Author Archives: Benj Salkind

Mark your calendars—the countdown is on for the GRAMMY-winning mariachi of Flor De Toloache! The all-female, critically acclaimed mariachi group and veterans of the Levitt stage will headline this summer’s 2019 Levitt National Tour. Levitt audiences across the country will enjoy the band’s energetic, mesmerizing shows that blend traditional mariachi with jazz, salsa and pop music. Check out dates and locations for their 2019 tour stops—as well as their new single—in the video above, or scroll down for more information.

Bethlehem, PA | Thursday, June 6
Sioux Falls, SD | Saturday, June 15
Dayton, OH | Friday, June 21
Memphis, TN | Friday, June 28
Arlington, TX | Saturday, June 29
Denver, CO | Friday, August 2
Los Angeles, CA | Saturday, August 10

Levitt audiences eager to hear more from Flor De Toloache before the Levitt National Tour this summer are in luck: there’s a new album on the way this spring, and the first single “Besos de Mezcal” (featuring Camilo Lara, the artist behind the music of animated film “Coco”) was released last month! And be sure to keep an eye out for an upcoming collaboration with Platinum-selling R&B artist Miguel…see you on the Levitt lawn!

  • 37 nonprofit leaders from 18 small to mid-sized towns and cities gathered in Los Angeles two weeks ago. Here's to invigorating communities through free, live music!

Two weeks ago, the 2019 Levitt AMP grantees joined the Levitt Foundation for the annual Levitt AMP Convening in Los Angeles! It was an honor to host these inspiring nonprofit leaders and share ideas throughout two days of panels, presentations and group discussions.

With 18 small to mid-sized towns and cities from Alaska all the way to Florida, this year’s grantees truly represent the breadth of community spirit and placemaking efforts happening across the country. The endless enthusiasm in the room led to fruitful brainstorming, knowledge sharing and meaningful exchanges around the power of free, live music to ignite community change. We can’t wait to see how each Levitt AMP Music Series unfolds this summer and fall!

LNT2019Promo1

Mark your calendars—a GRAMMY-winning mariachi experience will soon be coming to a Levitt stage near you! This summer, the all-female, critically acclaimed mariachi group Flor De Toloache will headline the 2019 Levitt National Tour. Levitt audiences across the country will enjoy the band’s energetic, mesmerizing shows that blend traditional mariachi with jazz, salsa and pop music.

Taking place between June and August, the 2019 Levitt National Tour will stop in seven cities including Arlington, TexasBethlehem, Pa.; Dayton, OhioDenverLos AngelesMemphis; and Sioux Falls, S.D. This year’s Tour follows on the heels of the 2018 Levitt National Tour, which featured Southern rocker Paul Thorn and gospel legends Blind Boys of Alabama, and previous Levitt National Tours featuring Gulf Coast soul sensation The Suffers (2017), genre-busting violin outfit Black Violin (2015) and the world-music fusion of Playing For Change (2014).

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$25K matching grants will bring free outdoor concerts to 18 small- to mid-sized towns and cities across America

Today, the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation awarded $450,000 in matching grants to 18 nonprofits serving small- to mid-sized towns and cities across America to produce free outdoor concerts as part of the fifth annual Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards. Reflecting the Levitt Foundation’s commitment to creative placemaking projects generating community support, the Levitt Foundation once again opened the Levitt AMP selection process to the public to choose the top 25 finalists. Continue reading


Relive the magic of the 2018 Levitt National Tour with our new recap video featuring concert highlights and exclusive artist interviews with southern rock hero, Paul Thorn, and living legends of gospel, Blind Boys of Alabama! Between June and August, these artists dazzled Levitt audiences in seven Levitt locations—including including Bethlehem, PA; Memphis; Arlington, TX; Los Angeles; Dayton, OH; Denver; and Sioux Falls, SD (where audiences received a taste of what’s to come when their Levitt Pavilion opens in 2019). Each Levitt tour stop was an incredible evening for the entire community! 

And be sure to keep an eye out for our 2019 LNT announcement—we’ll be revealing the performer early next year! Learn more at levitt.org/national_tour

Earlier this morning, The Recording Academy announced the full list of nominees for the 2019 GRAMMY Awards—and we’re thrilled to share that 17 past performers at permanent Levitt venues and Levitt AMP sites have received nominations! Spanning Latin, pop, country, jazz, children’s music and more, the incredible talent of these performers has captured the attention of critics and audiences around the country. Included on the list is Levitt’s first-ever Record of The Year contender with the phenomenal Maren Morris, who’s also competing for five other awards!

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Today’s Faces of Levitt video features Memphis, TN residents Bob and Ann Rullet. As retirees of the airline and education industries, respectively, the Rullets find Levitt Shell Memphis to be the perfect place to take their grandkids, describing it as “a very safe place” and “a tremendous blessing to this city.” Check out their video to hear why the Rullets keep coming back to the family-friendly Levitt lawn year after year!

Choose the Top 25 Levitt AMP Finalists!

It’s time to vote! Over 40 proposals have advanced to online voting! Help decide which towns and cities will be one step closer to receiving $25K to present their own Levitt AMP Music Series of 10 or more free concerts in 2019. Vote now through November 20 on the Levitt AMP website, and be sure to spread the word! An individual voter may vote for up to five different proposals, but can only vote for each proposal once.


Important dates to note:

  • Online public voting opened this morning and ends November 20, 2018 at 5 PM PST.
  • After public voting determines the Top 25 finalists, the Levitt Foundation will then begin the selection process and choose 15 winning Levitt AMP grant recipients.
  • Winners will be announced on December 18, 2018.

Congratulations to Middlesboro, Sheboygan and Trenton!

We’re thrilled to announce that previous Levitt AMP winners Middlesboro, KY (Middlesboro Main Street), Sheboygan, WI (John Michael Kohler Arts Center) and Trenton, NJ (Trenton Downtown Association) have each been awarded multi-year funding to present the Levitt AMP Music Series in their towns for the next three years (which is why you won’t see them listed on the voting roster this November)!

During the past four years, each nonprofit has shown tremendous impact in their communities through Levitt AMP, bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds through the power of free live music, while creating a meaningful community gathering space. We’re proud to continue our support of these inspiring communities.

What are you waiting for? Head over to levittamp.org and help get your community AMPlified!

SS Bette Smith

Few artists have had such a meteoric rise in the music industry as Bette Smith. Only a few years off her first singles and mixtapes, Smith already has the passion, drive and success that many new artists dream of. She is the next soul-songbird to represent New York and the latest to find her voice in the American deep South. Now, on the heels of her first-ever national tour, Smith is taking the stage at Levitt Shell Memphis tonight at 7 PM to perform her funky, jazzy soul that has everyone from California to Mississippi raving. Read on to learn more about what put Smith on the soul train, her connection to Ray Charles and why Memphis audiences have a spectacular show to look forward to.

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Levitt Loves Autumn (small)

Break out your favorite sweater—Autumn is here! It’s that wonderful time of the year where parks, streets and front lawns all over the country become covered in a gradient of yellow and red leaves, as the sun begins to set a little earlier and the air cools to a chill. While concert season is soon coming to a close, be sure to stay tuned for info on free Levitt concerts in 2019!

We hope you’re having a cozy fall season and have marked your calendars for the last few free Levitt concerts coming to your communities this year.