MA Musicians Rocked Boston's Biggest Music Festival

BOSTON — Over Memorial Day weekend, Boston Calling 2022 was loaded with huge national acts like Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Avril Lavigne, Glass Animals and more.

Those sets were all huge hits for their fans, but Massachusetts acts both big and small got a chance to perform for thousands of people and represent the Bay State in their own unique way.

During the weekend, a dozen Massachusetts bands and solo artists took the stages at the Harvard Athletic Complex for the state's biggest music festival. Most of them played the Tivoli Audio Orange Stage, which Boston Calling organizers created to showcase New England acts, but other musicians with ties to Massachusetts showed the importance of Boston as a music city, by getting a chance to play bigger stages.

Over the course of the festival, Patch spent some time checking out as many local acts as we could. Here were some of our favorites:

Ripe

Ripe was arguably the biggest Massachusetts band playing Boston Calling this year, and after seeing the funk-poppers go through an hour of danceable tunes, it's easy to see why.

The Boston-based band Ripe rocked the Blue Stage Sunday evening, sporting "Berklee College of Music" t-shirts in support of their alma mater, and as a way to show pride for the city where it all started.

"It seems like a love letter to the city and region that gave birth to the band," Ripe vocalist Robbie Wulfsohn told Patch in an interview before the festival. "Things are happening that aren't on the bucket list, and we never thought would happen in our wildest dreams."

And that love letter began with the first song of Ripe's set, "Goon Squad," a song the band wrote while in school and recorded live at Berklee College of Music's Studio 1.

It wasn't just Ripe classics that got the crowd going, though. New songs like "Settling" and even a unique spin on Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion" kept people dancing and singing along.

Born Without Bones

This Milford-based emo rock trio has been around for over a decade, so it was cool to see this band get a lot of local love at the festival. The band originally formed in 2010 as a solo gig for frontman Scott Ayotte, but really became what it is today after adding guitarist Jonathan Brucato and bassist Jim Creighton, formerly of Boston hardcore legends Therefore I Am.

This set list was loud and energetic, especially considering the band is just a three-piece. But with that energy, Born Without Bones soaring choruses from their whole catalog from "Say Hello" to "Baby" and newer songs.

Van Buren Records

This Brockton-based rap collective is a must-see for all hip hop fans.

The way 11 members slide between roles like rapping, music production, crowd-hyping and more on one stage is somehow seamless, yet chaotic at the same time. Their music even, live also served as good story-telling for what growing up in Brockton is like.

Paper Tigers

Paper Tigers had one of the more passionate crowds I saw at the local stage, and with how much energy these indie rockers had, it makes all the sense in the world.

There were people of all ages in their crowd, from children to a woman in her 60s. It was cool to see so many people come together and rock out to songs like "Ursa Minor," "Goldmine," and newer tracks like "A Portrait of a Scene."

Avenue

Avenue, like Van Buren Records, showed why people should pay attention to the hip hop scene in Massachusetts. The Roxbury-based rapper uses his music to give a unique perspective on what it's like growing up in Boston's Back Bay area, where wealth and poverty often are just blocks away. His set mixed high energy with thoughtful lyrics.

Read more:

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• NIN, KennyHoopla, EARTHGANG, Weather Storm During Boston Calling Day 2
• That's A Wrap! Metallica, Glass Animals, Ripe Conclude Boston Calling
• Boston Calling To Feature Its Largest Lineup Of Local Artists Yet
• The Strokes Drop Out Of Boston Calling Due To COVID-19 Case
• Boston Calling Evacuated Due To Severe Weather
• Boston Calling Milford Band To 2022 Festival
• Boston-Based Band Ripe To Play 2022 Boston Calling.