Levitt Pavilion Closes 2020 Season with Free In-Person, Livestreamed Concerts
By Levitt Pavilion Communications
Posted on October 09, 2020, October 09, 2020

Artist Josh Ward

Levitt Pavilion Arlington concludes its 2020 concert season Oct. 16-18 with three free concerts. The season started as once-a-week livestreaming on April 21, then evolved into weekly Friday and Saturday night concerts on Aug. 28 that mixed livestreaming with a limited number of people on the lawn to hear live music.

Those who have ventured out to the Levitt lawn have been enjoying live music from socially-distanced squares that can hold up to eight people. Concertgoers also are required to wear masks except when eating and drinking inside their squares. For its last three concerts, those squares are first come, first served when gates open at 6 p.m.

Through it all, the Levitt has adjusted to our COVID world and continued to provide free music. They've also paid artists to livestream or perform in person at a time when artists have been unable to perform and get paid. During the fall concerts, most artists performed in front of live crowds for the first time since March.

To close out the concert season, Abraham Alexander kicks off the weekend at 8 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16. The Dallas artist was born in Greece to parents of Nigerian descent, but moved to Texas when he was 11. He instills his music with a joyful passion and irrepressible spirt, and his songs include elements of soul, hip-hop and blues. His concert is sponsored by Baylor Scott & White Orthopedic & Spine Hospital in Arlington.

On Saturday, Oct. 17, one of Austin's most innovative and popular singer/songwriters, Hayes Carll, returns to the Levitt stage at 8 p.m. His signature cleverness and aptitude for so-personal-you-might-miss-it political commentary is as strong as ever and rooted solidly in the present. Kelly Willis and Kenny Chesney have chosen to record his songs, and his television appearances include The Tonight Show and Austin City Limits. Opening artists for Carll's concert is Hankins Band, Arlington artists who have been making music together for 14 years. Their concert is at 7 p.m. Saturday's concert is presented by Frost Bank.

Concluding the weekend at 8 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 18, is Josh Ward, who represents a new generation of old-school country music. Ward has charted seven number-one hits on the Texas Regional Radio Chart in just two years and was their New Male Vocalist of the Year in 2013. He is a well-versed songsmith with a hauntingly traditional voice. His honest and visceral delivery of every song compels audiences to feel his lyrics with him as he takes them on a musical journey. At 7 p.m., Jesse Spradlin gets things going with her take on down-home soul. The closing concert is presented by Baylor Scott & White Orthopedic & Spine Hospital in Arlington.

To attend the concerts in person, socially-distanced squares on the lawn and on Abram Street are first come, first served when the gates open at 6 p.m. Each square holds up to eight people. It is not necessary to preregister to attend. Concert gates are located near Center and South streets between the Levitt and First Baptist Church and at Abram and Pecan streets near the flagpoles. All of the concerts also will be livestreamed from the Levitt Pavilion Arlington Facebook page.

Levitt Pavilion, Coronavirus
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