Barenaked Ladies once wondered what they’d do with a million dollars. On Saturday, Oct. 24, the Canadian pop-rock favorites will show North Texas what $20 can do. That’s the price of a general admission ticket to National Life Group’s Do Good Fest at Levitt Pavilion in Arlington. Barenaked Ladies headline, with Dallas-raised Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories and singer-songwriter Chad Hollister on the bill. The whole thing benefits the Tarrant Area Food Bank.

Twenty dollars won’t buy you a fur coat; it barely covers parking and a pretzel at most big concerts these days. But at Do Good Fest, it gets you a lawn seat under the open sky, with Arlington City Hall glowing behind the stage. It also helps put healthy groceries in the hands of local kids who need them.

“I like to really think of it as a celebration of community driven by music,” says John Mullett, president of the National Life Group Foundation, which produces the festival. “One of the reasons I think it stands out is it’s a fairly affordable entry point. And 100% of that $20 GA ticket is a donation.”

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From Vermont roots to a North Texas lawn

Do Good Fest began in Vermont in 2014, near National Life Group’s home campus in Montpelier. It came to Texas five years ago. In that time, the Texas edition has raised more than $300,000. Across both states, the festival has raised more than $2 million for causes tied to the foundation’s core focus: ending childhood hunger and supporting youth mental health.

Mullett joined National Life full-time in late 2024 after years of booking talent and running day-of production for the Vermont festival. Before that, he spent his career in radio, and that background still shapes how he works.

“When I was running radio stations, I always believed that you were just trying to create a platform that the community could care about,” he says. “I think all the time about how [we make] it an inviting space for people to come into. How do we make it easy? How do we make it accessible? How do we make sure that whether you’re 20 or whether you’re 65, you go and have a good time?”

Last year’s Do Good Fest was headlined by Collective Soul.

Provided by National Life Group

Why Arlington?

National Life Group has a large campus in Addison. So, why not hold the show closer to home? Mullett says the answer came down to shared values. Levitt Pavilion is a nonprofit that hosts dozens of free concerts every year across nearly every genre.

“We really loved this idea that that space shares the community vision that we share for the festival,” he says. “It really was even more about our joint dedication to community and philanthropy and arts and music.”

The cause is local, too. Texas has one of the highest rates of food insecurity in the country, and Tarrant Area Food Bank serves many areas with limited access to fresh food. Proceeds this year support the food bank’s Ready to Learn initiative, which sets up in-school markets stocked with healthy, kid-friendly groceries, along with youth programs and a resource center.

Mullett calls the festival a “megaphone.” It’s one day on the calendar, but he hopes the message travels much further. 

“You get thousands of people to come out to the festival,” he says, “but then you’re really hopeful that afterward they mention it to five of their friends.”

Stay (we missed you)

For Dallas, the most personal story on the bill is Lisa Loeb’s. She grew up here and attended the Hockaday School before heading to Brown University. In 1994, “Stay (I Missed You)” from the “Reality Bites” soundtrack made her the first artist to top the Billboard Hot 100 without a record deal. She later added a Grammy Award to the shelf, and those cat-eyeglasses became iconic in their own right.

This homecoming carries a bonus. Loeb will perform with the original members of Nine Stories: Tim Bright, Jonathan Feinberg and Joe Quigley.

“Lisa was a very intentional example of thinking about somebody that had roots there,” Mullett says. “When possible, I love when we can tie something in like that. I think it means more.” 

Last year’s bill had a Texas tie, too, with Austin’s Fastball.

The power of a singalong

That 2025 lineup, with also included Collective Soul and Tonic, informed the organizers’ decision making for future bills.

“We kind of refreshed what we were doing, and we leaned into nostalgia a little bit,” Mullett says. “The ‘90s activate a pretty wide age range.”

Barenaked Ladies fit that formula well.

“One Week” still rules any room in 14 seconds or less, and a whole generation filed it alongside late-’90s teen movies like “10 Things I Hate About You.” Younger fans may know the band from a different hit.

“My mom and I were talking last night,” Mullett says, laughing. “My mom was like, ‘They’re the ‘Big Bang Theory’ theme song band.’ I was like, ‘Yes. Yes, they are.’”

He adds that the band brings “a really positive vibe,” with a “fun, all-inclusive, just good overall feel.” That’s exactly what a family benefit show needs to close the night.

Know before you go

The festival also invests in young talent. The Beats for Good program spotlights North Texas high school musicians, and this year’s winner opens the show at 5 p.m. The prize includes $1,500 in cash and a $5,000 donation to the winner’s school music program.

When: Saturday, Oct. 24. Gates open at 4 p.m.

Set times: Beats for Good at 5 p.m., Chad Hollister at 6 p.m., Lisa Loeb & Nine Stories at 7 p.m., Barenaked Ladies at 8:30 p.m. (subject to change)

Where: Levitt Pavilion, downtown Arlington (100 W. Abram St.)

Tickets: $20 GA in advance, $25 at the gate. Kids 5 and under get in free. VIP tickets are sold out.

Extras: Food trucks on site, and extra donations are welcome.

Grab your tickets at Do Good Fest’s website, bring the whole family and help feed North Texas kids.