For its fourth year, the Fest's four-day program proved that come Sunday, it's better to burn out than to fade away.
Nick Polidor of Alright, Thanks takes to the air. (Photo: Tyler Lehren)
After Aerosmith announced its retirement, the Boston Globe declared “no Boston-area band comes close” to the stadium anthem rockers. And while many tight-jeaned, long-haired shredders might laud the statement, reading from under their bandanas, one weekend in Somerville in July showed just how many bands are carving out their own sounds and stories.
NICE, a Fest, a local music festival that showcases Boston’s indie music scene turned four this summer, programming four days of music in Somerville's Davis Square from Thursday, July 25 to Sunday, July 28. The event hosted over 80 bands rotating sets around Crystal Ballroom, the Rockwell, and, new this year, the Grove-Street parking lot. Booking followed one rule: performers had to have ties to Boston. Festival organizer and founder, Alex Pickert of Get to the Gig Boston, started the festival as a way to build community in the local scene and showcase underground talent alongside bands that have since moved out of Boston. Pickert was not available for an interview (as he was recovering from hosting a festival larger than Boston Calling with a fraction of the team and resources), but SOME sent two reporters to the scene.
Sweet Petunia was first to perform on Thursday. (Photo: Arina Zadvornaya)
Boston’s queer alt folk duo, Sweet Petunia kicked off the festival at Crystal Ballroom with their twangy and distressed melancholy tunes. The pair’s hollering harmonies drifted between screams and tender whispers. The clawhammer strumming on banjo and guitar provided a captivating and delicate start to the weekend, welcoming listeners in and inviting them to stay a while.
Pink Navel on Thursday. (Photo: Arina Zadvornaya)
Plymouth rapper Pink Navel followed. As the crowd filled out the room, so did Devin Bailey’s warm, nostalgic, spoken-word rapping. The sound “goes into the back corner,” Bailey said, as beats washed over the walls.
The two completely different acts taking the stage in sequence set the tone for the weekend’s lineup, which featured a diverse range of genres.
Vundabar performs to a packed out Grove Street lot Saturday night. (Photo: Tyler Lehren)
On Saturday, headliners Vundabar delivered a sonic onslaught of a performance to finish off a packed day. As the sun set over the Main Stage in the Grove Street lot, overhead lights seemed almost powered by the electric Boston-based rock trio. The band’s high-energy fuzzed out garage rock—like a pop/dance version of Osees—smothered the crowd and kept everyone moving through the hour-long set. Pumped with adrenaline and clearly in an already-sweating-might-as-well-sweat-some-more mood, the evening crowd catapulted the band into a rambunctious encore. To fans’ delight, the set was lined with hits off 2015’s Gawk, including Ash in the Sun and the TikTok-viral Alien Blues. The highlight of the show was the sound engineer sitting in the back right of the stage, glancing in utter disbelief at drummer Drew McDonald’s relentless force behind the kit.
No band seemed to enjoy the Main Stage more than Divine Sweater, a five-piece indie pop band that formed at Boston College. The venue was a perfect outlet for their “best friends” energy and dream-pop music.
Kelleher of Divine Sweater. (Photo: Tyler Lehren)
“We just played Boston Calling a few weeks ago, so I feel like that's just been so much fun to get to play on two different stages,” said lead singer Meghan Kelleher.
Having played two festivals and countless shows in the Boston area, Kelleher explained how the band has thrived within a community. “There's been people who've come up to us, told us they saw us at house show venues like years ago and things like that.” She highlighted connections between local bands too, noting the opportunity to share stages with some of her favorite artists.
Hard to believe, but on top of 80 musical acts, NICE also had a roster of local vendors stationed in the Davis Square plaza. Every business was local (even Grillo’s Pickles, who placed a rideable pickle in the Crystal Ballroom, presumably also a feature of their Westwood office). The vendor market provided great exposure for small businesses and served as a mingling spot for fans passing between sets.
From the programming to the production, NICE, a Fest, made Boston’s music scene feel navigable, friendly, and exciting. While economic, societal, and social forces continue to obscure and threaten Boston’s underground music scene, events like NICE demonstrate the overwhelming talent and determination of our city’s musicians, arts operators, small businesses and artists to maintain a thriving creative community.
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