The Replacements, Lorde, and the National headline Boston Calling's fall music festival

Photo by James Joiner

Last year Boston Calling announced its fall festival just before the conclusion of its spring event, literally. A video flashed on the City Hall Plaza screens as the National were set to close out the inaugural fest, and it was a statement that Boston Calling would be no mere one-off. Now, in its second year, we’re getting word of the late-summer event a bit in advance of its spring slate.

Boston Calling will return to Government Center September 5 through 7 with another three-day tilt, and once again headlined by the National, which features co-curator Aaron Dessner. Joining the Brooklyn indie rock luminaries will be pop queen Lorde, reunited college rock heroes the Replacements, hip-hop stars Nas and the Roots, and modern folk legend Neutral Milk Hotel.

Boston is represented this time around by pop upstarts Gentlemen Hall, crunchy electro-pop lads CliffLight, and NPR darlings Lake Street Dive, who are currently based in New York after forming here in town.

Childish Gambino, Sky Ferreira, and Girl Talk hold down the electronic side of things, while the Hold Steady, Spoon, the War on Drugs, the 1975, White Denim, and twenty one pilots hold down the rock tent. David Letterman’s BFFs Future Islands will also be in hand, as will the atmospheric stylings of Volcano Choir and S.Carey.

Of course, the spring Boston Calling doesn’t happen until next month (May 23, 24, 25); it features Death Cab For Cutie, Brand New, Bastille, and others.

Early-bird tickets will go on sale Thursday via Ticketmaster and bostoncalling.com. For a primer on the fall fest, check out some tunes below. Bands listed in the order they appear on the poster (which you can peep at the end of this post).
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Here’s a handy Spotify playlist for those who stream that way…

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