Levitate Music and Arts Festival Evolves into Major Two-Day Festival
By: Caryn Robbins
The Fifth Annual Levitate Music and Arts Festival was welcomed by the town of Marshfield, MA this past weekend to a sold-out crowd of 12,000 people per day. This year marked the first time the festival expanded into two days, and the weekend didn't disappoint. The family-friendly small-town atmosphere provides a unique experience to fans from all over the country. Fans were greeted to a finely-curated lineup and minimal set time overlapping, with performances from the likes of Dispatch, Ziggy Marley, Stick Figure, and Umphrey's McGee.
Caught up amidst the noise of world renowned summertime festival circuits, the organic evolution of Levitate has become hard to ignore. Vanyaland affirms this sentiment by calling it "a burgeoning sold-out music festival that's filled with local music and touring acts - and it's somehow still flying under the radar. That's soon about to change." Meanwhile, the Fairfield Mirror notes the festival has "lifted off like a rocket into the stratosphere." This year also marked ramped up greening efforts, including reusable cups and water refill stations, which saved an estimated 25,000 plastic cups from landfills. The community spirit and solid lineups the festival provides have gathered a lot of attention from fans and press alike in past years, most notably receiving a nomination from Pollstar Concert Industry Awards for "Music Festival of the Year." Levitate has evolved in part thanks to rave reviews from The Boston Globe, Jambase, and Live for Live Music, who have cited previous lineups as "supremely stacked" and "explosive." This year continued to raise the bar, with Grateful Web stating that Levitate brought in "their strongest batch of artists yet." The Levitate Music and Arts Festival (LMF) is supported by Levitate, a community oriented surf/skate shop and apparel line based out of Marshfield, MA. The husband and wife team of Daniel and Jessica Hassett own and operate the shop and threw the first LMF in 2013 as a ten-year anniversary party. Daniel began working at the store as a high school student in 2003 under the previous owner Bob Pollard, who taught Daniel how to surf and skate. For more than a decade, Daniel has continued to pass the torch as Levitate has been involved in youth programs, beach cleanups, surf and skateboard contests and fundraising initiatives. 2017's festival saw the Levitate Music Foundation raise over $24,000 for the Boys and Girls Club of Marshfield. The Hassett's have consciously honored Levitate's mission to lift up and grow the surrounding communities with their event. The organizers are adding a comprehensive recycling program at the festival, and are planning for more environmentally sustainable measures for future events.http://www.levitatemusicfestival.com
Photo credit: Adam Straughn
