This weekend's Levitate Festival is a homecoming for this reggae band. Meet The Elovaters

The annual Levitate Music and Arts Festival is an event eagerly awaited by legions of fans.

But for a few of the musicians, it is also a triumphant homecoming, a chance to perform in front of friends and family and thousands of adoring fans.

Few of the bands – with the exception of Stick Figure, the reggae/dub band fronted by Duxbury’s Scott Woodruff, which has played nearly every Levitate – can appreciate that homecoming aspect better than The Elovaters, which is a completely South Shore band. Stick Figure will be playing on Friday night’s Levitate schedule, while The Elovaters will be uncorking their reggae vibes Saturday, their fifth time performing at their hometown festival.

The Elovaters include Duxbury’s Jackson Wetherbee on guitar and lead vocals, Marshfield’s Nick Asta on drums, Bridgewater’s Matt Link on bass, Stoughton’s Derrick Cabral on percussion, Plymouth's John Alves on lead guitar and Plymouth's Greg Nectow on keyboards.

The Elovaters are opening Stick Figures’ national tour, and we caught up with Wetherbee just before they went onstage before a sold-out crowd in Boca Raton, Florida, last week.

When we last spoke with Wetherbee a decade ago, he was an aspiring singer/songwriter, playing solo gigs and with his own rock band. Becoming a reggae star was just a natural progression, he said.

“I was always one for grooves, and I was aware of what Scott Woodruff was doing, since we’re from the same town,” Wetherbee explained. “Nick and I formed the band in 2013. We were looking for young guys who wanted to tour. I know there are a billion bars on the South Shore with solo acts or cover bands – I spent a few years on that circuit –but it is tough to make it work for original music. We wanted to try and book our own tour, even if it meant playing in front of 13 people some nights where they didn’t know you. Any success we’ve had is just from our persistence in continuing to tour and trying to put out quality music.”

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The Elovaters' dogged determination paid off in a big way in 2018, when their “Defy Gravity” album reached the No. 1 spot on the Billboard reggae chart. Their music was played during coverage of the 2018 Red Sox World Series victory parade, and on TV’s “Hawaii Five-0.”

“We had gotten the attention of this record company, Rootfire, which put out our sophomore album, ‘Defy Gravity,’" noted Wetherbee. “After the success of that one, they moved us over to their affiliated Ineffable Music Group, which is bigger. That also got us connected to our booking agent, Cassie Siegel of Mint Talent Group, and she was able to put us on bills with bigger bands as openers, and also get us better venues for our own shows. This Stick Figure tour is the biggest reggae tour of the year, with almost all the venues sold out. Red Rocks (Colorado) sold out in one day. When this tour ends, we’ll take some time off, and then go back out, opening for (ska rockers) Slightly Stoopid.”

The Elovaters' sound has made them favorites on SiriusXM Radio, where their cuts regularly pop up on "No Shoes Radio," "Margaritaville" and "The Spectrum." Wetherbee, the principal songwriter for the band, always liked ignoring genres when he was a singer/songwriter, and moving to more of a reggae-inflected dance sound was not a big deal to him.

“I would say we are not strictly a reggae band,” he said. “It is simply good, summer beach music. When I had my Jackson Wetherbee Band, we didn’t favor any particular style. It was just whatever I felt when I wrote a song, and what worked best.”

The Elovaters have a new album, “Endless Summer,” coming out July 28. Wetherbee said it was all written in Nashville, where he collaborated for the first time with Nick Bailey.

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“Nick Bailey has written for a lot of major people in Nashville, in all kinds of styles,” Wetherbee said. “But he’s a surfer at heart, and he loves our genre. It’s great to have somebody like that to bounce ideas off of, and really be able to trim the fat off a song, decide what emotions you want to evoke. It was an amazing experience, and I hope to keep doing it. And the new album will also have some other songs that I just wrote in my living room or off my cellphone.”

Since the new album isn’t out yet, Levitate fans won’t hear any of the material from “Endless Summer.”

“There’s a whole science to building a set, and since the record isn’t out yet, we won’t be doing those songs at Levitate,” said Wetherbee. “But when this tour ends, we will take a week or so off, and rehearse those new songs for our fall and winter tours. And later in July we just might be popping up at the Levitate Backyard series too.”

Music fans found the single “Criminal” from The Elovaters’ third studio album, 2020’s “Castles,” to be especially infectious. But the tune has also led to some further opportunities. Vitamin Sea Brewing of Weymouth came out with a special "Criminal IPA" inspired by the tune last year.

