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Music
Believe it or not, Memorial Day weekend is already upon us, which means the 2024 Boston Calling Music Festival will soon bring more than 50 artists to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston this Friday through Sunday.
A fixture in the Boston cultural scene since its debut in 2013, Boston Calling has consistently attracted top-level talent to its festival. The 2024 Boston Calling lineup is no different, with English singer-songwriter Ed Sheeran, folk-country artist Tyler Childers, and arena rock stars The Killers headlining Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, respectively.
To help you get the most out of your Boston Calling 2024 experience, we’ve put together a guide to what you should know before attending the festival this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Below, you’ll find more info on some of the best artists to see, the best food at Boston Calling, rules on what not to bring to the festival, transportation logistics, and more.
The festival grounds open to audiences at 1 p.m. on Friday, with Divine Sweater kicking off the music at 1:45 on the Red Stage.
Before Ed Sheeran closes the night out from the Green Stage at 8:40 p.m., other top artists in Friday’s lineup include Young the Giant (7:40 p.m., Blue Stage), Leon Bridges (7:05 p.m. Red Stage), and “I Hate Boston” singer Reneé Rapp (5:55 p.m., Green Stage).
The festival grounds once again open at 1 p.m., 45 minutes before Senseless Optimism gets the music started on the Red Stage.
Tyler Childers closes out the day from the Green Stage at 9 p.m., with other notable performances including Jessie Murph (7:35 p.m., Blue Stage), Trey Anastasio & Classic Tab (7:15 p.m., Red Stage), and Khruangbin (6:05 p.m., Green Stage).

The festival grounds open for a final time at 1 p.m. on Sunday, with Stefan Thev first on the bill at 1:40 p.m. on the Red Stage.
The Killers will close out the festival from the Green Stage at 9:10 p.m., with festival grounds closing at 11 p.m.
Sunday is the only day that has sold out of both GA and Platinum tickets, an indicator of the strong lineup on hand for the final day. Top artists performing on Sunday include Hozier (7:35 p.m., Red Stage), Megan Thee Stallion (6:25 p.m., Green Stage), Chappell Roan (4:05 p.m., Green Stage) and Alvvays (7:50 p.m., Blue Stage).

Boston Calling has always featured local artists as part of its festival lineup. In fact, R&B/soul group Bad Rabbits were the very first act to take the stage at the first Boston Calling back in 2013.
But in recent years, the festival has pushed to make local artists a larger part of the lineup, with 21 of the 51 acts in this year’s lineup boasting local ties.
Boston Calling co-founder Brian Appel noted the shift during the announcement of the 2022 festival lineup, saying that after everything “Boston musicians endured during the pandemic,” the festival would “shine a spotlight on local and regional artists more than ever before.”
On Friday, swing by the Blue Stage at 2:15 to catch Berklee College of Music student Kieran Rhodes. Rhodes appeared on the seventeenth season of America’s Got Talent in 2022, and was one of the artists at Connecticut’s Sound on Sound Music Festival alongside the Red Hot Chili Peppers and John Mayer.
On Saturday, Bad Rabbits will be on the Red Stage at 3 p.m. Founded in Boston in 2007, the group performs an eclectic blend of neo-soul, funk rock, post-hardcore, and about 15 other genres, none of which can fully encapsulate the band’s sound.
As for Sunday, try to show up early for The Thing, who will bring an old-school rock sensibility to the Blue Stage at 2:10 p.m.
To see a full list of hometown performers, check out our Boston Calling 2024 local music guide, which features info on all 21 local artists playing this weekend.
Boston Calling is making sure that concertgoers will be well-fed for the performances.
For veterans of the festival, many of the restaurants will be familiar. The Smoke Shop BBQ, which has experimented with its portable, festival-friendly take on barbecue since 2017, is bringing back its Ultimate BBQ Cone, stuffed with burnt ends, pimento mac ‘n cheese, pit beans, coleslaw, and pickled jalapeños. You won’t find the BBQ cone on the regular menu at any of Andy Husbands’ restaurants, so if you’re a fan of novelty, this is one to try.
