Brooklyn band fulfilling childhood dreams with first-ever Boston Calling set

Ed Sheeran, Tyler Childers and The Killers will headline Boston Calling this year, but they are not the only notable acts taking the stage at the three-day festival.

The headliners will be joined by more than 50 artists, including more than 20 acts from the Northeast.

To highlight these local artists, MassLive will publish profiles on the acts leading up to the festival’s May 24 start date.

The Thing

Since they were childhood friends, members of The Thing have dreamt about being in a band.

The Brooklyn-based group is made up of Zane Acord, Jack Bradley, Michael Carter and Lucas Ebeling. Everyone in the band started playing music at a young age, had parents who were musicians and played in bands during their youth.

Acord, Bradley and Carter all met in middle school and high school, and “always shared a dream of starting a band,” the group told MassLive. The trio moved to Brooklyn and formed The Thing in 2022. The band then “stole” Ebeling from the New York jazz scene to go on tour and the rest is history.

“Committed to doing everything they can in-house, the band records at their East Williamsburg studio Onion Records, creates their own visuals, and has crafted a visual identity that marries the grit of the ‘90s with the effortless temptation of the ‘70s,” a press release about The Thing reads.

The band’s sophomore album “The Thing Is” was released earlier this year. Before recording “The Thing Is,” the band members quit their jobs and gave up their stable homes to commit themselves to being out on the road.

Now, The Thing is embarking on their biggest headline tour thus far, which includes the band’s first-ever Boston Calling performance on Sunday, May 26 on the Blue Stage.

“We’re humbled to share the stage with so many great acts,” the band said. “We usually play in smaller energetic rock clubs and we’re excited to bring that to the bigger stage.”

Bradley also went to school in Boston, so the musician is extra excited to play at a festival he heard so much about for so long. But that’s not the only tie the band has to Boston.

The group attended Boston Calling last year and said their favorite memory was watching the Dropkick Murphys. This year The Thing is excited to watch The Heavy Heavy, which they called “one of the best live acts and great people.”

You can learn more about The Thing by visiting the band’s website.

Boston Calling will take place Memorial Day Weekend from Friday, May 24, until Sunday, May 26, at the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston.

Fans looking to purchase tickets for Boston Calling can visit StubHub and VividSeats. More information about this year’s lineup and how to purchase tickets can be found here.