Boston-Based Band Ripe To Play 2022 Boston Calling

BOSTON, MA — The Boston-based, seven-piece band Ripe is playing at this year’s Boston Calling Music Festival for the first time ever, bringing their unique pop-funk style to Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston during the Memorial Day event.

The band’s history starts at Berklee College of Music, where they met and formed in 2011. Now, they are returning to the Boston area later this month to play not only at Boston Calling, but also a show at The Sinclair in Cambridge.

"It’s a really crazy thing," said Ripe frontman Robbie Wulfsohn. "We were at the [Boston Calling] Passion Pit headlined. We’re not that big, but to even be able to do what we are doing is really exciting."

"It seems like a love letter to the city and region that gave birth to the band," he continued. "Things are happening that aren't on the bucket list, and we never thought would happen in our wildest dreams."

Festival organizers are just as excited to see the band take the stage for Boston Calling.

"We have been following the band for a while now, and it's exciting to watch their profile continue to get bigger and bigger in Boston and around the country," a Boston Calling spokesperson said. "We can't wait to see them bring their high-energy live show to Boston Calling!"

Since their years as college students in Boston, Ripe has played big festivals including High Sierra and Summer Camp, sold out the House of Blues, released tons of new music, landed a record deal, and survived a global pandemic, during which Wulfsohn says the band went through many intense changes but was able to come out stronger.

“At points it was somewhat grim,” he said. "We have different people on stage and on our team now than we did when going into the pandemic. There was a point when our existence felt like it was walking off a cliff's edge, but we needed that to get where we are now. It was a sharp fall, and it's very exciting to bounce back and bounce past it."

As fans get ready to welcome Ripe to the first Boston Calling since 2019, Wulfsohn said he is ready to make some noise for Metallica, one of the festival’s three headliners along with Nine Inch Nails and The Strokes.

"I am a fanboy, and it's nice to be a fanboy every once in a while," he said.

Ripe’s latest single, “Settling,” came out last month, boasting a pop feel that leaves room for many types of sound. “Settling,” along with the band’s debut album Joy in the Wild Unknown and EPs Produce the Juice, Hey Hello, and Ripe on Audiotree Live, are available to stream on Apple Music, Spotify, Amazon Music, Tidal, and more.

With no sign of slowing down, the band has a summer jam packed with festivals and shows including Mountain Music Festival, WonderRoad, and a concert with Milky Chance.

"It feels like something is happening. No matter how it plays out, we are right in the middle of it," he said.

For more information on Ripe and a full list of tour dates, visit their official website. More photos are available via @poonehghana.