Letatia Teykl has watched her Arlington community evolve and diverse members embrace each other throughout her life. 

“And guess what brings people together? Live music,” Teykl said. “Music can bridge so many things and bring people together just by a vibe, a beat, words, energy on the stage.”

She serves as the executive director of Levitt Pavilion Arlington, a nonprofit providing free, culturally diverse music to build community. The nonprofit is partially funded by the Levitt Foundation, whose national mission speaks to her. 

In delivering that mission, Levitt Pavilion will present the second-year DreamFest, a block-party style festival featuring free live music, food trucks, vendors and family-friendly activities April 26-27. The festival celebrates the city and also serves as a way for the community to come together and value the diversity in Arlington. 

Members from the mayor’s advisory councils, which represent people of diverse races, genders and sexual orientation, will also be celebrating and interacting with the community. 

“It’s just like being in a community where you have that hometown festival,” Teykl said. “We’re a large hometown, right? 400,000 folks. But yet, when you come into Arlington, you still feel like you’re all neighbors. That’s kind of the feeling of this event.”

The festival attracted about 4,000 attendees last year, Teykl said. Its concept was created by Arlington Mayor Jim Ross. 

“I always love seeing people from all walks of life on the Levitt lawn, enjoying good times with each other while attending a special event or a great concert,” Ross said in an email. “It’s a visual demonstration of the rich diversity of Arlington, and a reminder that the Levitt is an important gathering space for our community.”

DreamFest kickstarts Levitt’s 17th season of free concerts and events. 

The spring leg of the Levitt season wraps up the last weekend of May, then the summer series begins Memorial Day weekend and runs until the end of June. The fall Levitt series begins Labor Day weekend and runs through mid-October. 

Artists taking the stage this spring include rock band Vandoliers and country artist Kaitlin Butts. Levitt free concerts are also livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube. This year, Grammy-nominated duo The War and Treaty will also perform at Levitt. 

This weekend’s festival marks a new feature: Student musicians between the ages of 12 and 18 will perform a song or two before opening artists on Friday nights, Teykl said. 

Levitt Pavilion works with three local studios to find students for the show, she said. The young artists also learn about the contract process for payment and visit the greenroom to meet with other artists. 

“Who knows, maybe the next Maren Morris will be (there) because Maren has performed on this stage many years ago,” she said. “Maybe it’s the Pentatonix who have been on the stage before.”

Dang Le is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at dang.le@fortworthreport.org or @DangHLe. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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Arlington to celebrate city, diversity with free music festival at Levitt Pavilion

