I enjoyed it, parked over near the wade building. I loved Delta Rae. It was hard to find a place and sit or stand, so I eventually made my way to the beer and wine stand on the other side, it was fenced in and with some tables to lean against. So I sat there, enjoying the music and the calm, cool breeze.
It did start to rain, but that was all right, the "free music under the stars" show won me over pretty well. Next time there's an event with them, I'll be sure to attend again, and with a blanket and possibly chair. Â The music, as mentioned was stunning, and unfortunately I was unable to stay until the end due to the storm, but that's fine. I greatly enjoyed my time there and would love to attend again. I did have to stop at a cheap motel due to not wanting to get on that freeway when the weather started to come in, but that's another story altogether.
Good job Arlington, and thanks for a great show! You'll see me around again, I'm sure
I enjoyed this! I was listening to this new band I found, Delta Rae, and just really getting into their music, so I figured I'd check out their tour dates. Low and behold they were playing, in Arlington, that very Friday, and FOR FREE! Kismet!
It was a "free music under the stars" show. It was a cool breezy night, with a big sky overhead and great music, all for the price of free so I was already happy. Add in plenty of space even for the big crowd that showed up along with really good sound quality, and professionalism and I was a happy camper.
Parking can get tricky but places around the venue allow parking, so check their website for ideas. Look for spots at City Hall, the library, the first baptist church, and the UTA parking garage. We found a spot pretty quick and we only arrived maybe 15 minutes before showtime. Walking distance from all these places is pretty short too, so good location choice for this place. Â
Next time I will be sure to bring a blanket or chairs to sit on, though I did find a place to perch on the side that still had a good view. I also saw lots of people with coolers, drinks, even lil folding tables out and feasts going on. This is a good date night idea, or a fun hang out with friends time, really the crowd was a big mix of everyone, which is cool. Â
It did start to get rainy, so I didn't stay for the end of the show, though I did get to hear most of the songs I came for, Delta Rae rocked! Luckily there are a ton of local restaurants within walking distance, so we just walked to the closest one and waited out the storm with hot pizza and brews, a great end to the night. Â
Overall I have to say good job Arlington! This is a really fabulous setup, keep the amazing bands coming!
Levitt's a great idea that's actually working in almost as well in practice as in theory. Â A free community stage with a fairly regular schedule, a variety of acts, and decent sound.
I've been a performer and audience member at Levitt Pavilion several times. Â It's almost always a great experience. Â Sound is usually well run and the longer it's around, the better they get. Â It's big enough to fit what needs to be on stage. Â The lighting is well done and it actually looks nice sitting in the middle of downtown.
The stage faces in a way that keep the sun out of the audience's eyes and allows natural lighting for daytime shows. Â Only downside of this is that when you're playing the stage, the sun and all its heat are focused on you. Â A 5:00pm summer show on Levitt's stage is a miserable mess of heat and blindness. Â However, I've never played there when they didn't provide bottled water to help cool us down. Â
The green is nicely done with a good view. Â Decoration and landscaping is kept fairly tasteful. Â
Acts coming across the stage range from local bands, to community wind bands, to national acts, to university jazz bands. Â It's a great mix of genres as well. Â I'm glad Arlington has finally opened up a venue like this as part of their plan to revitalize the downtown area.
Perfection! Â Music Under the Stars!
This is my favorite place in Arlington. Â You can't beat free and fun. Â We usually arrive about an hour before the concert. Â We bring our chairs, cooler and stop at the Gyros House on the way for some tasty Greek for our picnic. Â You can't beat an evening with music, food and relaxation for $15.00 (the price of our dinner). Â
The group of people that put this on really have their hearts in the right place and it shows. Â We so appreciate all that they do to make this so perfect. Â Parking is free and there is plenty of it at the Baptist Church, City Hall, and the Arlington Mission. Â
They also have some food vendors if you didn't bring you own. Â I'm just love the Gyro's guy. Â
Even in the heat it works. Â Something about this spot seems to cool off quickly.
FREE, FREE, FREE!!!
Havana NRG was playing here and I am a fan because I have heard them before many times at local nightclubs and restaurants. This venue is pretty cool I must say. You bring your own lawn chair and cooler and enjoy the band. They even have a dance floor which got a lot of use. I saw people bring their own beer and wine with snacks. They have vendors which sell soft drinks, snow cones and other stuff. I did not see any beer vendors this evening but I have seen them out here before. This has a very laid back and low key feel to it. I think I mentioned it was free but they do accept donations. I think they have several acts scheduled for the summer.
This is a very cheap, good quality and fun place to hang out at. One of the few places in DFW where you can bring your family and not spend a great amount of money. Oh and Parking is free too! I parked on the street next to city hall.
I genuinely LOVE Levitt Pavilion! Their free spring and summer concert series make my free weekends rock!
The bands they book are the REAL deal- talented musicians with a strong enough stage presence to appreciate their work, but mellow enough to know they're covering someone else's music (specifically referring to the cover bands only here).
The open "seating" area (grass field) provides music-goers a virtually pain-free way to decide where they'd like to locate. Even at the more busy acts seen here- there's always plenty of room to stretch out on a blanket and to move about the space with ease.
It's always clean. There are sometimes volunteers that pass out much needed paper fans, or to ask discretely for monetary donations to help support this non-profit pavilion. Â
The street vendors that are sometimes present are clean, polite, and work steadily so the lines don't get too backed up.
The Pros:
EVERYTHING IS AWESOME! And did I mention, FREE?!
The Cons:
Parking can be bs- I strongly recommend you arrive early to get a good spot. Park behind the Arlington shelter, across from the baptist church.
This is a really nifty little oasis in the dreary brown downtown of Arlington. Â It's an outdoor stage where an array of live acts perform, no seating, but pretty excellent sounding with a snazzy looking stage. All of the shows are free except for their annual fundraising show. Â You just bring your folding chairs and blankets and chill in the grass and (depending on the music) shake yo' ass. We saw Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears last night so ass shaking was mandatory. Â It was just a very nice, cheap evening. Â Usually, if we want to do anything the least bit cool we have to high tail it to Dallas but this was decidedly awesome. Â You can bring in your snacks and your drinks (booze is fine but no glass) and just groove to your heart's content. Â I have to say, though, that the weather just happened to be perfect last night- I'm sure if it's too hot outside it becomes alot less pleasant. Â
I was curious what the crowd would be like (this is a band with songs including Big Booty Woman and Booty City) and it turned out to just be anyone in Arlington -youngs, olds, families,puppies- with nothing better to do on a Sunday night. Â Everyone was pleasant, though, no one was obnoxious and everyone just got down with their bad selves (i.e. sat on folding chairs and nodded their heads slightly.)
They did come by and ask for donations at one point during the show which I thought was fine, I think it's cool that they maintain this nice venue and have free shows and if I had any cash on me I would of given some money too (I swear!) Â Their mission is to bring the performing arts to everyone "especially those families who could not afford to enjoy and benefit from music and the performing arts in any other way" which just melts my bleeding heart.
Mammoth Follies ("Mammoth Follies explores the wonders of evolution in an old-fashioned revue of original songs, witty jokes, and earth-smashing dances performed by giant dinosaur puppets") is coming for the children later this month but, like, I totally want to go to there.