Earlier in 2023, Wine Boss created a cabernet sauvignon called "Criminal" and on Feb. 23 that won a gold medal from WineJudging.com.

It's been an exciting few years for The Elovaters, including selling out The Paradise Rock Club two years ago, and The House of Blues last New Year’s Eve. For a bunch of Boston-area music devotees, selling out those iconic venues is head-spinning stuff. Almost as good as playing Levitate.

“Those were big things for us, no doubt about that,” said Wetherbee. “But from our experience, now, all over the country, Levitate is one of the cleanest, most family-friendly music festivals anywhere. It has such a clean and inviting vibe to it. It is the best festival we’ve seen, by far. And, of course, having it in our hometown, with all of our original fanbase there, makes it a real ‘pinch-me’ moment.”

If fans can’t make Levitate, that Stick Figure tour with The Elovaters opening touches down in New Haven, Connecticut, at the Westville Music Bowl on Sunday night.

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Barenaked Ladies back in town: Where to see live music this weekend

THURSDAY: The best show perhaps of the summer is at MGM Music Hall, where Elvis Costello headlines, with Nick Lowe and Los Straitjackets the opening act. Folk singer Ellis Paul got his start in the Boston area and the former Boston College track star has become one of the most compelling songsmiths anywhere, and he’s celebrating the 30th anniversary of his career with four nights at Club Passim, through Sunday. Yacht Rock Revue gets you dancing at Leader Bank Pavilion.

FRIDAY: The 10th edition of the Levitate Festival gets underway at The Marshfield Fairgrounds, running through Sunday, and Friday’s bill features Duxbury’s own Stick Figure, and the California Honeydrops. Richie Rich and 24k Funk get folks dancing at The Hingham Launch’s free show. R&B queen Erykah Badu takes over the TD Garden. Rumours – a Fleetwood Mac tribute – is at The South Shore Music Circus tonight (and at The Cape Cod Melody Tent on Saturday). Rockabilly rebel Rev. Horton Heat shakes up City Winery. The C-Note hosts a benefit with six young rock bands, including the wonderfully named Toboggan Fiasco. Songwriter Matt Maeson opens a two-night stand at The Paradise Rock Club. Pianist Josh Rosen and his quintet – including Boston sax legend Stan Strickland – are at Boston Harbor Distillery. Songwriter D4vd – aka David Anthony Burke – sings at Brighton Music Hall. There’s a Boston Comedy Blowout at the The Cape Cod Melody Tent, with Jimmy Dunn, Christine Hurley and Tony V among the acts.

SATURDAY: The Levitate schedule is topped by The Trey Anastasio Band and the South Shore’s own Elovaters. British rock band Black Midi headlines Royale. The Gratefuls groove at The C-Note. South Shore singer Susan Cattaneo and her quintet are at The Fallout Shelter. Big country night at the TD Garden: Thomas Rhett, and Cole Swindell. Celtic rock with The Saw Doctors at MGM Music Hall. Hey 19 – the Steely Dan tribute – at City Winery. Get an early start for the Westport River Vineyard for the 5:30 outdoor show that features Americana stars Darrell Scott and Mark Erelli. The indie-rock quintet known as Divine Sweater stops off at The Sinclair. 3-Dog Night rocks out at The South Shore Music Circus. Electronic producer/performer Dillon Francis heats up Big Night Live.

SUNDAY AND BEYOND: The Levitate lineup is stellar, with Brandi Carlile, Ziggy Marley and Larkin Poe among the acts. Sunday’s Rhythm Room Afternoon show (1-6 p.m.) features Brandon Santini and band. Cool rock show Sunday at Leader Bank Pavilion, with Barenaked Ladies, Five for Fighting and Scottish rockers Del Amitri. Sunday also has City Winery hosting a tribute to Erykah Badu and Jill Scott. LA punk band FEAR, with Boston’s own Nervous Eaters, heat up Big Night Live. Tuesday: Check out blues guitarist Joanna Connor at The Fallout Shelter. The PettyBreakers are a tribute to Tom at City Winery. Wednesday: Rapper T-Pain takes over MGM Music Hall. Rock iconoclasts Cracker play at The Narrows Center on July 13, and then at City Winery on July 15. Swedish pop band First Aid Kit at Roadrunner on July 16. The Struts take no prisoners when they rock The House of Blues on July 18.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Levitate Music and Arts Festival performers to include The Elovaters