A new stage, fresh faces, and more Stick Figure: This year at Levitate

“It’s so funny. People always ask that,” Hassett said. “No, I don’t think so. The character of the venue that we hold our event at is a big part of the event itself. We think it might lose some of what it’s all about if we were to relocate.”

Such attitudes are a common trend at Levitate, a festival whose traditions are loyal to locals. The major summer event has never left its home in Marshfield — where the brand’s original surf shop is located — and its lineups have never strayed far from home, always incorporating musicians from New England. Hassett said that typically 30 percent of Levitate’s performers have ties to the region, although this Saturday and Sunday, he noted that figure will skew closer to 50 percent.

Among visiting performers like Jamaican reggae artist Protoje and LA-based jazz fusion bassist Thundercat, familiar faces from Massachusetts are easy to spot, partially because they’ve performed at Levitate in the past. Berklee-born funk-pop group Ripe and Boston reggae-rock band The Elovaters are two returning acts this summer, as well as both headliners: Duxbury-born Levitate mainstays Stick Figure and Boston’s folksy jam band Dispatch.

But Levitate devotees who might not be interested in seeing Stick Figure perform for the umpteenth time (they truly are a festival favorite) can find fresh talent at this year’s “Songwriter Stage” for emerging acts. Hassett describes the feature as a “centerpiece stage” in the middle of the festival that will host four finalists from the Levitate Foundation’s just-launched “Songwriter of the Year” competition. Out of hundreds of applications from budding artists across the country, the inaugural finalists range from Stella Starfox, a psychedelic pop group from Boston, to New Bedford indie rock outfit Autumn Drive.

A short, stripped-down set at Levitate is only part of the prize; each finalist will also receive grants of up to $7500 to help fund a debut studio album. Similarly, the foundation will unveil an “Artist of the Year” award in the fall, which will offer grants for visual art education and residences.

So, while the festival’s physical footprint isn’t expanding, its impact is. At a time when many major fests are taking breaks, or shuttering altogether, Levitate’s growth can’t be taken for granted. Hassett says the industry-wide shift is a reflection of festival guests “tightening up the wallet a little bit” during an economically and politically unstable moment for the country.

In light of this weekend’s likely sellout, though, it looks like this Marshfield tradition won’t be leaving the South Shore anytime soon.

“I was nervous about it, but we’re gonna have a very busy year,” Hassett said. “We’re grateful that people are still valuing coming out to this event this year.”

GIG GUIDE

It’s the final (local) curtain call for Wu-Tang Clan and Cyndi Lauper this week. Wu-Tang Clan head to TD Garden on Friday on their “Wu-Tang Forever: The Final Chamber” tour, which places the iconic group’s albums “Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)” and “Wu-Tang Forever” at center stage. Cyndi Lauper’s colorful pop also brightens the Xfinity Center on Thursday as part of her farewell tour…which already passed through Boston last fall.

Coldplay, however, might give Ms. Lauper a run for her money when they bring the prismatic branding of their 2024 record “Moon Music” to Gillette Stadium on Tuesday and Wednesday for their “Music of the Spheres” world tour. The Lumineers also launch a double header this week, rekindling the stomp of the 2010s indie folk craze at Fenway Park on Thursday and the following Friday.

Ahead of her performance at the Newport Folk Festival later this month, New Orleans bounce queen Big Freedia heads to the Iron Horse in Northampton on Friday with her new single “Church.” The following night, longtime J. Geils Band bassist Danny Klein revisits some of the Boston group’s hits – think “Sanctuary” and “Centerfold” – with his own group, Danny Klein’s Full House.

On Saturday in Quincy, Dropkick Murphys will toast to their newest record “For The People” with a free performance on Hancock Street in Quincy Center at the Common. The Celtic punks will christen the LP less than a mile from where they used to rehearse: “in the basement of a little tiny barbershop,” as frontman Ken Casey recently told the Globe.

In the world of all things weird and wonderful, Boston’s inimitable alt-rock outfit Walter Sickert & the Army of Broken Toys headline The Sinclair on Saturday. They’re rivaled in artful eccentricity only by “Weird Al” Yankovic himself, who cranks out smash-hit spoofs at the Boch Center Wang Theatre on Tuesday.

The Lowell Summer Music Series welcomes Galactic and Grace Potter to Boarding House Park this week, with Galactic’s booming blend of NOLA funk and jazz kicking off the weekend on Friday, and Potter’s blues-tinged rock wrapping the week on Thursday.

NOW SPINNING

Wet Leg, “moisturizer.” They really had to double down on the whole wet theme with that album title, didn’t they? But impish quips draped across spiky alt-rock are still Wet Leg’s forte on their sophomore record, a pristine collection that proves the Isle of Wight group’s success via their 2022 self-titled debut was no winking fluke.

Mal Blum, “The Villain.” Asking the right questions is a delicate art form, so you can’t blame Mal Blum for taking their time to craft “The Villain,” the thoughtful followup LP to 2019’s “Pity Boy.” Billie Eilish’s playful “bad guy” this is not. “The Villain” explores different aspects of what it means to be an antagonist through pop-rock that’s sometimes folky, sometimes punk-y, and always plucky, ripe with Mal Blum’s earnesty.

Syd, “Die For This.” From launching the soul band The Internet to co-writing GRAMMY Award-winning music for Beyoncé, Syd boasts stacks of music industry cred outside of her solo career as a singer and producer. But this summer, the Los Angeles multi-hyphenate guides the spotlight back to her own catalog with the new addition “Die For This,” a persuasive – but never pleading – R&B serenade.

BONUS TRACK

Jazz fans won’t be bored this weekend. The Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival takes over the streets surrounding Stearns Square this Friday and Saturday with performances from Springfield vocalist and composer Richard Parris Scott, Afro-Puerto Rican bomba fusion ensemble El Laberinto del Coco, and Detroit-raised bassist Endea Owens with her band the Cookout, among others. Also this weekend, the fifth annual Charles River Jazz Festival returns to the Herter Park Amphitheater on Saturday, featuring free performances from acts like trumpet player and vocalist Keyon Harrold, New York City collective Freelance, and Connecticut-born pianist Christian Sands.

Victoria Wasylak can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Bluesky @VickiWasylak.bsky.social.