The Boston Calling music festival at Harvard University returned for the first time in three years with a line-up of big names and local favorites, including Wellesley native Cam Meekins. Performers and the audience were ready to rock, groove, or whatever the vibe might be, rain or shine.

The festival, cancelled the past two years due to the pandemic, was still feeling the effects of COVID-19 right into this year’s event. It lost Day 2 headliner The Strokes the day before they were to perform due to a positive COVID-19 test. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard was a late COVID cancelation, too. Nine Inch Nails, the headliner for Day 1, graciously agreed to perform a second night in place of The Strokes, with Metallica wrapping up the event on Sunday, taking on the Celtics-Miami Game 7 NBA conference final. Due to health considerations, the festival did not have its usual indoor respite from the weather in the hockey arena, where in the past comedians and podcasters have entertained.

Boston Calling took an old-school approach with its headliners this time around, which made for a much more diverse clientele age-wise. Past festivals have catered to a younger crowd, and that group wasn’t ignored, as organizers mixed in enough TikTok favorites like Frances Forever, Mob Rich, and Peach Tree Rascals to attract teens and young adults. The mix worked, as we found the crowds spirited, quirky, and pleasant throughout.

Day 1

It felt just plain good to be back on the Boston Calling festival grounds, which kicked off with a performance by Paris Jackson, the daughter of the late Michael Jackson. Navigating the grounds was quite manageable the first two days, as you could mix it up among the throngs if you wished or carve out your own space. Finding space got more challenging with Sunday’s crowded finale.

Thanks to the commuter rail predictably running half an hour late, I got to the event after I had hoped, and caught only the end of the Chelsea Curve‘s set. This mod-pop band sounded grungy and great at the Orange stage, which festival organizers packed into a tennis court to give local acts a chance to mix in with bigger national and international acts.

I’d hoped to catch Born Without Bones later on in the day on that stage, as members hail from the same high school I attended in Milford, Mass., but I got caught up in other action.

The Backseat Lovers, R&B singer Miranda Rae, and the glamorous/glorious Struts all put on solid shows, no doubt winning new fans previously unfamiliar with them. We all wanted Cheap Trick to sound better than they did (audio issues didn’t help and they did entertain with the presence of a 5-neck guitar and inviting fans on stage to sing), while a resurgent Avril Lavigne probably could have headlined given the enthusiastic crowd response—her “Sk8ter Boi” had guys and gals joyfully singing along and dancing. The three sisters who are Haim put on a fantastic show, at one point all drumming their hearts out—they rocked way harder than I would have expected listening to their recordings.

the struts boston calling — The Struts. They do, in fact, strut.

We wound down for the day chillin’ with Rüfüs Du Sol’s electronica dance tunes while gobbling down the first of numerous Tasty Burgers over the weekend.

rufus — Australia’s Rüfüs Du Sol. Photo by NB

Nine Inch Nails, still a force of nature some 40 years into their career, pounded our ears and eyes to end things with their first local show in four years.

NIN boston calling 22 — Nine Inch Nails playing its industrial rock on the first of 2 nights

I kept my eyes peeled for signs of Wellesley fans in the crowd, and while I didn’t see much, I did spy Wellesley Square’s Rice Burg to be among the food vendors doing its part to keep fans fed.

Day 2

This day looked dicey from the start, with my weather app showing a very good chance of rain and lightning pretty much throughout.

I heard 2 catchy songs by local indie pop band Dutch Tulips on the Orange stage, then headed over to see Frances Forever, who turned out to be Frances Never when the crew started covering the instruments and equipment, and we were all told we needed to evacuate the grounds and head into Harvard Stadium or Harvard Square for cover. That lasted a few hours, with patrons allowed back in around 5:30pm.