by Dang Le, Arlington Report
April 24, 2024

<h1>Arlington to celebrate city, diversity with free music festival at Levitt Pavilion</h1> <p class="byline">by Dang Le, Arlington Report <br />April 24, 2024</p> <p>Letatia Teykl has watched her Arlington community evolve and diverse members embrace each other throughout her life.&nbsp;</p> <p>“And guess what brings people together? Live music,” Teykl said. “Music can bridge so many things and bring people together just by a vibe, a beat, words, energy on the stage.”</p> <p>She serves as the executive director of Levitt Pavilion Arlington, a nonprofit providing free, culturally diverse music to build community. The nonprofit is partially funded by the Levitt Foundation, whose national mission speaks to her.&nbsp;</p> <p>In delivering that mission, Levitt Pavilion will present the second-year <a href="https://levittpavilionarlington.org/event/dreamfest-2024/">DreamFest</a>, a block-party style festival featuring free live music, food trucks, vendors and family-friendly activities April 26-27. The festival celebrates the city and also serves as a way for the community to come together and value the diversity in Arlington. </p> <p>Members from <a href="https://twitter.com/CityOfArlington/status/1750157554947174552/photo/2">the mayor’s advisory councils</a>, which represent people of diverse races, genders and sexual orientation, will also be celebrating and interacting with the community.&nbsp;</p> <p>“It’s just like being in a community where you have that hometown festival,” Teykl said. “We're a large hometown, right? 400,000 folks. But yet, when you come into Arlington, you still feel like you're all neighbors. That's kind of the feeling of this event.”</p> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull has-light-gray-background-color has-background"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">If you go</h3> <ul> <li><strong>What:</strong> Levitt Pavilion presents DreamFest to kickstart its 17th season of free concerts and events</li> <li><strong>When: </strong>6:30-10 p.m. April 26 and 4-10 p.m. April 27 <ul> <li>The Saturday show is headlined by Motown band Memphis Soul</li> <li>The Sunday show is headlined by Tejas Brothers, famously noted as “the original Tex-Mex Honky Tonk band.”</li> </ul> </li> <li><strong>Where:</strong> 100 W. Abram St.</li> <li><strong>Price: </strong>Concerts and <a href="https://levittpavilionarlington.org/your-visit-to-the-levitt/directions-and-parking/">parking</a> are free. Visitors can bring food and coolers with beverages, including alcohol, but no glass containers.</li> </ul> <p>Visit <a href="https://levittpavilionarlington.org/events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">here</a> for more details.</p> </p></div> <p>The festival attracted about 4,000 attendees last year, Teykl said. Its concept was created by Arlington Mayor Jim Ross.&nbsp;</p> <p>"I always love seeing people from all walks of life on the Levitt lawn, enjoying good times with each other while attending a special event or a great concert,” Ross said in an email. “It's a visual demonstration of the rich diversity of Arlington, and a reminder that the Levitt is an important gathering space for our community.”</p> <p>DreamFest kickstarts Levitt’s 17th season of free concerts and events. </p> <div class="wp-block-group alignfull has-light-gray-background-color has-background"> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Levitt Pavilion Arlington’s 2024 spring schedule</h3> <p>Opening artists take the stage at 7:30 p.m., and headliners go on at 8:30 pm. Schedule is subject to change or variation. Visit the Levitt <a href="https://levittpavilionarlington.org/events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">website</a> or socials for up-to-date details.</p> <ul> <li>April 26: Memphis Soul — Motown; Opening Artist: Chef Dee —Soul/Hip Hop</li> <li>April 27: Tejas Brothers —Tex-Mex Honky Tonk; Opening artists: Chloe Jobin (5 p.m.); Pugh Funk (6 p.m.); Marissa Chibli (7 p.m.) </li> <li>May 3: Aaron Copeland — Texas Country/Americana; Opening artist:  Jade Flores — Country/Rockabilly/Blues</li> <li>May 4: Grupo Fantasma — Latin Funk; Opening artist: Quimikoz Del Son — Latin Cumbia/Fusion</li> <li>May 10: Jackie Venson — R&amp;B/Soul; Opening artist: Jacob Serrano— Indie Pop</li> <li>May 11:  Vandoliers — Alt Country/Americana; Opening artist: Sam Morrow —Blues/Rock</li> <li>May 17: Jacob Stelly — Country/Alt Country/Americana; Opening artist: The Red Iron Push —Country/Americana</li> <li>May 18: Las Fenix — Norteña; Opening artist: Ceci Ceci—Latin Indie</li> <li>May 19: Stooges Brass Band — Jazz; Opening artist: Sean Hobbes &amp; The Hi Res — Alt/Indie</li> <li>May 24: Solido — Cumbia/Norteña; Opening artist: Sabor Puro — Cumbia</li> <li>May 25: Kaitlin Butts — Country/Dance; Opening artist: Shelby Stone — Country</li> <li>May 26: Black Joe Lewis &amp; The Honeybears — Blues; Opening artist: Isaac Stone and The Sound Brigade — Psychedelic Soul/Rock</li> </ul></div> <p>The spring leg of the Levitt season wraps up the last weekend of May, then the summer series begins Memorial Day weekend and runs until the end of June. The fall Levitt series begins Labor Day weekend and runs through mid-October.&nbsp;</p> <p>Artists taking the stage this spring include rock band Vandoliers and country artist Kaitlin Butts. Levitt free concerts are also livestreamed on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/levittpavilionarlington">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEVlnHd8yUCMkLLeOXeweow">YouTube</a>. This year, Grammy-nominated duo The War and Treaty will also perform at Levitt.&nbsp;</p> <p>This weekend’s festival marks a new feature: Student musicians between the ages of 12 and 18 will perform a song or two before opening artists on Friday nights, Teykl said.&nbsp;</p> <p>Levitt Pavilion works with three local studios to find students for the show, she said. The young artists also learn about the contract process for payment and visit the greenroom to meet with other artists.&nbsp;</p> <p>“Who knows, maybe the next Maren Morris will be (there) because Maren has performed on this stage many years ago,” she said. “Maybe it's the Pentatonix who have been on the stage before.”</p> <p><em>Dang Le is a reporting fellow for the Arlington Report. Contact him at </em><a href="mailto:dang.le@fortworthreport.org"><em>dang.le@fortworthreport.org</em></a><em> or </em><a href="https://twitter.com/DangHLe"><em>@DangHLe</em></a><em>. At the Arlington Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy </em><a href="https://fortworthreport.org/about/fort-worth-report-editorial-independence-policy/"><em>here</em></a><em>.</em></p> <p>This <a target="_blank" href="https://fortworthreport.org/2024/04/24/arlington-to-celebrate-city-diversity-with-free-music-festival-at-levitt-pavilion/">article</a> first appeared on <a target="_blank" href="https://fortworthreport.org">Arlington Report</a> and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.<img src="https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?fit=150%2C150&amp;quality=80&amp;ssl=1" style="width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;"><img id="republication-tracker-tool-source" src="https://fortworthreport.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=123868" style="width:1px;height:1px;"></p> Copy to Clipboard

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