Harvard Facilities Will Host Boston Calling in 2017

Boston Calling will be held at Harvard’s athletic complex in Allston in May 2017, marking a venue and scheduling change for the popular music festival.

Under a rental agreement with Harvard’s Athletics Department, performers and concertgoers will congregate at the complex on North Harvard Street across the Charles River from the College—home to athletic facilities such as the Beren Tennis Center and Blodgett Pool, according to a press release from festival staff. Previously, the festival was held at Boston’s City Hall Plaza.

The festival will only take place once each year after this spring’s concert, which is currently running and will end Sunday. Previously, the festival occurred in both the fall and the spring, but now, it will only be held Memorial Day weekend.

Building on its current programming, which this year featured artists including the Alabama Shakes, Sia, and Sufjan Stevens, Boston Calling also looks to expand its “comedic” offerings and incorporate a film festival into the event. Next year’s film component will be curated by actress, producer, and Harvard College alumna Natalie Portman ’03.

Timothy J. Williamson, Harvard’s director of athletic communications, said, “We are pleased to provide a venue that allows Boston Calling to expand its creative programming while remaining in the City of Boston,” according to the release.

Boston Calling debuted in May 2013. This fall, Harvard’s Department of Athletics awarded dozens of undergraduates with free tickets to the fall festival at a promotional event for the football team’s first home game against Brown.

—Staff writer Jalin P. Cunningham can be reached at jalin.cunningham@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @JalinCunningham.