I’ve spent my fair share of time at the Stadium over the years, hitting football games or running the stairs for training. But hunkering down under its drippy cement was a new experience. People made the best of it. The Dutch Tulips band hung out with the rest of us and posed for photos with fans…who couldn’t resist one of the members’ sparkly gold and silver shoes? Others played the Heads Up cellphone charades game to pass the time. I bonded for a while with a couple of road trippers named Ethan and Elijah who are about to graduate from high school in New York and like myself, were most looking forward to seeing The Strokes. “We’re early in our festival going careers,” Elijah told me. Those young guys have bright futures.

evacuating to the stadium boston calling — Dutch Tulips under cover

rainbow boston calling day 2 — A rainbow welcomed us back to the festival

We returned to a scaled-back schedule, but nicely salvaged the day with stellar shows by the modern rockabilly-country-rock sounds of that masked man, Orville Peck, followed by a blistering mass of psychedelic soul—or however my friend phrased it—from the Black Pumas, who had the crowd dancing in all directions.

orville peck boston calling — Orville Peck

rtj bc22 — I’ve somehow now seen Run the Jewels at least 4 times at music festivals, making me perhaps Wellesley’s unwitting expert on this rapid fire rap duo.

While there wasn’t as much music on Day 2 as expected, there remained good people watching. Mrs. Conehead, and guys in matching outfits were among the eye-catchers.

Day 3

As messy as Day 2’s weather was, Day 3’s couldn’t have been nicer. That made it a perfect day to get to the event early and check out a bunch of bands.

We started with the full set by Chicago’s Horsegirl, making their first visit to Boston. I’m a sucker for their dreamy, shoegazy music and the trio pulled in a big early crowd. Their song “Anti-Glory,” off their debut album being released this week, triggered the first mosh pit I’d seen over the weekend. The pit, a relatively benign one, included the amped-up guy in front of us who was rocking a vintage Madonna shirt and pounding Red Bulls and whatever was in his water bottle.

Horsegirl’s members later partied with the masses by joining the frenzy during Modest Mouse’s spirited set. That featured frequent eruptions of hooting and hollering by the crowd whenever percussionist Ben Massarella pulled out one of his endless instruments to shake, spin, or bang (my favorite was an old 2×4 that he kept hammering). I’ve seen Modest Mouse about a half dozen times, and this was one of their better sets, as they had no time to mess around. Though I was happy they found time to work in lead singer Isaac Brock’s grimy banjo and most of their crowd pleasers.

Modest Mouse at boston calling 2022 — Isaac Brock taking the lead for Modest Mouse at Boston Calling, while Ben Massarella shook some cans

Cults at Boston Calling — Indie band Cults

Cults slowed things down before Modest Mouse hit the stage, and Glass Animals revved things back up when Modest Mouse was done.

I slipped over to take in Cam Meekins’ show. I’d seen Meekins perform previously at Wellesley Town Hall, and if memory serves me correctly, as a king during a Christmas Eve pageant at Village Church back when he was a teen. Meekins wouldn’t have gotten away with most of his lyrics that holy night, but was free to share them with a friends-and-family-plus crowd that sang along at the Orange stage at Boston Calling. Meekins, who has since moved to LA to further his singing/producing/podcasting career, was handed a Jayson Tatum Celtics jersey to don shortly before his performance. I was relieved to see he hadn’t changed basketball allegiances since moving west.

During his set Meekins referred to making the Boston Calling cut as coming full circle from his days playing Boston clubs, and also referenced a life-threatening injury involving a Jet Ski that prompted him to follow his musical dreams. This certainly counted as one of those dreams coming true.

Cam Meekins Boston Calling — Cam Meekins performs in formal Celts attire

Meekins was far from alone in sporting Celtics gear at the festival, and any lull offered the opportunity for “Let’s Go Celtics” chants to break out.

boston calling peach tree rascals — Let’s Go Celtics!

The last song we heard before leaving: Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.” Weezer did the honors.

Like many, we headed for the exits in time to catch the game.

Metallica fans had other plans, and the band delivered according to online accounts.

While some peppered Boston Calling social medial accounts with gripes about line-up changes and long merchandise lines, I found the festival’s return a welcome ramp into summer. Next time around I vow again not to stand and walk so much (I was nearing 20K steps a day), to get a better camera or get better at using it, and to enlist even more friends to join me. But at least I did remember my ear plugs, saw a great variety of performers I wouldn’t have otherwise seen, and kind of got back to normal.