Friends Of Levitt Pavilion - City Of Angels

MAKE LIVE MUSIC ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, CREATING STRONGER AND MORE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES WHILE CELEBRATING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR CITY AND BEYOND.

THE MISSION OF FRIENDS OF LEVITT PAVILION CITY OF ANGELS (LEVITT LA) IS TO MAKE LIVE MUSIC ACCESSIBLE TO ALL, CREATING STRONGER AND MORE CONNECTED COMMUNITIES WHILE CELEBRATING THE DIVERSITY OF OUR CITY AND BEYOND. LEVITT LA PRESENTS 50 FREE SUMMER CONCERTS AT MACARTHUR PARK, FEATURING EMERGING AND SEASONED, AWARD-WINNING PERFORMERS, SPANNING 20+ MUSIC GENRES. SINCE 2007 OVER HALF A MILLION MUSIC LOVERS OF ALL AGES AND BACKGROUNDS HAVE COME TOGETHER AT LEVITT LA. EACH YEAR APPROXIMATELY 50,000 AUDIENCE MEMBERS ATTEND AND OVER 150 ARTISTS ARE PAID TO PERFORM. EVERY CONCERT INCLUDES INTERGENERATIONAL ACTIVITIES - WITH A DEDICATED KIDSZONE AND RESOURCES SHARED BY COMMUNITY PARTNERS. THIS HELPS SUSTAIN POSITIVE CHANGE IN MACARTHUR PARK BY UPLIFTING THE CULTURAL RESILIENCE OF LOS ANGELES AND BEYOND. EXTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS AND ONSITE SIGNAGE ARE BILINGUAL (ENGLISH/SPANISH) IN ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF THE AREA THIS VENUE IS SITUATED.LEVITT LA OFFERED FOR THE FIRST TIME A HYBRID SEASON CONSISTING OF VIRTUAL OFFERINGS, IN-PERSON CONCERTS, AND POP-UP CONCERTS IN COLLABORATION WITH PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS ACROSS LOS ANGELES IN 2021. THIS WAS PARTIALLY A RESPONSE TO THE PANDEMIC, AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE NEW PATHWAYS OF ACCESS, AND IT ALLOWED FOR A DEEPENING OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS. CREATING PAID OPPORTUNITIES IN THE ARTS WAS ALSO A GOAL FOR BOTH PERFORMERS AND SEASONAL STAFF WHO EXPERIENCED WAGE CUTS OR CANCELLATIONS FOR OVER A YEAR DUE TO COVID-19. THE CONCERTS AND POP-UPS PROMOTED SOCIAL COHESION IN MODERATED SETTINGS AFTER A PERIOD OF STRESS, UNCERTAINTY, AND LOSS. BRINGING JOY, HOPE, AND UNITY THROUGH MUSIC TO MANY WHO HAVE BEEN HEAVILY IMPACTED BY THE PANDEMIC WAS THE FOUNDATION FOR THIS VISION.LEVITT LA FOCUSED ON ENGAGING WITH THE WESTLAKE/MACARTHUR PARK AND SOUTH LA NEIGHBORHOODS. THIS WAS AN EXPANSION BASED ON RELATIONSHIPS WITH PARTNERS AND THE DESIRE TO REACH AREAS WHERE THE LEVITT LA AUDIENCE IS BASED. THE PRIMARY POPULATIONS ENGAGED WERE BLACK, AND/OR OF LATINO DESCENT, MAJORITY IMMIGRANT. LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY MEMBERS ARE TARGETED THROUGH THE PARTNERSHIPS THAT LEVITT LA HAS WITH NUMEROUS ORGANIZATIONS IN THE AREA. FOR APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THE ARTISTS LEVITT LA HIRED FOR THE POP-UPS, IT WAS THEIR FIRST TIME PERFORMING SINCE THE START OF COVID-19.CONTINUING A COMMITMENT TO POSITIVELY ACTIVATE MACARTHUR PARK, LEVITT LA OFFERED CONCERTS AT MACARTHUR PARK (7/30/21 - 8/22/21). THE LONG-TERM PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP WITH THE CITY OF LA - DEPARTMENT OF RECREATION & PARKS HELPS MAKE LEVITT LA'S WORK POSSIBLE. IN 2021 THE GUIDELINES OF USAGE SET FORTH BY THE LA COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC HEALTH CREATED A CHALLENGE IN TERMS OF ACCESSING THIS SPACE WHICH ACCOUNTS FOR THE REDUCTION OF NUMBER OF CONCERTS