On Sunday, Boston Calling went back to school

Boston Globe

26-05-2025

But if it felt like October during commencement season, several artists took the opportunity to note how their work has been fueled by higher learning. Tom Morello, the politically motivated former Rage Against the Machine bandleader, recalled how he taught himself to play guitar in the stairwell of his Harvard dormitory.
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Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
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Across the grounds, Vampire Weekend brought its bright college rock to the Green Stage. And on the midway, Berklee's curated lineup on the revived Arena Stage inside the Bright-Landry Hockey Center won some new fans for artists such as the powerhouse singer Aniyé, who bills herself as 'Ya Favorite Soul Sister.'
Copilot, an exuberant group of friends who came together from various other college-era musical projects, anchored the day's lineup of local bands on the Orange Stage. Their soulful trio of lead vocalists (Maggie Hall, Ry McDonald, Jake Machell) combined to build an overall vibe like a millennial version of Delaney & Bonnie.
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Before them, Nate Perry & Ragged Company previewed a busy summer with their sure-footed roots rock, while the all-female band Vivid Bloom beguiled with a heavy, effects-laden brand of shoegaze.
Jakob Nowell performs with Sublime.
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'The sun will come out again,' he said.
In fact, the sun did make a fleeting appearance, aptly during a set from the Florida-based beach-party band the 502s. Their relentless zeal, epitomized by their song 'Something's Gonna Go Our Way,' felt like a tipsy detour into Margaritaville.
Griff Washburn of Goth Babe.
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Combined with Goth Babe's upbeat set on the Green Stage — which wrapped with main man Griff Washburn tossing inflatable promo rafts (Pop-Tarts, Cheez-Its) to an enthusiastic fan base — it seemed, for a moment there, as though spring break had broken out.
Morello, accompanied by his current electric band, brought the crowd back to reality with an hour-long set that was calculated to tick off the White House.
'Welcome, brothers and sisters, to the last big event before they throw us all in jail,' he said from beneath the bill of his black Malcolm X hat (those '90s again).
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Beginning with 'Testify,' Rage's wrecking-ball anthems got plenty of air time in the form of multiple instrumental medleys. Morello played a searing slow blues, paid tribute to the late Chris Cornell (his band mate in Audioslave), and covered his friend Bruce Springsteen's 'The Ghost of Tom Joad.' He brandished his guitar like a rifle and brought on Chuck D for a cameo. His drummer paid tribute to Boston, wearing a Modern Lovers T-shirt.
'We learned an old college fight song for the occasion,' Morello said when he was almost done. 'Killing in the Name,' from Rage's 1992 debut, is a song about police brutality with an all-purpose refrain about refusing to obey. The mob bounced up and down, middle fingers raised.
Dave Matthews performs on the Green Stage during Boston Calling on May 25, 2025.
Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
Matthews's headlining set was not without social commentary — 'We should stop calling them leaders and start calling them 'misleaders,'' he said. But his 110 minutes onstage were dominated by his veteran band's proficiency and his own bittersweet lyrical theme, which amounts to 'Let's live life to the fullest, because we're all gonna die.'
'Tripping Billies' and 'What Would You Say' certainly fit the bill. 'Madman's Eyes' made a statement inside the fatefulness: the song is about mass shootings.
Alongside their own material, Matthews and his band offered their time-tested version of Bob Dylan's 'All Along the Watchtower' and a fun showcase for sideman Rashawn Ross on Cameo's party song 'Word Up!'
'Did we have a good time or what?' Ross chanted, deadpan. At least we could say we gave it the old college try.
James Sullivan can be reached at
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