July 29, 2019 by Hilary Jenison. Photos courtesy of Artist Waves and Not Today.
In mid-July, Hingham was well represented at the 2019 Levitate Music and Arts Festival.
Hingham’s own Jeff Gorra, founder of Artist Waves (https://artistwaves.com/) was on site for the entire three-day festival conducting on-site private and live interviews with multiple artists, including Michael Franti Spearhead, Shovels & Rope and Ripe, Sublime w/Rome, The Elovaters (from Marshfield) and Not Today. Full interviews can be found on ArtistWaves.com.
“Levitate Fest is one of my favorite events of the year. It's such a celebratory vibe, with a passionate, grassroots effort behind it,” said Jeff Gorra, founder of Artist Waves and Hingham father of four. “Personally, I was so busy from the 11:30am on day one to sundown on day three - prepping for and conducting interviews. It was a thrill to do a few of them in the VIP lounge, and I had my oldest son Jake with me to close out the weekend interviewing Michael Franti. I did make sure to set aside time to catch Ripe's full set on Friday night - they are all Berklee grads and put on an incredible live show. Overall, it's remarkable what Levitate Fest has become. How cool to have it just a stone's throw from here!”
Additionally, the band – Not Today (https://www.nottodaymusic.com) – an alternative band from the Boston, consisting of six teenagers (two of whom are from Hingham) had a unique opportunity to open on Day Two of Levitate taking the Style Stage by storm. Not Today was the youngest band in the Festival’s lineup. Band members include Hingham residents lead singer Olivia Monarch, a senior at HHS and guitarist Tas Claridge, a sophomore at HHS, as well as Larkin Tanner, Cam Igo, Fionn Pina Parker, and Kris McCarthy. They are often described as slightly 90s-influenced and just released their second full length album, ‘Now In Full Color’ available on Spotify.
“When we got off the stage after performing for our biggest crowd yet, we were met with so much positivity and love,” said Olivia Monarch, Not Today lead singer and 12th grade student at Hingham High School. “Complete strangers would run up to us saying that they enjoyed our music and that we'd make it in the music industry, which really filled our hearts. We cannot express how grateful we are to be a part of such a supportive community; it keeps us going.”
“Not Today was great. They kicked off day two and had a fully-engaged, packed audience, singing and dancing along with their every note,” said Jeff Gorra. “What I appreciated most was how much they savored the opportunity. They spoke a lot about this in our interview -- being excited and focused on stage while also taking in the moment. They write some catchy songs!”
At Levitate, Not Today impressed the audience with songs from their new record with a total set of 10 songs including an encore where they came back on stage after leaving in true Rock & Roll fashion.
Congrats to Artist Waves and Not Today for making Hingham proud through your love of music!
So awesome!