Boston has no shortage of summer festivals. From the more DIY attitudes of Fuzztival and JP Porchfest to the star-studded behemoth that is Boston Calling, there are plenty of events clamoring for the attention of local music fans. For those looking to travel a bit, there’s yet another to add to the list.

Levitate Music and Arts Festival is a one-day, two-stage event located in Marshfield, MA, about 30 miles south of the city. Going on it’s third year, the festival has made a name for itself with great bookings, community-centric atmosphere and scenic fairground location. With its biggest show to date coming up, Levitate is looking to be a divergent entry to your summer music calendar.

The festival’s founding is an interesting story, in that it wasn’t intended to be a music festival, per se. In 2013, Daniel Hassett and his wife Jessica  wanted to throw a party to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Levitate Surf & Skate, the Marshfield-based shop they co-owned. After booking some incredible acts including Soul Rebels and The Wailers, what they intended to be a lively but small BBQ ballooned into a full-fledged show—with a couple thousand people showing up.

“It was the most fun event we’d ever done, so we decided to make it an annual thing!” Daniel Hassett told us. “I think we kind of accidentally stumbled upon it and it just worked out great.”

The festival boasts a unique appeal in that it has a proximity to Boston while being quite removed from the bustling city. With that location, it sports what Hassett estimates to be a 50/50 split between city folk driving out for the day and locals who are getting a rare chance to see great bands without traveling far.

“There’s a lot of people around here who want to see live music, but there’s a lack of it in the immediate area,” said Hassett. “A lot of our friends are always traveling into the city to see live music and they’re thrilled to have something in their backyard.”

For its first year with two stages, Levitate has outdone itself. With headlining slots from Dr. Dog and Trombone Shorty, along with appearances from Galactic, Chris Robinson Brotherhood and Collie Buddz, booking are impressive for a festival of this size. Hassett credits the success of the lineup less on playing to demographics, and more the personal fandom of the Levitate employees.

“We’re not promoters, we’re music fans who are doing this kind of by accident, which kind of gives us a cool angle,” he said. “We go after bands that we like, that we personally listen to here in the shop. We don’t pick them for any other reason. We want fun, summer bands and have been going for a mix of funk and reggae and rock. We didn’t know if it would be received well at first, but it has so we’ve stuck with it.”

Hassett earnest passion for the lineup came through in his excitement over the Dr. Dog booking.

“We’re so thrilled that it worked out with their scheduling,” he gushed. “Absolutely over the moon that they were available. We called them every year!”

Beyond the music, Hassett credits the festival’s success to the staff’s attitude towards both visiting patrons and locals. Noting the community-oriented nature of the skate shop, he says his crew have tried to carry that spirit over to the way they organize the show.

“What we’re trying to do is think about what the festivalgoers actually want to see or do and make it work for them; find a way to organize it that way rather than make it easy for us,” he said. “We try to make it reasonable in terms of ticket prices and make it friendly to all ages. The thing we’ve been the most proud of is that kids are going, teenagers and college kids are going and partying, but there’s still plenty of families. It’s respectful and not out of control, so the town has been very pleased with it.”

With the positive word of mouth surrounding this year’s up-scaled iteration, Hassett has an eye to the future, but doesn’t want the festival to lose what makes it so approachable.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we go two days next year,” he noted. “There are so many bands we want to get, and we definitely have the ability on the current site. But we also have the goal of never making it too big. We don’t want it to ever be a real monster.”

With a distinctly positive attitude and a lineup worth writing home about, Levitate Festival is looking like it could make for an awesome day trip for Boston music fans as well as an enduringly great addition to the Marshfield cultural slate.

Tickets to Levitate Festival can be purchased here for an affordable $40. Those who don’t have transport can grab a bus ticket here. They are currently priced at $31 round trip, but that number may drop as more people purchase.