For those seeking something new, Boston Calling first-timers include The MacBar (offering mac ‘n cheese), Ricen (thai food), and the popular local seafood chain Shaking Crab.
You’ll find something for pretty much any taste, whether it’s gyros from Greco, grilled cheese from Roxy’s, or wood-fired Neapolitan pies from PieSons Pizza.
The beer will come courtesy Miller, Heineken, and Sam Adams, while Truly, White Claw, and Twisted Tea will handle the canned cocktails. Josh Cellars will be uncorking the wine, and there will also be drink choices from Jack Daniel’s.
To see a full list of participating vendors and some of the options available to VIP and Platinum ticket-holders, check out our full Boston Calling 2024 food and drink guide.
The long and short of how you should travel to and from Boston Calling can be summed up in two words: public transportation.
The easiest way to get to the festival is to take the MBTA Red Line to Harvard Station. From there, it’s a straight shot to the festival: Take John F. Kennedy Street, cross the Anderson Memorial Bridge, and you’ll see the festival entrance on the right side of the street. In total, the walk takes ten minutes.
If you’re not near the Red Line, you can also take the Commuter Rail to the Boston Landing station, which is 1.1 miles from the festival. The 66 and 86 bus routes also stop at Harvard Stadium. For transportation directions from your specific location, use the MBTA Trip Planner.
There is no parking at the festival, and no street parking in nearby neighborhoods. Boston police will be ticketing and towing any vehicles illegally parked near the festival.
If you want to use a ride-share service like Uber or Lyft, organizers recommend setting the destination as Harvard Stadium. At the end of the night, there will be signage directing concertgoers to dedicated rideshare spots.
You should note that Boston and Cambridge PD will close JFK and North Harvard St. to traffic from 9 p.m. to midnight each night to ensure pedestrian safety, so public transportation really is the best option.
Boston Calling is a large music festival, so you’re inevitably going to run into crowds at some point during the day. But as someone who has attended every single edition, I’ve learned a few helpful tips along the way.
1. Pre-register your wristband
In an effort to speed up lines for concessions and merch, Boston Calling 2024 is an entirely cashless festival.
Festivalgoers can register their wristband either before or during the festival to connect it to a credit or debit card through the Boston Calling website. Vendors will also accept credit cards.
2. Buy artist merch early
The biggest lines at previous editions of Boston Calling have been for the official artist and festival merchandise, which can be purchased just inside the entrance.
Boston Calling 2024 has added a second merch kiosk to help minimize the issue, but if you’re set on getting a Reneé Rapp tank or a Killers tee, you might want to consider setting aside the first 30 minutes of your time at the festival to make your purchase.
3. Learn the festival map, and take the road less traveled
Another way to avoid any bottlenecks is to familiarize yourself with the festival map (see below) before heading to Allston on Friday.
The layout remains basically the same from previous festivals, with a few small tweaks. You enter from the corner of Soldiers Field Rd. and N. Harvard St., then proceed to the entrance.
If you’re headed to the Red or Green stages, proceed straight, where you will pass a number of food options and brand activations. If you want the Blue or Orange stages, make a left toward the merch stations.
There is always less traffic on the path from the Blue Stage to the Red Stage (located on the far left of the map below). It’s not only a more direct path, you’ll also pass local artists on the Orange Stage you may not have known about.
Before getting into the banned items, here are a few things you can bring to the Boston Calling 2024:
— Small clutch purses and fanny packs that are 6″ x 9″ or smaller with no more than one pocket
— Hydration packs and reusable water bottles that are empty
— Cameras without detachable lenses or other accessories like tripods
— Sunscreen in non-aerosol cans, provided they are 3.4 ounces or less
Now for the list of stuff you can’t bring:
— Aerosol containers, glass containers, coolers, hammocks, chairs, blankets, towels, inflatables, umbrellas, strollers, carts, frisbees, binoculars, professional recording equipment, drones, selfie sticks, fireworks, illegal substances, and weapons.
Additionally, Boston Calling remains a smoke-free festival. The festival’s rules no longer explicitly ban items like cigarettes or vapes by name, but its guidelines say that “medicines needing to be inhaled or smoked” can only be done via “a prescribed inhaler,” which effectively means the same thing.
