When it comes to attending concerts, some people associate it with spending money on the closest seats possible and even traveling a few hours to the nearest city. But listening to live music does not always have to break the bank.
Dayton’s Levitt Pavilion has been putting on shows at its South Main Street location since August 2018. The Levitt is part of a collective of venues across the United States run by the Levitt Foundation, which has the goal of bringing communities together through live music. In addition to the Dayton location, the foundation has also brought music to places like Los Angeles, California and Denver, Colorado.
The Levitt Pavilion runs completely on donations, both from community organizations and individuals in attendance. According to Levitt Dayton’s website, since its inception, the location has “gifted $6.3 million in programming to the community” and has had more than 87,000 people attend their events. This shows the profound impact even the smallest donation can have on something like the Levitt Pavilion. In addition to the concerts on the lawn, the Levitt has also hosted pop-up concerts at the food bank and other locations.
Executive director Lisa Wagner has spoken about how such concerts destigmatize food insecurity and the like. For the Levitt, this is much more than the names they bring to Dayton – it is about serving the community and making a lasting impact.
The 2022 Eichelberger Concert Series is the Levitt’s strongest season yet and has a large focus on diversity in genres and acts. The Levitt has several sponsors helping to make everything happen. Altafiber is presenting the rock and pop acts, while TricomB2B will bring the funk. Additionally, Dayton Metro Library has its hand in the world music part of the season.
Some of the names on this year’s lineup include The New Respects, Altered Five Blues Band and Luke Winslow-King. The Levitt also plans to have local acts open the concerts, fostering even more community support. Though the performers are not what one might see on the Coachella or Rolling Loud lineups, they are talented acts worth showing up for.
The Levitt Pavilion is a special place for many in the Dayton area to gather, connect and get lost in the music. They have delivered many amazing concerts in past seasons and will continue to do so for as long as they can.
This season’s concerts begin in June and end in September, with some events taking place back-to-back. In addition to donating, individuals can also offer their time to the Levitt, with available volunteer positions including information and merchandising and greeting.
For more information on the event, visit the Levitt Dayton website online.
Carly Webster
Staff Writer