By Ken Valenti<\/p>\n
WESTPORT\u2013From the Tedeschi Trucks Band<\/a>\u2019s blues to Argentine tango to the funk band Pigeons Playing Ping Pong<\/a>, the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts presented another season of eclectic performances this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n The run of 56 free shows and 13 paid events was described by Carleigh Welsh<\/strong>, vice president and executive producer of the popular outdoor venue, at a meeting of the Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts Committee last month.<\/p>\n Events included local favorite bands, Argentine tango night, an all-women salsa band, three comedy nights, the Connecticut ballet, DJ Rekha\u2019s Bollywood Disco \u2013 the Pride Edition and more.<\/p>\n \u201c(It) just represented an incredible opportunity for the Levitt Pavilion to bring together so many different people from so many different backgrounds and cross-pollinate musical styles and audiences and artists alike, and really keep weaving the fabric of our community together,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n Established in 1973, the Pavilion\u2019s aim is to provide free access to performing arts, support artists and \u201ccultivate a premier cultural hub and outdoor community destination where people of all ages and backgrounds are always welcome and encouraged to get to know the arts, nature, and each other,\u201d according to its website. Located on the Saugatuck River at 40 Jesup Road, it was overhauled in 2014 with a $9.5 million upgrade.<\/p>\n At the meeting, Welsh also reviewed tax forms for the Pavilion, which show that it ran at a deficit of $214,889 in 2024 and $240,853 the year before. Welsh said, however, that the deficits followed two years of surpluses.\u00a0<\/p>\n In last year\u2019s \u201cotherwise successful, critically acclaimed season,\u201d the Pavilion faced unexpected\u00a0<\/p>\n costs, including for maintenance, increases in vendor\u2019s costs and disruption caused by impacts from Hurricane Debby, which later became a tropical storm, in August of that year.<\/p>\n Welsh and Charles Haberstroh<\/strong>, chairman of the town\u2019s Levitt Pavilion for the Performing Arts Committee, said it is natural to show deficits some years and surpluses at other times.<\/p>\n A highlight of the 2025 season was the Grammy Award-winning blues-rock Tedeschi Trucks Band, which played at the annual gala on Sept. 14.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was one of the largest, most acclaimed bands that we\u2019ve presented, and it brought in an entirely incredible and new dynamic and new group of fans into this perennial event,\u201d Welsh said.<\/p>\n Near the beginning of the season, the Staples High School annual Westport Pops concert was forced to change venue from the Pavilion to the high school auditorium by the threat of rain. Welsh said next year\u2019s date at the Pavilion is \u201cwritten in pen on our calendar,\u201d although it hasn\u2019t been made public.<\/p>\n \u201cJust know that we\u2019re lighting a little good-weather candle already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Other shows met with better fortune, including Artemis<\/a>, which Welsh described as \u201can extraordinary all-women jazz group,\u201d as Welsh described them, who played on June 29.<\/p>\n \u201cLast year when we had them, we had to cancel them because of rain about eight bars into their show,\u201d Welsh said. \u201cSo we were delighted to get them here this year and have beautiful clear weather.\u201d<\/p>\n
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