After successfully becoming the first major music festival directly in downtown Boston this past May, Boston Calling returns this weekend. The first festival, which featured acts such as fun., The Shins and Of Monsters and Men, was a smashing success and was incredibly well-reviewed, despite poor weather. Attendance for the spring festival was around 20,000 people each of the two days. Boston Calling's sophomore festival is being held at City Hall Plaza in Boston on Sept. 7 and 8.

According to an interview conducted by JustArts (see page 18), Boston Calling is the creation of co-founders Brian Appel and Mike Snow. Appel and Snow formally arranged concerts while working for the publication The Phoenix and the radio station WFNX, and decided they could handle the organization of a festival.

The pair has also received help from Aaron Dessner, a member of the band The National, which appeared at the first Boston Calling festival. The three have put a lot of time into crafting a mid-sized festival experience that will interact with the Boston community and landscape to create an entertaining escape for music lovers and casual listeners alike.

According to the founders, they are particularly looking to draw on the college students in the area.
While Boston already has a thriving music scene, Boston Calling is the first music festival of its kind in the area; never before has the city had a multi-stage extravaganza featuring such varied acts. This time around, the headliners of the show will be Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit, and additional artists include Kendrick Lamar, The Airborne Toxic Event, Local Natives and Deer Tick, as well as several local acts. In total there will be 18 performances. These acts range in genre from indie to alternative to rap to electronic, virtually guaranteeing there is a band for everyone.

Local acts will play early in the day, so get there when gates open to catch the local scene. The festival is also set up as a charity initiative, with a portion of the proceeds being donated to the Boston Children's Hospital.

Although the festival will remain similar to the spring installment, the organizers have taken significant steps in order to improve the overall listener experience. Two main areas of emphasis while organizing the festival were improving ease of access to food and drinks and improving ease of movement between the two stages of the festival. Expect the event to basically be a big party, open to all ages, but heavily populated by college students from across the area. Food, beverages and merchandise will be available for purchase, and beer and wine will also be available for those 21 and older.

Tickets are currently being sold at $75 for a single-day pass or $130 for both days and can be purchased at Boston Calling's website. The festival will run from noon to around 10:30 p.m. both days, and box offices will open at 11 a.m. for ticketing. Concertgoers have the ability to roam freely in and out of City Hall Plaza, allowing them to experience Boston and the festival at the same time.

From Brandeis, the plaza can be reached by taking the commuter rail from campus to North Station and taking the Green Line to Haymarket Station, which is within walking distance of the festival grounds. For both new students and returning students alike, Boston Calling is a great reason to get off campus and into the city for a fun weekend.
The festival is also a great way to enjoy the Boston music scene as well as see some internationally acclaimed bands at the same time. The event will be rain or shine, so take that into consideration when buying tickets. Concertgoers are also allowed to bring in one factory-sealed bottle of water and food, but no backpacks will be allowed.

Headlining acts Vampire Weekend and Passion Pit will be split between the two days, forcing those wanting to see both to go for the weekend pass. I personally recommend it as you get twice the music and twice the festival experience and both days feature some really great bands that will really shine in the festival atmosphere.
Music will start at 12:50 p.m. both days, so get there early to have the best access to the stage.