All the Local Talent Taking the Stage at Boston Calling 2022

If you want a taste of some music from right here in New England, here's who to check out.


Clockwise from top left: Oompa photo provided/Ally Schmaling | Born Without Bones photo provided/Madison Mckenna | Avenue photo provided | Charlotte Sands photo provided

When Boston Calling returns to Allston this year, they’ll be reviving a longstanding tradition: Giving local musicians a very big stage in their hometown.

That’ll be no different this time around, with about 20 performers on the bill with ties to New England. On the main stages, sharing billing with festival headliners Nine Inch Nails, The Strokes, and Metallica, you’ll find the likes of celebrated Boston rappers Oompa and Cliff Notez, alongside rising indie-pop star Frances Forever (a Melrose native) and Connecticut act Goose.

But if you want to check out the rest of the local acts, you can head over to a special new stage added this year, with a lineup dedicated entirely to featuring a dozen local musicians. The Tivoli Audio Orange Stage offers a slew of Massachusetts-based artists including Milford indie outfit Born Without Bones; Van Buren Records, a rap collective formed in Brockton; Boston Music Awards R&B Artist of the Year Miranda Rae; and Connecticut groove band Goose, among others.

As always, the best way to get the true Boston Calling experience is not just to dance along to your faves, but to acquaint yourself with something new—maybe even some bands from your neck of the woods. So here’s a guide to the locals you’ll see this Memorial Day Weekend—. (Scroll to the bottom for the official Boston Calling Spotify playlist):

Born Without Bones

Where they’re from: Milford, MA
What you’ll hear: Indie rock

Avenue

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Rap

Miranda Rae (Cambridge)

Where they’re from: Cambridge
What you’ll hear: R&B singer/songwriter

The Chelsea Curve (Boston)

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Mod pop

Van Buren Records

Where they’re from: Brockton
What you’ll hear: Rap collective

Ali McGuirk

Where they’re from: Cambridge
What you’ll hear: Soul/blues

Coral Moons

Where they’re from: Boston via upstate New York
What you’ll hear: Retro rock/surf-pop

Dutch Tulips

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Fuzzy pop rock

Cam Meekins

Where they’re from: Wellesley
What you’ll hear: Rap

Crooked Coast

Where they’re from: Cape Cod
What you’ll hear: Alt-rock

Aaron and the Lord

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Indie rock/alternative

Paper Tigers

Where they’re from: Allston
What you’ll hear: Indie/alt rock

Goose

Where they’re from: Norwalk, CT
What you’ll hear: Folk/groove

Ripe (Boston)

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Funk/pop

Oompa

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Rap

Cliff Notez

Where they’re from: Boston
What you’ll hear: Rap

Frances Forever

Where they’re from: Melrose
What you’ll hear: Indie-pop

Julie Rhodes

Where they’re from: Somerville
What you’ll hear: Soul/singer-songwriter

Charlotte Sands

Where they’re from: Hopkinton
What you’ll hear: Alt-pop