there friends-which perfectly fits the song. Skegss will be one of the first bands to take the stage at Boston Calling. I’m expecting a very laid back set with some amazing guitar solos. I’m willing to bet throughout the rest of festival I will hear many conversations go something like: “Did you see the Australian surfer dudes..I had no clue who they were but their set was awesome!”

#5 Sheck Wes

I can only think of two logical explanations to not know about Sheck Wes in pop culture today: Explanation #1: You are very familiar with his music but don’t know him by name. Explanation #2: You live under a rock and do not have social media (if that’s the case you will most likely never see this blog post). Sheck Wes is known for his song “Mo Bamba” which went viral in 2018 (currently has 296 Million hits on Spotify). Sheck Wes actually grew up with Mo Bamba and named the song after Mo. For those who are unaware Mo Bamba is a highly touted basketball player- a rookie in the NBA who currently plays center for the Orlando Magic (If you ask me he is having a sub par rookie season but that is a conversation for a different day). The song has exponentially helped Sheck Wes’s career. He is one of most listened to rappers in the industry, which has led to other big hit songs such as “Gmail” and “Live Sheck Wes”- I think his set is gonna be dope! He may be slotted #4 in terms of rappers at Boston Calling this year but with a strong set I’m curious to see if he will out perform his fellow rappers.

#4 Snail Mail

Snail Mail is essentially a one woman show with a band playing behind her. Lindsey Jordan the lead singer/guitar player of indie rock band Snail Mail just turned 19 years old this past summer and she is oozing with talent. I first saw her play two years ago as an opener for Beach Fossils (a band I really liked at the time) and left the venue thinking, “Damn, that girl in the first band was crazy good! Better than Beach Fossils.” I had no idea that she was only 17 and the next day I immediately messaged some fellow concert buddies to check out “Snail Mail” telling them this girl is going places. Since that time Lindsey Jordan and her band Snail Mail have gained thousands of fans and have earned a middle tier slot at Boston Calling. I’m pretty pumped to see Snail Mail perform in front of a large audience compared to the small bars/clubs I’ve seen them at previously. Lindsey is going kill it-making Snail Mail’s indie rock set a Surprise Must See at Boston Calling.

#3 Logic

Logic is one hell of a rapper and has had immense success particularly in the past couple of years. Freshmen year of college one of my roommates asked me if I wanted to go see Hopsin and Logic for $20 -I stupidly declined not recognizing Logic’s talent at the time (Hopsin has also gained recognition but they are no longer in the same ballpark in my opinion). Turning down that invite is one reason I’m stoked to see Logic perform, the other reason being how GREAT of a rapper Logic is today. Recently, I made a strong rap playlist for my Dad who probably enjoys rap and country the least of all music genres. His new favorite song: “1-800-273-8255” by Logic. That song earned triple platinum sales recognition and deservedly so as Logic brought awareness to mental illness & anxiety; a topic that, in my opinion, is not discussed enough in our society. Logic has become a top tier rapper with a multitude of hit songs earning him the #2 Rap slot at Boston Calling this year. He will put forth one of hell of an effort for the Boston Crowd.

#2 Travis Scott

Travis Scott, a great get for Boston Calling! He is arguably the most popular rapper in the game today. The release of his album Astroworld in 2018 garnered him great praise and recognition. “Sicko Mode”, the most popular and catchy track on the album, has 477 million hits on Spotify and is particularly awesome. There are many critics who attribute Travis Scott’s success to the fame of his partner Kylie Jenner. Kylie Jenner dominates social media and may be the most followed celebrity, hell she is about to surpass Mark Zuckerberg as the youngest billionaire in history! Does her huge following help Travis Scott’s career-of course, but he is still producing great music with his signature rap style, earning himself multiple Grammy Nominations. A day before the Boston Calling lineup was announced Travis Scott posted on Instagram that he “jus got paid a mill for a gig” considering he is not performing at Coachella I think it is safe to say Boston Calling is paying him $1 mill to headline. I’m here to say he is well worth the fee! Everyone should be looking forward to seeing his on stage presence and unique swagger. We are all about to be in Sicko Mode.

#1 Tame Impala

Full Disclosure: I am extremely biased when it comes to Tame Impala. They have been my favorite band for over 5 years..but with that being said they have EARNED there headliner spot at Boston Calling (Coachella as well) and Tame Impala is going to ROCK Boston Calling. For those who don’t know, Tame Impala are a Psychedelic Rock band from Perth, Australia. They perform as a band but all songs are written and produced by the lead singer Kevin Parker (he is essentially Tame Impala). Tame Impala began making waves in the music industry back in Australia with there debut album InnerSpeaker in 2010. The success of InnerSpeaker led to the release of another stellar album in 2012: Lonerism. Lonerism put Tame Impala on the map, receiving a Grammy Award Nomination for Best Alternative Album. Thankfully for fans like myself the success of Lonerism led to the production of Currents, Tame Impala’s third album which was released in the Summer of 2015 (also Grammy Nominated). Currents is extremely different than both InnerSpeaker and Lonerism with more Pop music vibes especially heard in two most played tracks “The Less I Know The Better” and “Let It Happen” Currents is damn creative and so awesome that we sit here in 2019, four years after it’s release, with Tame Impala finally gaining enough recognition to headline Boston Calling. (It should be noted that Kevin Parker has recently collaborated with Mark Ronson, Kanye West, Travis Scott, Lady Gaga, A$AP Rocky, and Rihanna covered a song, which may have also been a helping hand in securing this headliner spot.) Although Tame Impala is my favorite band I have only seen them live twice. Ironically, the first time I saw Tame Impala was at Boston Calling in 2015. It was a middle of the day set (they crushed it) played a few new songs (became part of Currents) but the crowd didn’t seem too into it which was a bit disappointing. However, I recently saw Tame Impala this past October headlining Treasure Island Music Festival and there set was mesmerizing. The visuals they use are so epic they make you wish you were taking hardcore drugs to experience them even more so (I do not endorse the usage of any illegal substances..Marijuana is legal in Massachusetts). Obviously, I’m very excited to see Tame Impala again and will hopefully be hearing some new tunes from Mr. Kevin Parker for the first time live. Most of all I am extremely confident they will have an Outstanding Performance at Boston Calling making them the MUST SEE act of the festival!

Honorable Mentions (Just Outside The Top Ten)

Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Chromeo, and Greta Van Fleet; extremely different but will all perform with exceptional energy!

Didn’t Make The Cut! (Criticism is coming at me)

Hozier, Twenty One Pilots, and Guster.

All are talented artists with massive fan followings- no doubt about it. Twenty One Pilots are a headliner! In my opinion, these artists are better heard on the radio, making me not too keen to see them live. Hopefully they make me eat my words, performing well and thus proving me wrong!