After last year’s chaotic Boston Calling music festival, fans have returned hopeful that the new changes — including an indoor arena, more water stations and merged stages — might address past overcrowding and logistical nightmares.
“Instead of a fun experience last year, it felt stressful. Everyone was just running and pushing, trying to get everywhere, instead of standing and enjoying the show,” said Felicia Elias, 25, of Agawam.
Elias stood with her friend Carissa Morin, also 25 and from Agawam, just inside the festival gates Friday as they recalled their experiences as first-time attendees on Sunday in 2024 and their optimism for the announced changes.
“This year, we hope it’ll be different,” Elias said.
Bebe Stockwell kicked off Boston Calling 2025 on Friday, May 23 on the main stage.Boston Calling
On the third day of Boston Calling last year, the festival’s biggest acts were all featured on the adjacent Green and Red Stages.
Chappell Roan’s performance started off the crowd mayhem on the Green Stage at 4:05 p.m. on Sunday, during which the young artist drew one of her largest-ever audiences at the time.
Crowd conditions worsened when Megan Thee Stallion took the Green Stage at 6:25 p.m., and became chaotic when they shifted to Hozier on the Red Stage at 7:35 p.m. — then back to the Green Stage at 9:10 p.m. for The Killers.
“As soon as performances on the Red Stage last year ended, everyone sprinted to the Green Stage … some people were just trying to leave, but everyone else figured they were trying to squeeze into the other stage, so they wouldn’t let the people by,” recalled Emily Azevedo, 22, of Watertown.
Royel Otis performed at Boston Calling Sunday, May 26.Sebastian Restrepo
Azevedo and her brother, Jonathan Azevedo, 28, have attended all three days of Boston Calling for the past three years.
The Azevedo siblings did their best to get help for dehydrated concertgoers as the heat took a serious toll on the crowd the Sunday of last year, with temperatures climbing into the 90s. Overcrowded free water stations at the front of the venue made it hard for attendees to stay hydrated, and the siblings said all they could do was try to flag down security for those struggling in the heat.
But this year, Boston Calling organizers positioned an additional two water stations in the venue. The rows of hands-free stations are now located by the entrance, the Green Stage and the Blue Stage.
Water stations were scattered around the grounds at Boston Calling 2025.Boston Calling
The Green and Red stages were combined into a single Green Stage to host the festival’s top artists, reducing the total number of stages from four to three. They used a “world-class rotating stage system,” a circular platform spun to reveal the next performer after a screen lifts, minimizing delays between sets.
Additionally, an indoor arena — complete with its own performance lineup — was reopened and turned into a lounge for the public to sit and relax inside. Located near the main merchandise tent, the arena offers a bar, about two dozen tables, several chairs and its stadium seating. It was cast in a cool blue lighting.
Tiril Jackson Fills the arena at Harvard Athletic complex with her voice during the 2025 Boston Calling at Harvard Athletic Complex on Friday, May 23, 2025.Sebastian Restrepo
“I like that there‘s an air conditioned arena, I think that was so necessary. Last year, you didn’t get a break from the heat and it might rain this year — and the water stations, that’ll be good,” Elias said.
Public safety expert Bryan Martineau told MassLive in December that multiple water stations and cooldown areas are “very vital” to large-scale venue safety.
With overcast skies, drizzles and temperatures in the 50s, the weather on Friday was nowhere near conditions of last year’s festival weekend. The popular 90s group, TLC, also cancelled its performance at the last minute on the otherwise country music-heavy day.
Still, the indoor arena provided a welcome escape from the rain, and concertgoers were seen refilling their water bottles throughout the day at the new stations. Attendees said the added water stations were a helpful addition and, along with the indoor space, will be important for the rest of the weekend and in the years of future hot May weather.
However, some are skeptical on how the merged stages will work, and are waiting for larger crowds to see if they’re beneficial.
“Tomorrow, I think the Green Stage is going to be packed very early. I imagine it will be harder to get close, or just more pushing and cramming around,” Emily Azevedo said.
“We will have to see how the rotating stage ends up working then … it could be helpful, but it’s probably going to still be so busy,” Azevedo said.
She added that because the popular artists will be on one stage instead of spread across two, attendees won’t have to choose where to go and may decide to camp out in one spot — which is still an issue when it comes to maneuvering through a crowd, the Azevedo siblings said.
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