You can still purchase tickets of almost every type on the Boston Calling website. The only day with limited availability is Sunday, which has sold out of GA and Platinum tickets.
Single-day tickets cost $196 for GA, $320 for GA+, $499 for VIP, and $1399 for Platinum. All of the listed prices already include fees, so you won’t have the usual unpleasant surprise of prices jumping when you get ready to pay.
Three-day tickets, meanwhile, cost $392 for GA, $639 for GA+, $1199 for VIP, and $2899 for Platinum.
There are also a number of tickets available below those price points on secondary ticket resale websites like StubHub. Though StubHub offers a money-back guarantee for fraudulent tickets, Boston Calling says that it cannot guarantee the authenticity of any tickets not purchased directly through its website.
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Real Estate
He set out to own Manhattan.
Now he’s coming for Massachusetts.
Celebrity real estate broker/diehard Patriots fan Ryan Serhant is bringing it all back home.
SERHANT., (styled with a period), his real estate brokerage featured on Netflix’s “Owning Manhattan” is expanding to Massachusetts, with a Boston office and “more than 15 agents,” per his Jan. 14. announcement.
“It’s exciting for me to get back to my roots,” the “Million Dollar Listing” star — whose firm deals in million-dollar listings — said.
“Boston is the biggest little city in the world. It’s built on culture, built on the ethos of the original founders of the United States — this get-up-and-go attitude. That’s what I love so much about Boston. It’s in everybody’s blood to get up and go and make things happen.”
A noted workaholic with a get-up-and-go-attitude himself, Serhant spoke of his Boston launch from the back of his car in New York City — presumably with Yuriy the driver, who has his own fandom.
For the initiated, if there’s such a thing as a real estate celebrity, it’s Serhant.
He’s a house-blend of Wall Street and Broadway. A savvy businessman, with the big personality of TV show host — magnetic Andy Cohen it-factor with Bostonian dry humor and an “I can sell ice to a snowman” sales attitude that revs up employees.
Watching “Owning Manhattan,” they look like they’d follow their silver-haired leader into battle if he raised his heavily-braceleted wrist. The knight’s steed? Social media. He’s harnessed the power of Instagram — with some 3 million followers— and social platforms. He also studied theater.
Two years after earning his broker license, he landed on Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing,” then got his own Bravo spinoff shows.
In 2020, the author of three books founded SERHANT. He sells New York City apartments that look straight out of “Succession.” He repped Andy Cohen in the sale of his New York apartment, and Dave Portnoy’s Florida home.
Now that he’s “planted his flag” in Rhode Island andConnecticut, he’s expanding his empire back into what he considers his home state. “All my childhood memories” are here, he said. “My first date was at the Topsfield Fair.”
“When you walk to my office in New York City, the first thing you see is a Tom Brady autographed helmet. I have a football from the Falcons/Patriots Super Bowl signed, I have a lot of Patriots gear and jerseys,” he continued.
He took some time to chat about what the Boston office has in store:
You’re opening an office in Boston, but you’ll sell properties all over Massachusetts?
This is our 15th state. We’re starting in Boston with an office in Back Bay. We’re bringing our platform, our AI technology, ourapp, our brands, our production studio, our creative agency … It’s a big moment for us.
We’ll be selling all over Massachusetts. We have a lot of incredible listings that will come to market over the next couple days. They probably won’t be on the website site by Wednesday— the way licensure works, it takes a second. But I love Beacon Hill, the Seaport, South End, and all the neighboring suburbs, North Shore, South Shore. My little brother’s in Walpole. So I’m looking forward to painting Massachusetts SERHANT. blue.
You’re already in Connecticut and Rhode Island. Are you going to expand into other New England states?
They’re on the roadmap, yes.
We have some beautiful properties. We’re growing very fast in Rhode Island. A lot of those agents also have clients in Massachusetts, so Massachusetts makes a lot of sense for us.
Season 2 of “Owning Manhattan” just released on Netflix last month. Any chance we might be in Season three?
