July 29, 2019

When Spooncat drew 4,000 listeners to Levitt at the Falls a couple of weeks ago, the venue’s leaders figured that would be the biggest show of the season.

Not even close.

When Brule played Saturday night, Levitt estimates 8,000 were in the crowd.

“It blew us all away,” executive director Nancy Halverson said.

“They just kept coming.”

Photo by Dakotagraph

Levitt’s designers originally estimated the venue could accommodate 5,000 people on the lawn. For this show, they also filled along Phillips Avenue and spilled onto the back side of the slope at Falls Park.

“So they couldn’t see anything, but they heard it, and they stayed,” Halverson said. “It was unbelievable, and people were so kind and respectful, and we didn’t have a single issue.”

Brule is a rock ensemble augmented with traditional Native American instrumentation and paired with top Native American dance troupes.

The group’s founder, Paul LaRoche, lives in Sioux Falls, and the award-winning group has performed here several times.

“I think people really appreciate them here, but others haven’t had a lot of chances to see them,” Halverson said. “They’ve been at the Pavilion and Orpheum, and a lot of folks can’t afford tickets.”

Levitt and Brule are talking about other ways to work together, she said, as the missions of both are similar.

Photo by Dakotagraph

Levitt has only a handful of concerts left for the season. The last is Aug. 10. Fundraising has gone “really well,” Halverson said. A freewill donation is taken at each show, and the average gift has gone up from 70 cents per person to $1 as the season has progressed.

“So that’s been really good,” she said. “Our hope is (on Aug. 9) to announce how much we’ve already raised toward next year’s music.”

And speaking of next year, that lineup will be announced in the spring and will include 50 concerts instead of this year’s 30 – meaning Levitt will start shows sooner and end later in the year.

Weather has canceled two concerts this year, including Sunday night, and caused times to be adjusted on others.

“It’s gone really smoothly,” Halverson said. “People have been really great about it.”