• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School news
  • Private schools, sponsored by Riverbend
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Business news
  • Embracing diversity
  • Seniors
  • Letters to the editor
  • Guidelines for letters to the editor
  • Fire & police scanner
  • Worship
  • Deland, Gibson Insurance Athlete of the Week
  • Raiders sports schedules & results
  • Live gov’t meetings
  • 2023 Town Election
  • Events
  • About us
  • Natick Report
 
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Write Ahead, Wellesley

Beyond Wellesley: Good vibes all around at Levitate Music & Arts Festival

July 12, 2022 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

The Levitate Music & Arts Festival this past weekend made its return to the Marshfield fairgrounds for its first full-blown event since 2019, and the musicians, artists, and fans didn’t miss a beat.

levitate
Stick Figure, including a band pup

I acknowledge being more a fan of rapid-fire 3-or-4-minute songs than those that meander—the latter a speciality of many of Levitate’s performers. But when organizers invited us to attend, I took them up on the offer with an open mind. Bring on the jam bands, led by legendary Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh’s ensemble.

The sold-out event attracted a wide range of ages from way back Deadheads to a fair number of little kids, and everything in between. Tye-dye anything was the fashion of choice, though hemp hats, band T-shirts (“Stick Family,” for performer Stick Figure), and other casual wear also ruled.

When we arrived we got scared by a long line to get in, but soon realized the Festival had a system for alternating between allowing those in one line to flood in, then the other. It worked well. We saw few long lines at the many food stations, which ran the gamut from fair food like fried dough to lobster rolls and Filipino fare.

Been a while since I’ve had a Red Stripe, but it was the perfect drink for the venue. Liquid Death sparkling water, however, seemed to be the drink of choice for many.

An artisans’ section in the middle of the fairgrounds attracted steady traffic and sales of items such as gems and services such as face or body painting. Among the more unusual vendors: A provider of plant-based eggs that tasted darn good. Artists in action created murals.

levitatelevitatelevitate

eggs

levitate

levitate

 

levitate

One nice thing about this very chill festival is that you’re allowed to bring in blankets and low-backed chairs that can be located behind certain lines in front of the stages. So the crowds immediately in front of the musicians were large, but you could still find space (the event attracted 15,000 people a day, but it felt just right on the Saturday afternoon/early evening that we attended). People would catch a few songs, then relax in their chairs—a great pacing technique for a long day at the festival.

Bleachers near the main stage also gave fans an option to get off their feet—feet that could get dirty kicking around the fairgrounds terrain. Some patrons brought frisbees and footballs and tossed them around when space allowed.

Among the acts we caught were the versatile multi-instrumentalists of Midnight North, Durand Jones & The Indications (Jones easily had the best moves of anyone on stage), Umphrey’s McGee (they rocked as much as they jammed), Stick Figure (catchy reggae and dub), and headliners Lesh & Friends. About 30 bands performed over the three days.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Swellesley Report (Wellesley) (@theswellesleyreport)

We brought our earplugs, but the sound overall was clear and not overly loud. You did have to position yourself near the stage you wanted to focus on, as sound would overlap if you located in between two active stages.

We’d recommend Levitate when it comes around next year. It’s a feel-good gathering, and the Levitate brand organization added to that by unveiling a charitable foundation on the eve of the festival. The foundation’s focus: encouraging music, arts, and outdoors at the community level.

 

Durand jones
Durand Jones & The Indications

 

umphreys
Umphrey’s McGee

 

umphreys
Umphrey’s McGee

 

jabba levitate

 

Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh (Photo by Rich Gastwirt)

 

Phil Lesh
Phil Lesh & Friends (photo by Rich Gastwirt)

 

More: Boston Calling sends us into summer


print

Filed Under: Art, Beyond Wellesley, Music

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Advertisements:

Linden Square, Wellesley
EXPLO, Wellesley
Wellesley Hills Junior Women's Club

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to theswellesleyreport@gmail.com

