Levitate Music & Arts Festival: Celebrating local bands, newcomers… and the sun
This year’s Levitate Music & Arts Festval in Marshfield was a true celebration of summer. Against a backdrop of non-stop sunny weather, the music was feel-good, the fashions were colorful, and the gathering felt like one big friends and family group when we attended on Saturday among thousands of others.
Indeed family and friends were on hand to support plenty of the musicians, as Levitate has a special place in its heart for those with local roots. Headliner Stick Figure hails from Duxbury, Marshfield’s Elovators played both Saturday and Sunday, and renowned live band Ripe’s members got their start years ago while attending Berklee College of Music. We met people from Marshfield and beyond, including a car salesman who used to work in Wellesley.
Among the up-and-coming local bands on the bill was Fai Laci, which performed one of Saturday’s first sets, with a crew of girlfriends and other supporters pressed against the barrier up front. As we learned in a post-show interview on the festival groups with lead singer Luke Faillaci, the Northeastern mechanical engineering grad ditched a job in that field to go all-in on music, and most of the band members are making a full-time go of it as well. The band was something of an outlier at Levitate, not the typical jam or reggae band, but rather a rock n’ roll group with influences such as Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and most definitely Cage the Elephant. Fai Laci played mostly originals from its EPs and singles, plus unreleased material that may appear on an upcoming album being recorded in Nashville. By the end of the set, Faillaci was shirtless as he bounded back and forth across the stage, sometimes just with a mic, other times with a guitar.
The most dramatic performance came from Ripe, whose members were recently involved in a series golf cart accident at Hampton Beach. Lead singer Robbie Wulfsohn is still feeling effects of a concussion and let the crowd know early on that he’d need to forego his usual head banging on the advice of doctors. “This S— almost didn’t happen,” he said, referring to the show. “So go as hard as you can.” The band even featured a titling golf cart image on the screen behind it as a nod to its recent traumatic experience.
The band played hits like “Goon Squad” and “Little Lighter,” covered The Kinks’s “Lola” (with a Dave Matthews intro), and teased a new album with “Try Not to Look.” While Wulfsohn at whatever percent he was at is equal to many a singer at 100%, his band’s strong rhythm section and sax ensure Ripe’s set kept people dancing. (See our interview with drummer Sampson Hellerman.)
Hometown heroes Stick Figure justified their headlining slot, drawing a huge crowd young and old for an energetic 2-hour set illuminated by spectacular lighting that highlighted the frontmen, including singer Scott Woodruff and keyboardist KBong, not to mention Woodruff’s pup Cocoa, an Australian Shepherd celebrating a birthday. Stick figure shirts, hats, and you-name-it could be seen everywhere across the festival grounds.
One of our favorite things about Levitate is that the artists generally seem to want to be there. There’s a camaraderie that’s on full display, as performers regularly guest start during each other’s sets. KBong brought the “happy energy,” as one fan put it, during Mihali’s set. Jamaica’s Protege, who performed new and classic songs at on the Style Stage early in the afternoon, returned to sing with Stick Figure in the nightcap. Even Cocoa the dog made an appearance during the Elovators’ smoky set, which featured a group peace sign toast.
While local acts bring special flavor to Levitate—and this was true on the Levitate Foundation’s new sun-shaped Songwriter Stage that put the spotlight on new acts with fresh access to funding to record—the festival also attracted artists from afar.
This included influential reggae artist Proteje, bookmarked by two female singers who transported attendees to the Carribbean with songs like “Who Knows,” a song that has registered over 100 million listens on Spotify. When Proteje asked how many in the crowd had been to Jamaica, quite a few raised their hands and hollered, leading to him to conclude that many would be familiar with the next song, “Rasta Love.”
One of the day’s best performances was turned in by The Revivalists from New Orleans. They of course played their big hit, “Wish I Knew You,” but had plenty of material dating back 15 years to draw from for their engaging set. Lead singer David Shaw is a certified rock star, leading the band, though not to be overlooked were Ed Williams on pedal steel guitar and Rob Ingraham on sax as part of a 7-member lineup.
Beyond the music Levitate features local artisans, including some who were painting on fish canvasses, plus bunches of food trucks and booths.
Finally, what would a Levitate recap be without a little fashion recap, featuring hats and more (and lots of Levitate brand gear).
The Levitate brand was founded in 2003 as a community focused surf and skate shop, and 1% of all revenue from the organization’s endeavors go towards the Levitate Foundation, which promotes access to music, art and the outdoors.hanks
We thank Levitate for inviting us to cover the festival as press.
More “Beyond Wellesley” music coverage: