Photo Credit: Leah Klein

The Levitate Music and Arts Festival in Marshfield, Massachusetts, continued its 10th anniversary celebration of the annual three-day event with Day-Two performances from a few top-shelf artists in the improvisational music scene, including Trey Anastasio Band, Goose, and Celisse.  The headlining spot from Anastasio and his group was a two-hour appearance closing out a picturesque Saturday on the Bay State’s South Shore.  Today’s finale features Larkin Poe, Shakey Graves, Rebelution, and a headline set by Brandi Carlile.

“This is so much fun,” said an energized and animated Anastasio just after the guitarist and his seven-piece TAB (minus James Casey) finished off “Push On ‘Til the Day,” about halfway through a jam-filled, 13-song run.  It was a set divided fairly evenly between classic TAB entries and those more closely associated with Anastasio’s Phish repertoire, including “The Moma Dance” and “Ghost” pairing that followed “Cayman Review” and a “Set Your Soul Free” opener.  More Phish nods, such as “Wolfman’s Brother,” “A Life Beyond the Dream,” “Everything’s Right,” and the “First Tube” closer, were peppered into a set that featured plenty of buoyant and steamy guitar work from Anastasio, as well as showcases for his two-piece horn section of Jennifer Hartswick and Natalie Cressman.

As for Goose, the burgeoning jam-groove princes arrived in the penultimate slot to Anastasio on the Stoke Stage, fresh off of the group’s biggest headlining appearance ever, having played the previous night at Saratoga’s famed amphitheater, (as noted by keyboardist/singer, Peter Anspach).  The quintet’s hour-and-twenty-minute, six-song set, too, was loaded with stretches of blissed-out improvisation, fueled by guitarist, Rick Mitarotonda.  The band hit a particularly high point on the extending “All I Need,” that followed a cover of Blind Melon’s “No Rain,” (perhaps a nod to the afternoon’s ideal conditions), and preceded a final, “Arcadia,” that finished precisely at the 80-minute mark of the time allotted.

Perhaps the only regret for the thousands of fans in attendance- on a bill that included Peach Pit, Lime Cordiale, and hometown favorites, The Elovators- was that Celisse’s set on the Soul Stage coincided with Goose’s time across the lot.  No matter, the ebullient guitarist and singer led her trio through a batch of electrified rhythm and groove, conversing with and venturing into the smaller but appreciative crowd; noting in the middle of a stretched-out rendition of Bill Withers’ “Use Me,” that she usually doesn’t play so much guitar, but should today, “with Trey Anastasio on the grounds.”

For more information about Levitate’s Sunday finale, visit www.levitatemusicfestival.com