A Chinese dragon dance sparks joy amongst Arlington community members of all ages and backgrounds.

Throughout the year, venues and concert sites across the Levitt network present programming that champions both seasoned and rising Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) performing artists, honors the legacy of trailblazing AANHPI musicians, and celebrates the collective impact of the AANHPI community while also underscoring the cultural diversity of the Asian and Pacific Islander diaspora. Here’s a roundup of several festivals and concerts blossoming to life during the 2024 Levitt season that celebrate the AANHPI community through the joy of free, live music experiences.

 

Levitt AMP Hāna Music Series

In Maui, the second annual Levitt AMP Hāna Mele Series (mele meaning ‘song, anthem or chant’ in Hawaiian) presented by Hāna Arts kicks off in June—and with it will be a mélange of talented Native Hawaiian performers spanning several generations of artistry, honoring and preserving Indigenous Hawaiian culture by way of song. On opening night, Hāna community members of all ages and backgrounds will experience the bright sonic palette of Native Hawaiian singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Maka Gallinger, whose diaristic Hawaiian Reggae music—defined by her ukulele strumming and warm contralto—explores themes of hope, love and faith.

The 2024 Levitt AMP Hāna Music Series will feature multi-GRAMMY-winning Native Hawaiian music legend George Kahumoku, Jr. (pictured alongside Hāna native and falsetto singer Lahela Park), who also performed at the Maui community’s 2023 concert series.

Accompanying Gallinger’s performance will be an appearance from the keiki (meaning ‘child’ in Hawaiian) performers of He Makana Aloha Music Camp: a statewide music program led by Gallinger that brings music education and instruments to Hawaii’s underserved communities, including Native Hawaiian youth (34% of Hawaii’s youth population). This year’s series will also feature performances from Honolulu-based one-man-band Tavana, a Samoan/American musician who is set to entrance Hāna audiences with his wizardly approach to performance—using footwork to create his own live backing tracks while simultaneously rocking to guitar, banjo, and other instruments to create his soulful, island-inspired take on rock and blues.

Also appearing on the Hāna stage will be rising Indigenous Hawaiian songstress Wehilei, an award-winning singer and songwriter hailing from Kohala (a coastal region of the Big Island) and born into a legacy of lauded Hawaiian musicians: her mother, Lorna Lim, is a prolific musician (of the musical group the Lim Family of Kohala, whose lineage can be traced back to historic Hawai‘i Island chief Alapa‘i Nui), as is her father, a Hawaiian slack key guitarist and music producer. And speaking of legacies, on closing night, Levitt AMP Hāna will welcome back “Hawai’i’s Renaissance Man”—four-time GRAMMY winner and Native Hawaiian culture bearer George Kahumoku, Jr., who will inject the sunny spirit of kī hōʻalu (a form of bright-sounding finger-style guitar technique born in Hawai’i) into the Hāna community yet again.

Other AANHPI artists set to grace the Levitt AMP Hāna stage include musician-producer Jason Arcilla; Nellson & Ka’ili Kanakaole; Uncle Keoni Darisay; and students of Ke Kula Kaiapuni o Hāna (of Hāna School’s Hawaiian-medium education pathway).

The 2024 Levitt AMP Hāna Mele Series begins June 7 at the Hana Farmer’s Market. 

 

Bringing communities together through a shared appreciation for Japanese and Japanese American arts and culture, Japanese Arts Network founder and taiko artist Courtney Ozaki is pictured at Japan Fest 2023, co-presented by Levitt Denver and the Japanese Arts Network.

Japan Fest at Levitt Pavilion Denver

Last August, Colorado’s first-ever Japan Fest blossomed to life at Levitt Pavilion Denver, and 2024 will mark the second go-round of this effervescent arts festival that celebrates Japanese and Japanese American music, cultural traditions, and heritage. Collaboratively presented by Levitt Denver and the national Japanese Arts Network (known as JA-NE and pronounced “jaa-neh”), this year’s Japan Fest explores themes of time, life, and beauty in honor of the late Ryuichi Sakamoto. Sakamoto was a pioneering Japanese composer, pianist, and record producer whose iconic film scores earned him numerous awards—including an Oscar, a GRAMMY, and two Golden Globes—and is recognized as an unmatched force of innovation in the popular electronic music space, influencing a bevy of heavy-hitting Western acts like Duran Duran, Depeche Mode, and Todd Rundgren.