Advertisements

Wellesley Square, Wellesley Merchants
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Beacon Hill Athletic Club, Wellesley
Fay School, Southborough
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Wellesley Theatre Project
Volvo
Cheesy Street Grill
Mature Caregivers
Admit Fit, Wellesley
charles river chamber
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Most Read Posts

  • Sign up now for summer camp in Wellesley (and beyond)
  • Letters to the editor on The Swellesley Report
  • Voting rights expert to give talk at Wellesley College
  • Wellesley business buzz: La Toscana's, Express Gourmet to serve alcohol; Where the town banks (not SVB!)
  • EXPLO Junior summer program launches at Regis College in Weston

Click on Entering Natick sign to read our Natick Report

Entering Natick road sign

Upcoming Events

Mar 21
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

World of Wellesley 2023 Community Book Read event

Mar 23
9:00 am - 10:30 pm

Select Board office hours

Mar 23
11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Wellesley Neighbors information session

Mar 23
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm

Babson Arts presents “The Forgotten Kingdom”

Mar 25
7:00 pm - 9:30 pm

The Lightning Thief, The Percy Jackson Musical

View Calendar

Popular pages

  • Wellesley’s 2023 Boston Marathon charity runners
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads

Recent Comments

  • Michali Lerner on Wellesley High School hosting standards-based grading discussion
  • Bob Brown on Wellesley Business Buzz: New version of E.A. Davis about to open; Faherty to nestle in next to Lululemon; Changing cast of characters in Lower Falls
  • Trudy Riley on Wellesley Business Buzz: New version of E.A. Davis about to open; Faherty to nestle in next to Lululemon; Changing cast of characters in Lower Falls
  • Carol Schwanhausser on Wellesley Black Lab pup becomes a local literary sensation
  • Bob Brown on Wellesley High School hosting standards-based grading discussion

Links we like

  • Danny's Place
  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (24)
  • 2023 Town Election (13)
  • Animals (428)
  • Antiques (49)
  • Art (596)
  • Beyond Wellesley (53)
  • Books (380)
  • Business (1,568)
  • Camp (12)
  • Careers/jobs (53)
  • Churches (82)
  • Clubs (240)
  • Construction (301)
  • Dump (131)
  • Education (3,218)
    • Babson College (252)
    • Bates Elementary School (18)
    • Dana Hall School (37)
    • Fiske Elementary School (11)
    • Hardy Elementary School (48)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (47)
    • MassBay (57)
    • Schofield Elementary School (26)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (2)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (11)
    • Upham Elementary School (35)
    • Wellesley College (615)
    • Wellesley High School (1,008)
    • Wellesley Middle School (208)
  • Embracing diversity (97)
  • Entertainment (823)
  • Environment (778)
  • Fashion (145)
  • Finance (15)
  • Fire (174)
  • Food (360)
  • Fundraising (649)
  • Gardens (165)
  • Government (624)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
    • 2022 Town Election (15)
  • Health (870)
    • COVID-19 (203)
  • Hikes (6)
  • History (403)
  • Holidays (442)
  • Houses (164)
  • Humor (47)
  • Kids (869)
  • Law (8)
  • Legal notices (10)
  • Letters to the Editor (89)
  • Media (72)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (13)
  • Morses Pond (109)
  • Music (583)
  • Natick Report (30)
  • Neighbors (282)
  • Obituaries & remembrances (86)
  • Outdoors (657)
  • Parenting (63)
  • Police (786)
    • Crime (398)
  • Politics (560)
  • POPS Senior Profile (10)
  • RDF (7)
  • Real estate (348)
  • Religion (139)
  • Restaurants (345)
  • Safety (156)
  • Scouts (2)
  • Seniors (128)
  • Shopping (164)
  • Sponsored (6)
  • Sports (1,024)
    • Athlete of the Week (14)
  • STEM (109)
  • Technology (165)
  • Theatre (397)
  • Town Meeting (26)
  • Transportation (242)
  • Travel (17)
  • Uncategorized (1,245)
  • Volunteering (351)
  • Weather (180)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (282)
  • Wellesley Holiday Gift Guide (2)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (20)

© 2023 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login