“Owning Boston”? Maybe. Depends on the properties. Every season so far, we’ve shown off a little bit outside of New York City. The show is predominantly based in Manhattan, obviously. But, last season we launched some beautiful properties in Miami, and the show came with us to South Florida. So we’ll have to see.
You said your parents moved, but you still have family here. Tell me a bit about your local roots.
I was born in Houston, we moved around a bit, then settled in Topsfield. I went to Proctor Elementary School in Topsfield, then Masconomet Regional for junior high and Pingree [in South Hamilton] for high school. I went to Hamilton College, a liberal arts school in upstate New York.
My dad worked at State Street. My [brothers work in finance]. I was the odd one out who got into real estate by way of theater.
So you learned to drive on Rt. 128?
Hilarious. My first real frustration [with driving] was the Big Dig. Remember the Big Dig?
Oh my gosh. That thing was endless, forever and ever. I mean, learning to drive on those roads is a thing. You go out to the Midwest where a lot of roads are straight, and you’re like, “These people have it way too easy. These roads were not carved by horses in any way, shape or form.”
And how did you get into real estate?
Real estate was never part of the plan. I went to school for theater and for English literature. When I graduated in 2006, my grandfather died and left $20,000 to each [grandkid.] That was the most money I’d ever seen. I was like, “I’m going to go to New York City, do Broadway — that money will last me 10 years.” It did not last me 10 years. It lasted me a lot less.
So I needed a job or I had to move home, which I didn’t want to do. And a friend of mine said “Sales is very similar to the skills you learn in theater. It’s listening to reply, listening to response, memorizing information, being a real human in front of people. Just get your real estate license.” So I did that in 2008.
What do you love about it?
I love that it’s a limitless career. The harder you work, the luckier you get. I love that every day is different. I love that you can be an inventor, a builder, a branded marketer, a negotiator, a therapist all at the same time. It personifies the American Dream.
How did you find your entertainment/celebrity/ real estate broker niche?
I got my real estate license in 2008, and after a year and a half, I went to an open-casting call for a reality show on Bravo, “Million Dollar Listing New York.” I was cast in 2010. We did that for a decade, and that was around the same time Instagram was invented. Instagram and Twitter and Facebook were a way to connect with those show fans, and clients. I was just able to build that profile.
I’m a businessman first, and I use social media and various forms of media to put out our message and our profile.
Will you be coming to Boston soon?
I was just there, actually. My little brother lives in Walpole. He and his wife just actually opened a gym in Walpole called Lifted Fitness, so I went to their opening, and went to one of their classes.
Interview has been lightly edited and condensed.
Lauren Daley is a freelance writer. She can be reached at [email protected] and @laurendaley1.
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CLEMSON, S.C. — Nick Davidson scored 21 straight points in the first half and finished with a season-high 25 as No. 22 Clemson beat Boston College, 74-50, on Tuesday night to remain undefeated in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Tigers (15-3, 5-0 ACC) won their eighth straight game, one day after reaching the Top 25 rankings for the first time this season.
Davidson, the Nevada transfer, accounted for all of Clemson’s scoring in a 21-9 run to turn a four-point deficit into a 32-24 lead.
Clemson started the second half on a 9-2 run. The Tigers were led by RJ Godfrey’s 5 points and extended their lead to double digits.
Davidson’s two foul shots with 9:50 to play extended Clemson’s lead to 21 points and Boston College (7-10, 0-4) failed to respond. The Tigers eventually led by 25 in the second half.
Davidson made 8 of 11 shots from the field, including four of Clemson’s eight 3-pointers. He finished a point shy of his career high, set against Sam Houston State in November 2024.
Fred Payne led BC with 20 points.
Godfrey and Carter Welling each had 10 points and eight rebounds for Clemson.
BC opened quickly, hitting five of its first eight shots for a 15-11 lead. That’s when Davidson went on his run in a 10-minute stretch in which he accounted for all of Clemson’s offense.
Jestin Porter, who scored 26 points in Clemson’s last outing in a win at Notre Dame, added a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch as the Tigers led 37-27 at the break.
