Live Nation Acquires New England Grassroots Festival Levitate

Red Eye Media – Levitate Festival
2017

Live Nation has acquired Levitate Music & Arts Festival, the homegrown music and arts festival that got its start as a surf shop on the coastal Massachusetts town of Marshfield.

Co-founded by Levitate Surf Shop owners Daniel and Jessica Hassett, in partnership with Thomas Cussins of Ineffable Music, the festival started in 2013 as a celebration of local artists and has turned into a multi-day event with more than 30,000 attendees. 

“Dan, Jess and their community have poured their hearts and souls into creating Levitate Music Festival, and we look forward to working with them to build this truly unique experience,” said Don Law, President of Live Nation New England. “They have exceptional instincts in crafting a remarkable event for their audience and we look forward to connecting even more fans and artists through this boutique festival experience.” 

Last year’s event featured Trey Anastasio Trio, The Head And The Heart, Slightly Stoopid, Rebelution, Lake Street Dive and hometown fave Stick Figure, among many others July 7-8.

This year has expanded to three days, topped by Tedeschi Trucks Band, Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats, and Damian “Jr. Gong” Marley. 

Daniel Hassett told Pollstar ahead of last year’s event’s, Levitate’s history and growing a reputation for both fans and artists.

“For us it started years ago where you create an event that fans want to be a part of and artists want to be a part of. At the end of the day, both the artists and the agents want more successful events they can play at. I find that there’s actually support for these sort of events,” Hassett said, adding that  the event’s simplicity and local focus is a big part part of its strength.

“Our event’s successful because it’s basic – it’s a good easy flow festival in a grassy fairgrounds,” Hassett said. “We do a really cool kids area, the Germination Station teaches kids how to plant seedlings and how to garden and live in that world, and we have an entire sustainability mission to produce an environmental impact report every year.”

With more than 100 festivals in its global portfolio including Bottle Rock Napa Valley, Austin City Limits, Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Reading, Leeds, Governor’s Ball, Electric Daisy Carnival and more, Live Nation has one of the largest and most diverse platforms of festivals in the world. Recent acquisitions include ScoreMore Shows, which produces the JMBLYA hip-hop-leaning festival in Texas, as well as the artist-curated Astroworld (Travis Scott) and Dreamville (J. Cole) festivals.