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Allston Calling
By adamg on Fri, 05/27/2016 - 1:28pm
Boston Magazine reports that the Boston Calling music festival will be moving to a larger space owned by Harvard in Allston starting next year - and will be adding a film festival curated by Harvard alum Natalie Portman.
The move means no Boston Calling this fall.
Mayor Walsh is as thrilled as he was when announcing plans for an IndyCar race.
Not everyone is pleased. Allston residents, some of whom remember how the city crushed the far smaller DIY Fest in Ringer Park say the move was sprung on the neighborhood.
Wes Mack writes:
I wonder if Allston's residents were consulted in corporate owned Boston Calling taking over their neighborhood?
Harry Mattison is not as upset, but says the way the news was sprung is symptomatic of the clout Lower Allston has, which is basically none. And he tries to be optimistic:
Maybe Harvard can host DYI Fest for free.
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Comments
Excellent Idea.
Seems like Allston is a much better choice for a true festival atmosphere. And demographically speaking, very appropriate.
It's already getting
Judging by Adam's retweets, it's already getting destroyed by the city of no.
I went to several Boston
I went to several Boston Callings and standing on cement for hours was killer on the feet and back! This would be a big improvement.
Not bad..
This seems like an excellent alternative to a concrete plaza.
I'm seeing quite a bit of backlash on Twitter about this decision, which I'm not really understanding... "There goes the neighborhood" is being thrown around.. Really? It's a giant music festival that is walking distance to "Allston Rock City." What's the problem?
Also, Harvard owns that land and can do as they please.
And don't tell me it's because of traffic issues... It maybe will draw a bit more traffic than a Red Sox v. Yankees game, but far less traffic than your typical Labor Day Weekend Moving Day Nightmare.
I for one am excited that the festival will continue, and welcome the change of scenery.
Allston DYI Fest / community input
Some Twitter backlash is because the organizers of the grassroots Allston DIY Fest have been having difficulty getting a permit from the city for their much smaller event. Also, there seems to have been zero community input/notification/consultation before today's public announcement.
Can we finally get a
I think we have a problem in that no one seems to know for sure what does and doesn't require community input. Can we finally get a definitive list? I know opening a coffee shop does, but where do we currently stand on drying laundry outside?
are you joking?
This is a music festival whose past attendance has been 45,000 with stated plans to be bigger when it comes to Allston. Is a neighborhood meeting with a presentation and some Q&A too much to ask? Seems like a basic courtesy. For a more conscientious example, the Head of the Charles comes each year, explains their schedule, plans for parking, etc and everyone goes home happy.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2014/09/08/boston-calling-closes-...
Stop avoiding the question!
Stop avoiding the question! Is it worse than drying laundry outside or no?
Let me guess
You live nowhere near Allston or Brighton, do you?
Head of the Charles
"the Head of the Charles comes each year, explains their schedule, plans for parking, etc and everyone goes home happy."
I'm willing to bet Boston Calling will also share this information with the public.
Also, Fenway Park holds nearly 40,000 people and hosts events all summer long. Crickets.
and if
Boston Calling had done it before the public announcement I'd expect there would be fewer angry tweets.
Comparison to a 100+ year old baseball stadium is useful how?
Sox games cripple the city
80 days out of the year, more if they make the playoffs. that's not counting the concerts they have there. These are all scheduled way in advance with NO COMMUNITY INPUT OR MEETINGS. I wanna say that was the point.
Cripple the City?
Huh? There was a game last night, the City didn't seem "crippled". Another game tonight, things seem fine out there.
Crippled!
I was going down Mass Ave and had to avoid a guy with a flag directing people to baseball parking because he was standing partially in the bike lane. I think that counts as crippling the city.
/s
Thoughts and Prayers
My heart goes out to you Tach, I hope your commute home this evening is flag-free.
Not to worry
I have full faith that the 66 bus is more than up to the challenge of getting 20,000 people out of the area before the year 2207.
please, attempt
to get anywhere near Kenmore during rush hour on game days. Games start at 7. Rush hour(s) are 5-7, so the commute fights the influx of ticket holders for about an hour of the most enraging traffic you've ever been in, roughly 60 times a year. Longwood medical all the way down comm ave, the fens, Brookline, J-way...its all shit. No the whole city isn't crippled, I concede this point. The highways are usually ok because Fenway is NO WHERE NEAR A HIGHWAY. Ramps off Storrow are jammed tho. I mean, you can get real technical if you want. I have just been driving the city, especially anything along Storrow drive, going on 17 years now, so I know what times and where traffic forms and I have my ways around it. Don't pretend game days are hunky-dory on the streets within a mile or so radius of Fenway Park. Then there is GETTING OUT after a game. cripes...
All that said I love Fenway and going there and would fight tooth and nail to keep it where it is, despite traffic. I live with the hand that's dealt to me. A music festival going to Allston isn't the end of the world. 90% of people living there now will be gone in 2 years and the new crop will accept it as normal. Just gotta fight through the whiners that exist now. shhhhh...It'll all be over soon. Shhhhhhhh.....
Most people are actually smart enough to take the T to Fenway
Parking is $40+ every game day.
Fenway is nowhere near a highway, except for the one that Big Papi can reach on a long home run. You know, the one several yards beyond the Green Monster and the parking garage across Lansdowne Street?
yup
and every lot charging $40 is filled to capacity. They even shut down a GAS STATION to cram parking in cuz its more profitable then selling gas. What's your point?
