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As the sun set over the final day of Boston Calling 2025, Vampire Weekend marched onstage wearing eerily matchy-matchy white outfits. While the look was slightly unsettling, the music that began to play — “Ice Cream Piano” — was reassuringly relaxed, launching the set into the group’s calm indie sound.

By the song’s midpoint, though, the group exploded into a frenzy, playing out the rest of the track with speed and intensity. Throughout the set, Vampire Weekend oscillated between a chill indie trance and high-speed rocking, repeatedly calming and then invigorating the crowd. This mastery of tone allowed the band to lead the crowd through its music.

For the most part, the songs themselves were the focus of the show, with subdued visuals and not a lot of speaking from the band members. As songs played, displays of paintings, architecture, and the New York City skyline were projected behind the group, emphasizing the dark academia aesthetic of many songs.

Occasionally, the lead vocalist, Ezra Koenig, would take a moment to speak to the crowd. Near the set’s start, he explained that he used to know a football player who went to Harvard. “This song is dedicated to the entire 2003 defensive line at Harvard,” Koenig announced before playing out their 2024 song “Capricorn.”

It was the additional live instrumentation that made Vampire Weekend’s set feel so compelling. Isabel Hagen joined the group on the violin, performing on a raised platform in the middle of the stage. She was highlighted during “Sympathy,” which was played live much more groovily than in its studio version. In general, Vampire Weekend’s live performance gave each song room to breathe, allowing moments for the band to jam out in a way that gave added energy to each song. In addition to the violin, there was also a live saxophone, which gave depth to the group.

The simplicity of the set was charming as well, and Koenig’s position at the center of the stage, playing guitar and crooning out the group’s songs, was endearingly modest. Flashing blue and white lights occasionally accentuated certain points of songs like “Diane Young” and “Harmony Hall,” but for the most part, the group kept the performance uncomplicated. This choice infused the set with a down-to-earth vibe that made every track take center stage.

“A-Punk,” “Campus,” and “Oxford Comma” — all tracks from the band’s self-titled album — were a three-song highlight near the set’s end. The tunes were played as a medley, bleeding into one another in one long, high-energy run. Koenig urged the crowd to clap along with these hits, bringing a little audience participation into the set.

At its end, Koenig took another moment to speak to the crowd. “It’s a real honor to play between Sublime and Dave Matthews Band, two artists we’ve always looked up to,” Koenig said. As he prepared for the final song, Koenig explained that the band has more than one song that mentions New England, but he ultimately decided upon playing a song that focused on Cape Cod — “Walcott.”

“Walcott” felt perfectly tailored to the Boston Calling crowd, and the festival audience loudly sang along as the group played out its final track. Although Vampire Weekend’s show wasn’t highly produced, it was absolutely charming, bringing a relaxed environment to the stage to cap off a long weekend of music.

—Staff writer Hannah E. Gadway can be reached at hannah.gadway@thecrimson.com.