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Music is back at Suffolk Downs. Here’s our review of the new venue and its first show.
Steve Lacy, James Blake, Toro y Moi, and Foushee provided an entertaining opening night for The Stage at Suffolk Downs.
Friday night marked the debut of The Stage at Suffolk Downs, a seasonal live music venue operating on the infield of the former horse racing track. Foushee, Toro y Moi, James Blake, and headliner Steve Lacy played a mini-festival lineup as part of the re:SET Concert Series, which continues Saturday and Sunday with headliners LCD Soundsystem and boygenius, respectively.
Based on the first day of performances, the Stage at Suffolk Downs (operated by The Bowery Presents) should have no problem establishing itself as one of the must-visit concert spots in Boston for years to come — with one minor caveat.
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Pulling in off Route 1A, staff guided concertgoers to a rideshare drop-off area or one of 1,500 parking spots in three dedicated lots. From there, a short stroll along the race track brought fans to the venue itself, a wide grassy expanse that left plenty of room to either crowd up near the stage or lay down a picnic blanket and enjoy the music from a slight distance.
The venue has a lot of nods to its horse-racing roots, with the old race track sign prominently featured near the box office and mile posts guiding guests to the venue.
With some fans likely still getting off work, the early sets from Foushee and Toro y Moi took a little time to fill in, but it made navigating the food and drink stands and restrooms a breeze. The vibe felt like an early afternoon Boston Calling set, except with fewer crowds and real grass.
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Despite the open space, Toro y Moi (aka Chaz Bundick) and his backing band had plenty of die-hards crowding the stage, and the artist seemed to grow in strength and volume throughout his 50-minute set.
Or maybe he was growing in volume to drown out the sound of the planes flying overhead?
To address the elephant in the room: Suffolk Downs is located directly under the flight path of Logan Airport, and there was a steady din of Friday evening airline traffic taking off and landing throughout.
In an interview prior to Friday’s shows, The Bowery Presents Senior Vice President Josh Bhatti said that the company was less concerned about plane noise and more concerned with making sure residents in Orient Heights weren’t overwhelmed by volume from the stage.
“A loud plane going by is about 80 decibels, and most of our shows will be at about 90, 95 decibels,” Bhatti said. “It’s not to say when a big plane takes off you don’t notice it, but that’s part of the experience.”
It was certainly part of the experience for James Blake, who commented on the low-flying vessels multiple times during his set.
“We’re sharing the stage with a lot of talented artists — Toro, Foushee, Steve, and the planes,” Blake said. “Give it up for the planes. They’re doing their best.”
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From his vantage point on the stage, the English singer — whose soulful songs like “Retrograde” and “Hummingbird” were often slower, quieter, and more atmospheric than the other artists — could clearly see lines of planes stacked four or five-deep waiting to descend throughout his set.
“This is my favorite Bill Withers song,” Blake said, before launching into a cover of “Hope She’ll Be Happier.” “If you can imagine it’s much darker and there aren’t planes going over up ahead … yeah.”
Thankfully, by the time Steve Lacy took the stage at 8:15 p.m., the steady stream of plane traffic slowed down, and the R&B singer filled the space with his soulful, sensual sound.
Lacy, who started his career as the guitarist for R&B group the Internet before breaking through as a solo artist, clearly relished his sex symbol status. Giant video displays alternated between showing dozens of shirtless Lacys or close-ups of his mouth and eyes, as he crooned about “tryna get you in my backseat” (on “RYD”).
Lacy knew how to play with the crowd’s emotions in other ways as well.
“Lobster rolls are overrated,” Lacy said, laughing as scattered jeers emanated from the crowd. “Y’alls clam chowder is good, though. But lobster rolls? Nope.”
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As he neared the end of his set, Lacy brought Foushee back to duet on their hit “Sunshine.” After being stuck performing in the 4 p.m. hour, it was good to see the artist perform in front of a crowd that had quadrupled in size in the interim.
Lacy knew how to build anticipation, making audiences wait until near the end of the set for some of his biggest hits. “Bad Habit” — which went viral on TikTok and hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2022 — and “Dark Red” — his second most popular song on Spotify — were the last two songs of the evening.
Overall, the Stage at Suffolk Downs’ first concert was a success. The real test comes on Sunday, when a sold-out crowd packs the venue for boygenius. If we’re lucky, there might even be fewer planes.
Setlist for Steve Lacy at the Stage at Suffolk Downs
“Cody Freestyle”
“Helmet”
“Buttons”
“N Side”
“Mercury”
“Lay Me Down”
“Ryd”
“Cocky Girl”
“Give You The World”
“Hate CD”
“Infrunami”
“Some”
“Amber”
“4Real”
“C U Girl”
“Sunshine”
“Static”
“Bad Habit”
“Dark Red”
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