It sure as hell isn’t festival season…it’s too damn cold for that. However, it is the next best associated time of year for live music nerds. That’s right, it’s festival lineup announcement season. That not-so-catchy title may not roll off the tongue, but that doesn’t stop me from geeking out at the recently released lineup for my particular local musical gathering of choice: Boston Calling. 7 months ago in my post “SOTD – Can’t Fool Me by Bad Rabbits & Boston Calling News“, I reveled in the concert organizers’ decision to move from Government Center to Harvard’s Athletic Complex as a larger, more well-rounded arts festival rather than a confined gathering specific to music. That being said, those same concert organizers nailed the lineup this year. Sure, the headliners are always exciting, but equally as exciting are the middle-of-the-pack acts that fall under the radar but posses an innate, unappreciated level of talent.

Exhibit A of a blossoming mid-festival performer: Moses Sumney. The self-described soul-folk artist from Los Angeles provides a level of intimacy oddly counteracted by his scratchy yet poetic spoken word. Though “Plastic” is a song directed at a particular secret’s recipient, he seems to be speaking to himself with a close-eyed daze comparable to a lonely living room ballad. That personal, conscious-stricken sensation rings true in his interactions with public media as well, as Sumney cracked obscure eminence with his inclusion in Pitchfork’s 2017 article “The Greatest Quotes In Rising History“. Filled with youthful confusion that could either be classified as insightful or naive, Sumney was was quoted as saying,

“No matter how famous somebody is, nobody has their shit together. Everyone is still trying to figure it out.”

Whatever uncertainty inspires Sumney, I selfishly hope he continues to battle with that disorderly influence if only to inspire anticipated performances in his upcoming 2017 concert series.