By Scott McLennan

WasFest is a very welcome addition to Boston’s arts landscape, invaluable because it invites artists to push themselves forward while they acknowledge their still powerful influences.

Judith Hill and Lettuce at Wasfest. Photo: Sam McLennan

Singer Judith Hill paused for a moment early in her outstanding WasFest appearance with Lettuce on Sunday to declare that she, the band, and the audience were in “sacred space.”

That “space” was the album Aretha Live at Fillmore West, which Hill and Lettuce performed in its entirety Sunday at the Shubert Theatre in Boston to close out the inaugural WasFest presented by musician, producer and record label exec extraordinaire Don Was and the Boch Center’s Folk Americana Roots Hall of Fame.

Hill and Lettuce were indeed reverent in their reading of Aretha Franklin’s classic live album from 1971. But the presentation was also celebratory, with the large ensemble bringing much of its own flair in recreating the music that Franklin — backed by King Curtis and his band — performed in the famed San Francisco music hall.

Reggae legends Steel Pulse launched the evening in similar grand style by performing a set that included every song from its crucial True Democracy album. Though they moved the track order around for the concert presentation, Steel Pulse made the disc sound and feel as relevant today as when it was released in 1982 — this is an impassioned cry for social justice.

Steel Pulse singer David Hinds and keyboard player Selwyn Brown at WasFest. Photo: Sam McLennan

Lettuce and Steel Pulse are on tour together this summer. For their WasFest stop, the bands crafted special sets that met the festival’s aim to revisit and pay homage to classic albums in a live-performance setting.

When introducing Steel Pulse, Was noted how the band had set the bar for making beguiling music that combines danceable beats and powerful messages. Steel Pulse underscored the accuracy of the intro by hitting the stage with a propulsive version of “Blues Dance Raid,” setting the Shubert crowd grooving to a protest against police brutality.

Singer and guitarist David Hinds and keyboard player Selwyn Brown remain from the original True Democracy lineup and these musicians have kept Steel Pulse fresh and relevant through the decades. Following the songs from True Democracy, Steel Pulse performed “Don’t Shoot” from its most recent album, Mass Manipulation, returning to the topics of racism and abusive police.

Selecting more classic cuts, Steel Pulse dipped into 1979’s Tribute to the Martyrs for “Babylon Makes the Rules” and its Earth Crisis album for “Stepping Out.” Steel Pulse chose a reggae version of Jesse Stone’s early rock ’n’ roll staple, “Don’t Let Go,” to close out its triumphant 75-minute set.

Progressive-funk troupe Lettuce and Hill kept their focus on Aretha Live at Fillmore West, save for show opener, “Memphis Soul Stew,” a nod to the 1971 King Curtis concert album, Live at Filmore West, which was made up of tunes drawn from opening sets the band performed before backing Franklin for her Fillmore concerts. The instrumental was a nice showcase for Boston-bred Lettuce, rounded out this night with Brian Thomas playing trombone alongside the regular horn section of Eric “Benny” Bloom on trumpet and Ryan Zoidis on saxophone.

Lettuce at WasFest: L-R Erick Coomes, Brian Thomas, Eric “Benny” Bloom, Adam Smirnoff, Ryan Zoidis. Photo: Sam McLennan

Hill and two backing singers came out roaring on “Respect,” meeting the challenge of evoking the sound and energy of peak-era Franklin. And this level was maintained: Hill was magnificent at every turn, nailing Franklin’s distinctive arrangement of The Beatles’ “Eleanor Rigby” and Stephen Stills’s “Love the One You’re With.” And she generated the same kind of smoldering emotion Franklin conjured on her own hit, “Dr. Feelgood.”

Hill further electrified the proceedings by playing keys in as she belted out “Don’t Play That Song.”

Lettuce keyboard player Nigel Hall had the opportunity to play Ray Charles to Hill’s Aretha when the program reached the album’s dazzling duet peak — “Spirit in the Dark.”

Lettuce guitarist Adam Smirnoff and bassist Erick “Jesus” Coomes stayed seated all night, locked into the groove with drummer Adam Deitch.The trio were well disciplined, carefully crafting the surging wave of sound that Hill rode atop of all night.

WasFest is a very welcome addition to Boston’s arts landscape, invaluable because it invites artists to push themselves forward while they acknowledge their still powerful influences.

Friday and Saturday Night at WasFest

Scott McLennan covered music for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette from 1993 to 2008. He then contributed music reviews and features to the Boston Globe, Providence Journal, Portland Press Herald, and WGBH, as well as to the Arts Fuse. He also operated the NE Metal blog to provide in-depth coverage of the region’s heavy metal scene.