Events

The City of Pasadena Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department (PRCS), in collaboration Pasadena Recreation and Parks Foundation (PRPF) is competing to bring a vibrant, free outdoor music series to the Memorial Park Band Shell in Old Pasadena beginning in 2026.

To make this dream a reality, community support is essential.

Residents are encouraged to cast their vote during the public voting period:

FRI SEP 05 ~10 AM - MON SEP 15 ~ 5 PM

Vote online at https://vote.levitt.org, or 

TEXT-to-VOTE at (877) 409-5525 with keyword PASADENA

Voting Takes Place September 5–15!

Reflecting their commitment that all Levitt programs be community-driven, the top 50 Levitt Music Series finalists will be selected through public voting (online and text-to-vote) this September 5 – 15, 2025.  The Levitt Foundation will review the finalists and announce the Levitt Music Series grant recipients on November 18, 2025. (Levitt Foundation, 2025, https://vote.levitt.org/sign-up)

History of the Levitt in Memorial Park

"As the first venture philanthropy project of the Levitt Foundation, Levitt Pavilion Pasadena launched in 2003. Since its opening, the venue has been celebrated for bringing vitality and high-caliber programming back to Memorial Park, which for years prior was largely abandoned and a magnet for crime. Through 2017, free Levitt concerts at the restored WPA-era gold bandshell brought people of all ages and backgrounds together from both Pasadena and the greater Los Angeles metro region, attracting over 75,000 people each summer. The Levitt Foundation is proud of our investment in the Pasadena community, providing significant annual funding to Levitt Pavilion Pasadena for nearly 15 years, and the meaningful social and economic impact created by the Levitt program in Memorial Park." (Levitt Foundation, 2025, https://levitt.org/pasadena-past)

Please click here to read the full press release on the City of Pasadena's website.

NOTE: The location has been changed to the indoor Beckman Auditorium at Caltech due to a possible heatwave. 

MUSE/IQUE presents "Made in Memphis: Stax Records, Soul, and The Black Artists Who Started A Sound Revolution!" - Open House now moved to the indoor Beckman Auditorium at Caltech (due to potential heatwave) on Friday-Sunday, August 12 - 14. The legend of Stax Records and the fervent period of creation that led to the signature Memphis Sound defining the soul genre in American music. MUSE/IQUE’s Open House is FREE to attend to the public.

In the neighborhood nicknamed “Soulsville,” legendary artists and record producers dared to change everything. In 1950s Memphis, Stax Records smashed racial barriers, integrated their staff, and created space for a more equal and collaborative way of making art.

Join MUSE/IQUE for this quintessential American story of how soul music produced by studios like Stax and Sun Records became a powerful form of self-expression that amplified the resilience, aspirations, and hope of the Black community. From the music of Otis Redding, Carla Thomas, Isaac Hayes, Sam & Dave, and more, we celebrate the vital soul hits that supercharged the civil rights movement and captured the spirit of a new generation.​