As with last year’s celebration, Japan Fest 2024 will include a cultural market featuring local independent artists and makers. Shown here is Denver small business owner and culinary artist Liane Pensack-Rineheart of Colorado Cocoa Pod, which creates Asian-inspired artisan confections.

In celebration of Sakamoto, the Japan Fest 2024 lineup will feature Japanese multidisciplinary artist Michael Sakamoto (no relation), who specializes in butō, a postmodern Japanese dance style founded in the late 1950s, among many others. As with last year’s festival, Japan Fest 2024’s performance schedule will be complemented with a cultural market stacked with local indie artists and makers, vendors, community organizations and food trucks showcasing Colorado’s own Japanese diaspora of more than 11,000 people.

Japan Fest 2024 will unfold on Sunday, July 7 at Levitt Pavilion Denver as part of the venue’s free summer concert series.

 

Asian Heritage Celebration at Levitt Pavilion Arlington

In the fall, Levitt Pavilion Arlington will host its third annual Asian Heritage Celebration: a vibrant pan-Asian festival presented in partnership with the Mayor of Arlington’s Asian Advisory Council. Spotlighting Asian American performing artists and creators while also strengthening the multicultural fabric of the increasingly diverse North Texas community, Levitt Arlington’s Asian Heritage Celebration will be a family-friendly event showcasing traditional and modern elements of culture, food, music, art, and dance of the Asian diaspora.

Local youth dancers take center stage, dazzling audience members at Levitt Pavilion Arlington’s 2023 Asian Heritage Celebration.

This year’s Asian Heritage Celebration will both build upon cross-cultural understanding in Arlington while providing the city’s sizeable AANHPI community—comprising more than 26,000 residents of Asian descent, over half of whom have Vietnamese roots—with a safe, inclusive opportunity to experience a sense of belonging.

The 2024 Levitt Pavilion Arlington Asian Heritage Celebration will unfold in Founders Plaza in October (please stay tuned to Levitt Pavilion Arlington’s website and social media feeds for exact dates).

 

Levitt AMP Stevens Point Music Series

Central Wisconsin’s Levitt AMP Stevens Point Music Series (presented by CREATE Portage County) will launch its eighth season of free, live music at the city’s Pfiffner Park Bandshell—and as with many years before, the high-caliber series will feature a diverse array of critically acclaimed artists reflecting the college town’s youthful, multicultural community. Kicking off the music series on a soulful note is composer, music producer, multi-instrumentalist and artist Alysha Brilla, whose Indo-Tanzanian heritage serves as inspiration for her sound: a combination of a rhythmic global roots musicality and poetic lyricism exploring themes of cultural identity and social justice. On June 6, Brilla will bring together the Stevens Point community over her rich, Amy Winehouse-esque vocal delivery and profound storytelling, backed by the strum of the artist’s signature acoustic guitar.

Central Wisconsin’s Levitt AMP Stevens Point Music Series highlights the musical talents of its diverse community, including the large Hmong population; pictured is Minnesota-based Laotian Hmong American pop artist Ka Lia Universe performing on the Levitt AMP Stevens Point stage in 2023.

Later, in August, Levitt AMP Stevens Point will celebrate the artistry of Central Wisconsin’s sizeable Hmong population. Today, over 360,000 people of Hmong descent live in the U.S., many of them calling Midwestern states like Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan home—and on August 15, two members of the Hmong American community will perform as co-headliners, dazzling audiences with their unique artistry that merges Hmong-language lyricism and cultural sounds with contemporary Western genres like pop and R&B.

Appearing on stage will be emerging Hmong American singer-songwriter newSONG—hailing from Minneapolis and whose sonic storytelling is complemented with infectious, K-pop-style dance moves—who dives into topics like familial relationships, love, and body positivity. Also performing will be newcomer Michelle Elle: a homegrown member of Wisconsin’s Hmong community whose love for music blossomed at an early age. Raised on a diet of both Hmong music and American Top 40 radio, Elle began writing songs as a teenager, and today her craft explores themes of self-discovery. Expressing herself in Hmong-language narratives layered atop catchy, bubblegum beats, Elle is sure to bring the Stevens Point community to their feet for an evening of joy and cross-cultural connection though the power of free, live music.

The 2024 Levitt AMP Stevens Point Music Series begins June 6 at Pfiffner Pioneer Park.

The Levitt Foundation is proud to foster joy and cross-cultural understanding through the power of free, live music—check out our season overview to see what else the 2024 Levitt network season has in store!