With a crowd of 40,000 people on their feet, Dave Matthews Band closed out a rainy Memorial Day Weekend at Boston Calling as the final day’s headliner.
The band’s two-hour set showcased each member’s musical prowess through impressive solos, covers, and live renditions of their most popular songs. The added raw intensity and spontaneity elevated the band’s songs well beyond the studio versions.
Following performances from Sublime and Vampire Weekend, Dave Matthews Band took the Green Stage late Sunday evening and immediately launched into “Tripping Billies,” with an upbeat syncopated rhythm and a soaring trumpet solo that started the show off with a bang.
The Dave Matthews Band fans in the crowd made themselves known with a call and response during the intro of “Warehouse,” whooping between guitar riffs as is tradition at the band’s live shows. The crowd was on their feet for the whole show, dancing and singing along to hits from throughout the band’s expansive 31-year music career.
During the Grammy-Award winning song “So Much to Say,” lead singer Dave Matthews flawlessly executed vocal acrobatics before bassist Stefan Lessard took over with an impressive solo. The band then seamlessly transitioned into a groovy cover of “Word Up” by Cameo, with trumpet player Rashawn Ross on vocals.
Next on the setlist was “What Would You Say,” where saxophonist Jeff Coffin stole the show with a masterful flute solo, using an impressive flutter tonguing technique to add texture to the song.
The setlist of course featured the band’s two most streamed songs, “Crash into Me” and “Ants Marching.” The lengthier version of “Ants Marching” had an instrumental section with the lead solo being passed between trumpet, saxophone, guitar, and keys. Each solo built off the one before it, showing each member’s mastery of their respective instruments.
Over an hour into the set the band still had more tricks up their sleeve, pulling out more covers of iconic songs from ’60s and ’70s. Starting with Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower,” Matthews then tested his vocal range with an interpolation of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.”
Matthews screamed the lyrics along with the crowd as guitarist Tim Reynolds shredded the iconic Led Zeppelin guitar riffs. Keyboardist Buddy Strong then slowed down the vibes with a soulful rendition of “It’s Your Thing” by The Isley Brothers.
Dave Matthews Band used its stage not only for legendary performances but also for political activism. Although Matthews’ remarks to the crowd were funny and lighthearted for the most part, he also shared his concerns with the uncertain state of the world and the “misleaders” who are causing it.
Off the stage, Dave Matthews Band also champions environmental activism as a UN Environment Goodwill Ambassador with its campaign “On the Road to Zero Waste.” The band will continue this zero-waste mission to minimize the environmental footprint of their 2025 tour.
The band wrapped up its set and the festival weekend as a whole with one of its most politically charged songs, “Don’t Drink the Water.” The lyrics send a powerful message criticizing the persecution of Native Americans in the United States.
“Away, away / You have been banished / Your land is gone / And given to me,” sang Matthews, one of many lines depicting a warning against oppression, power imbalance, and injustice within society.
Dave Matthews returned to the stage after this final song, holding two signs that read “stop killing children” and “stop the genocide.” With a roar of applause from the large crowd, Matthews finished out Boston Calling 2025 on a powerful note.
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