Where is the I-90 exit
near Fenway? Have I been missing it for the past 2 decades?
and if a new stadium were being built?
So Fenway Park has been hosting baseball games effectively forever. What does that have to do with the announcement of a new event in a location that has not hosted such an event in recent memory?
Harvard football games
are every other Saturday during the fall. I bet the schedule is already announced come to think of it! Better set up a community meeting bruh!
You do realize Harvard works
You do realize Harvard works with the community to reduce the impact of those football games...
Or look at what happens around BC for their football games. I mean, BC pays to change the parking signs every year to show their football schedule.
I'd expect there would be
In the city where citizens are having a tweet war over a traffic island? Not sure about that.
I understand the need for a
I understand the need for a public hearing (perhaps there should be one, considering the public reaction), but I also understand the desire to avoid one. If I were the promoter, the last thing I would want is the "No Olympics/IndyCar" crowd showing up to protest what is, essentially, a similar event to a Red Sox game or Fenway concert. Similar amount of traffic, similar amount of drinking, similar timing (evenings, weekends). The main difference here is that Fenway park has two accessible T stops within walking distance, so I assume Allston Calling will attract more cars. However, that extra traffic will be focused around the Storrow/Soldiers Field intersection, not within Allston neighborhoods.
I'm not even sure we are disagreeing on anything here, but I feel like the event would happen regardless of public input. Now that we all know it's happening, perhaps the public can be brought into the conversation. For instance, I imagine quite a backup on North Harvard from people coming off the Pike, as well as complete gridlock on the bridge from Harvard. How do they plan to direct traffic? With the exception of congestion, however, I don't see how this affects the neighborhood. I can't imagine anyone living in Allston will hear the concert, and it's removed enough that I don't think there will be gangs of drunks wandering around.
Yet this is why I compared it to Fenway... You actually can hear concerts at that venue from peoples' homes, and there are quite a few inebriated people coming out of those games. Those events come and go without any public input, and I have never seen anyone complain. Chalk it up to life in the big city?
actually we can hear
the PA system from Harvard Stadium at my home, and I have many neighbors who live much closer to the Stadium. I'm not saying that is reason to not hold the event, but "I can't imagine anyone living in Allston will hear the concert" is incorrect.
Fair is fair!
Huh.. I didn't think any homes were close enough for that.
Let's hope they pick bands that don't suck!
Please let me know
when the city starts giving to shits about "community input." They have these meetings all the time, listen to concerns, and then do whatever the hell they want anyways. If you have a yearning to waste time I have a lawn that needs landscaping.
A good example of that is the
A good example of that is the Northern Avenue bridge. Basically all of the submissions for what people want the bridge to be contains zero lanes for traffic yet the city is of course going to design the bridge for drivers and leave a few feet on the side for pedestrians(which won't get shoveled in the winter like all of the other bridges in Boston).
Needed to be announced better
wtf is up with the way this was announced?
Better to ask for forgiveness than permission, I guess, but what a bungle. There should have been community input / inclusion followed by an announcement by the mayor and organizers.
Yeah, they wanted it be seen as a fait accompli so they wouldn't have to sit through a hundred community meetings - and potentially get a "no" - but who's to say the neighbors wouldn't have at least given a tacit "okay" or "w/e"? Did the Mayor even know this was happening or did his press release come afterward?
* They'll still have to get all their permits, of course.
And, yeah, why haven't they provided your permits for your event?
(PS. This isn't pandering by me b/c I'm running for office; Obv., I complain about these things all the time.)
who's to say the neighbors
LOL. Who? Anyone who's ever spent ten seconds at a community meeting in the city of Boston, that's who.
Boston Calling
hired their quota of union employees, their permits are in the bag already.
DIY Fest
I feel like the comparison is a stretch.
Ringer Park is a public park surrounded by residential homes, as well as a school.
Harvard's Athletic Complex is an ideal location: no bordering residences, right next to Storrow & Soldier's Field, includes pre-existing facilities.
Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed DIY Fest and wish it were still happening. But both Ringer Park & City Hall Plaza are public spaces. Is Harvard even required to request permits from the city if it decides to host private events on its private land?
maybe Harvard can host it then
if having it in Ringer park (which is kind of gross) is proving difficult, maybe Harvard can be approached to host it. They are hosting a number of other things as part of Allston community outreach.
Well, Allston DIY-ers
aren't caving to the city and hiring Union employees and foreman now are they? Boston Calling caved and now they get all the permits they want and pats on the back from MAHTY. Dreamers need to wake up and grease the appropriate wheels if they want DO IT THEM$ELVE$.
Traffic management for Harvard events
is not always excellent
Thrilling video.
Thrilling video.
Why Would It Need a Community Meeting?
Harvard is not a public entity. They are free to book events without giving people endless opportunity to shout about the water from the sprinklers https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng_-HgRfGBY
Yes, they need a permit. But that's different from holding multiple community meetings to get permission in order to hold on event on their own campus.
I live a very short distance
I live a very short distance from where this will probably be, and my first reaction was that this was exciting news, despite the guaranteed disturbance and noise. But then you all had to remind me of DIY Fest, so now I'm just bitter. If people living near Ringer Park can't handle one day a year of local bands playing for maybe a few hundred people, starting at a reasonable time and cutting off exactly at 6pm, why should I take one for the team? Neighborhood protest, here I come..