A ‘Blank Canvas’ art contest winner.

Boston Calling went for round four this past weekend, September 5 through 7, on City Hall Plaza, and despite one nasty thunderstorm that caused two Saturday night sets to be canceled, the premiere Boston music festival proved its well-tuned finesse in its second year.

This time around, the three-night and two-day festival didn’t sell out until gates had opened on Friday night, but City Hall Plaza was still bustling all weekend with fans of all ages, as the event continued to include everyone on both sides of 21. Like the May festival, there were no restrictive beer gardens for those sipping Sam Adams, but the Boston beer company’s annual Octoberfest, which announced it would merge with the music festival this summer, seemed lost in the action.

Signage that promoted the annual Octoberfest event was really the only true reminder that it was happening at the same time, along with the gray fedoras emblazoned with the brand that were handed out for free and spotted on the heads of those with beers in hand. Turf was laid down for festive lawn games as part of Octoberfest, an appreciated perk which provided the first grassy (if fake) lounge spot for festival goers since the event’s initiation. It also gave Xfinity the perfect place to stream Sunday’s Patriots game to a crowd of football fans. 

The Patriots game playing at Boston Calling on Sunday.

As for the music, Boston Calling maintained the alternating, not overlapping, sets on the Red and Blue stages as it has since the beginning. Standout performances included Boston-born Lake Street Dive, The War on Drugs, up and comers Bleachers, and Saturday night headliners Lorde and Childish Gambino. After the severe thunderstorm ripped through the festival on Saturday, causing a Plaza-wide evacuation to go in place and a stage banner to come down, evening artists Girl Talk and Volcano Choir didn’t get to perform. Still, the show was on again by 9 p.m. for the final two sets, and the Boston Calling social media team handled a tricky situation with expertise.

Lorde at Boston Calling.

On Sunday night, a thick crowd stuck around after a long weekend for the last set, Nas x The Roots, even though it felt that energy had waned for Spoon and The Replacements, which led up to the final act. But, the dual performance didn’t last long: Nas performed first with a DJ before The Roots came out and joined him for about two songs; after that, Nas thanked Boston and left the stage, and by 10 p.m. on Sunday night, The Roots didn’t draw enough interest for everyone to stick it out through the end, and a steady stream left for the exits. Rather than go out with a bang, the festival slightly fizzled.

While the September version of Boston Calling boasted an impressive lineup in the festival’s second year, it’s hard not to feel that the bi-annual pattern of the event isn’t somewhat over-saturation. With four festivals now over, and proof that each one can go off without a hitch despite even the nastiest of weather, Boston Calling may find that one festival per year would add a hint of novelty and keep crowds excited through the end. 

Check out more scenes from September’s Boston Calling below, and we’ll wait and see what next year brings for Boston’s music festival.

All images via Hilary Milnes