The Eagles host Syracuse on Saturday.
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu’s stalled tax shift bill will be taken up by the state Senate Thursday for the first time since it was killed there more than a year ago, but this time as an amendment filed for an alternate Senate-led tax relief proposal.
State Sen. Michael Rush, a Boston Democrat, filed an amendment to state Sen. William Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill that mirrors the language included in a home rule petition the mayor has been pushing for nearly two years that would shift more of the city’s tax burden from the residential to commercial sector.
“Property tax relief is a pressing issue for my constituents — and residents throughout the state,” Rush said Monday in a statement to the Herald. “On behalf of the people of Boston, I have filed the home rule petition passed by the Boston City Council to provide property tax relief for Boston residents.
“As the Senate considers several worthy proposals designed to address affordability in the Commonwealth, I am glad this proposal will be part of the discussion,” Rush said.
Wu’s office told the Herald Saturday that the mayor had requested the amendment.
“Every senator has the opportunity to submit amendments related to these bills by Monday, and we have asked Boston’s senators to offer an amendment with our residential tax relief language that has been vetted thoroughly and never received a vote,” a Wu spokesperson said in a statement. “We are following closely and hope the final bills will include this needed relief for residents.”
Wu has said her legislation is aimed at lowering the 13% tax hike the average single-family homeowner is projected to face this year. Third-quarter tax bills went out to homeowners earlier this month.
The mayor’s bill seeks to shift more of the city’s tax burden onto commercial property owners, beyond the 175% state limit, for a three-year period.
It is set to be debated, along with several other amendments that have been filed by senators for Brownsberger’s property tax shock bill, at Thursday’s session.
“All amendments filed by members of the Senate will be considered by the full body during our session on Thursday,” a spokesperson for Senate President Karen Spilka’s office said Monday in a statement to the Herald.
A vote is expected on the bill and underlying amendments on the same day, according to state Sen. Nick Collins, a South Boston Democrat whose alternative tax relief bill and amendments will also be considered.
Collins, who opposes the tax shift element of the mayor’s home rule petition and helped lead the push to kill it on the Senate floor in late 2024, has put forward a bill and amendments that include other elements of what Wu has proposed.
He’s pushing for tax rebates for low- and middle-income homeowners who already receive the residential tax exemption by using surplus funds, along with senior, veterans and small business tax relief provisions.
“I think that the relief measures are positive in terms of the amendments that I and others have filed that are relief in nature or relief options, but I think anything that involves a tax increase is going to be difficult,” Collins told the Herald Monday when asked about the chances for the mayor’s proposal.
“Especially when the city is sitting on $552 million of what they consider to be free cash, it’s hard to make the case that tax increase is necessary,” Collins added.
In a statement issued by his office, Collins added that the city’s decision to hike residential property taxes by double-digits “with so much in the City of Boston’s surplus fund” was “unnecessary, unfair and clearly inequitable.”
“To cancel out that tax increase, my legislation would authorize the city to issue direct rebates to homeowners,” Collins said.
He pointed to a similar approach that he said was taken at the state level in 2022, when the governor and legislature issued rebates after tax revenues exceeded the cap established under voter-approved state law, Chapter 62F, which limits the growth of state tax collections.
In terms of Rush’s amendment, Collins said he’s also concerned that the senator’s language would make the mayor’s tax shift bill applicable statewide, rather than just in Boston.
Collins said he has also filed an amendment that would allow for an extension of the abatement process to April 1, to allow homeowners and commercial property owners a longer period of time to challenge city property assessments that have an impact on how much they pay in property taxes.
The mayor added tax rebates to her home rule petition at the beginning of last year as a fall-back option, and renewed her push for the Senate to approve the bill last month.
Collins is a co-sponsor of Brownsberger’s bill, which seeks to shield homeowners from double-digit tax bills, by phasing in increases or offering targeted tax credits in years when property tax hikes are projected to exceed 10%.
Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican, co-sponsored both the Collins- and Brownsberger-led bills that will be debated on Thursday.
If the bills, and any related amendments, are approved, they will move onto the House of Representatives for consideration.
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