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Dave Matthews Band made every minute count at Boston Calling 2025
Dave Matthews couldn't wait to get on stage at Boston Calling 2025, treating the audience to an expansive, eclectic two-hour set.
At 8:35 p.m. on Sunday night, Dave Matthews stood shrouded in darkness on the Green stage at Boston Calling, waiting.
Fans were still making their way over from Public Enemy on the Blue Stage for the 8:40 show, but Matthews didn’t want to wait another second to get things going. There was too much to do, too much to say, and only two hours to fit it all in.
What followed was exactly what fans of Dave Matthews Band desired: An eclectic, expansive set that gave every member of DMB a moment in the spotlight and took the band’s well-known catalogue in inventive new directions.
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Matthews took the stage in a heavy pea coat and tightly-wound scarf, nursing a giant tumbler of tea before launching into “Tripping Billies.”
“It’s unseasonably cold as a motherf*****,” Matthews told the crowd. “But if you just snuggle up, everything’s OK.”
Matthews kept his crowd interactions short and sweet, preferring to let the time slot be filled by lengthier versions of DMB’s hits. “Ants Marching” featured a round of call-and-response solos from every band member, while “What Would You Say” gave space for saxophonist Jeff Coffin to rip a flute solo that would make Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson proud. Matthews engaged in some light banter with drummer Carter Beauford before letting the percussionist go wild on the intro to “Anyone Seen the Bridge.”
DMB peppered the setlist with a number of carefully calibrated covers as well. Rashawn Ross took the lead during a cover of Cameo’s “What’s the Word,” with the trumpet player providing vocals that were a dead ringer for Larry Blackmon. The band also played a decent soundalike cover for The Isley Brothers’ “It’s Your Thing,” which felt like a bit of a breather between lengthy, intricate originals.
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An inflection point came as the clock struck 10; as the band wrapped up “Ants Marching,” guitarist Tim Reynolds began a very slow burn of a solo as fairweather fans headed for the exits. Those who stuck around were rewarded with a bombastic cover of “All Along the Watchtower,” which featured Matthews’ tea-fortified voice at its screamiest during an interpolation of “Stairway to Heaven” in the middle.
While Matthews kept the chit-chat to a minimum, he did pause briefly to acknowledge the current political climate. In keeping with the tone of the day set by Tom Morello and Public Enemy, the singer opined that it felt like the “world has lost her mind,” and that our current leaders should be rebranded as “mis-leaders.”
The band ended their set with one of DMB’s most political songs, “Don’t Drink the Water.”
Written about the persecution of Native Americans in the United States, Matthews’ soulful lyrics resonated in a different way Sunday night: “You have been banished / Your land is gone / And given to me / And here I will spread my wings / Yes, I will call this home / What’s this you say? / You feel the right to remain / Then stay, and I will bury you.”
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Following the performance, Matthews took the stage once more, holding two signs: “Stop Killing Children” and “Stop Genocide.”
Matthews faced criticism on social media for holding up the same two signs at a Charlotte concert earlier this month, but taken at face value, it’s hard to see how anyone could argue with the five words he had written.
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