OFFERED ALONG WITH BUDGETARY CONSTRAINTS.THE MUSIC GROUPS PRESENTED ARE LOCAL, NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL, EMERGING AND SEASONED TALENT, SPANNING GENRES THAT ARE RELEVANT TO LOS ANGELES AND WESTLAKE, SUCH AS CUMBIA, HIP-HOP, NEO-SOUL, REGGAE, SKA, FUNK, AND TRADITIONAL MUSIC SUCH AS BOLEROS, ETHIOPIAN JAZZ, SAMBA, AND NUEVO CANCIN. APPROXIMATELY 150 ARTISTS WERE BOOKED SPANNING 20+ GENRES. SOME OF THE TOP PERFORMERS IN TERMS OF AUDIENCE ATTENDANCE WERE: FLOR AMARGO, SON ROMPE PERA, THE PARANOIAS + FRIENDS, SELENAMOS & THE LETHAL AMOUNTS GALLERY SHOWCASE. COMMUNITY PARTNERS, FOOD/CRAFT VENDORS, AND SPONSORS ONCE AGAIN HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH THE LEVITT LA AUDIENCE CREATING REVENUE OPPORTUNITIES, RESOURCE SHARING AND INTRACULTURAL EXCHANGES. LEVITT LA WAS ABLE TO OFFER PROGRAMMING THAT HAPPENED ONLINE DUE TO THE INVESTMENT IN NEW LIVESTREAMING EQUIPMENT AND THE POPULARIZATION OF VIRTUAL PLATFORMS LIKE ZOOM.LEVITT LA PARTNERED WITH WILD ART GROUP AND HOMEPLXCE TO HOST AN EVENT FILLED WITH INNOVATIVE AND EXPERIMENTAL FORMS OF ART AND MEDIA FOR THEIR JUNETEENTH AND BLACK PRIDE CELEBRATION. THIS YEAR'S VIRTUAL FESTIVAL GATHERED SOME OF THE MOST CREATIVE AND PROFOUND QUEER, BLACK AND TRANS ARTISTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO PERFORM POETRY, ORAL HISTORY, HIP-HOP TRIBUTES, AND MUCH MORE FOR A DAY TO REMEMBER. THE HOLISTIC CELEBRATION HONORED BLACK CONTRIBUTORS AS THEY CONTINUOUSLY BREAK THE BOUNDARIES OF ART AND EXPRESSION WHILE EXAMINING THE INTERSECTIONS OF QUEERNESS AND BLACKNESS AS THEY MINGLE AND CHALLENGE ONE ANOTHER.LEVITT LA HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH HEARTBEAT OPERA TO PRESENT BREATHING FREE: A VISUAL ALBUM? AND CONTEMPORARY AMERICAN FIDELIO TOLD THROUGH THE LENS OF BLACK LIVES MATTER. IN 2020 - THE YEAR OF GEORGE FLOYD'S MURDER, A PANDEMIC WHICH RAVAGES OUR PRISON POPULATION, AND THE 250TH ANNIVERSARY OF BEETHOVEN'S BIRTH - THEY CURATED A SONG CYCLE, BROUGHT TO LIFE IN VIVID MUSIC VIDEOS, MINGLING EXCERPTS FROM FIDELIO WITH NEGRO SPIRITUALS AND SONGS BY BLACK COMPOSERS AND LYRICISTS, WHICH TOGETHER MANIFEST A DREAM OF JUSTICE, EQUITY... AND BREATHING FREE. AFTER THE ZOOM SCREENING WITH LIVE SPANISH INTERPRETATION, THERE WAS AN ARTIST Q&A WITH THE FILMMAKER ANAIIS CISCO AND OPERA SINGER DERRELL ACON.BARRIO FINO IS A FIVE-EPISODE DOCU-SERIES DEVELOPED DURING THE PANDEMIC AS A COLLECTIVE LOVE LETTER TO COMMUNITIES AND CULTURES THAT REFLECT MACARTHUR PARK. EACH 60-MINUTE EPISODE DIVES INTO THE CREATIVE DIVERSITY OF WESTLAKE, KOREATOWN, HISTORIC FILIPINOTOWN, THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIGENOUS POPULATIONS OF LOS ANGELES, AND THE LEGACY OF YOUTH & HIP-HOP IN THE PARK. LIVE-STREAMED FROM THE ROOFTOP OF WALTER J. TOWERS AT SUNSET, BARRIO FINO FEATURED LIVE MUSICAL PERFORMANCES AND VIDEO SEGMENTS HIGHLIGHTING THE FOOD, FASHION, ART, AND HISTORY OF THESE COMMUNITIES WITH DYNAMIC INTERVIEWS BY COMMUNITY LEADERS, CULTURE BEARERS, AND ARTISTS. LEVITT LA CO-CURATED AN EPISODE EACH WITH LONGSTANDING COLLABORATORS UNITED AMERICAN INDIAN INVOLVEMENT INC., ASIAN AMERICAN EXCHANGE MEDIA, FILAM ARTS, CARMELO ALVAREZ, AND SUNSET ECLCTICO. THESE FIVE VIDEOS ARE NOW ONLINE IN PERPETUITY, FOR OUR AUDIENCE, ARTISTS, AND PARTNERS TO BENEFIT LONG TERM.