Ten weeks of free, family-friendly outdoor concerts return this summer!

 

Tonight the Levitt AMP Utica Music Series announced its lineup of artists who will perform at Kopernik Park in Downtown Utica this summer. Concerts will take place on Monday nights starting at 5:30pm. June 17 – August 19.

 

The 2024 season will feature headlining artists from New Orleans, Ukraine, Toronto, Maine. The concerts also feature opening local and regional acts. The diverse lineup of high-caliber talent spans genres like Afro-Cuban, Americana, Reggae, Latin Grass, Detroit Soul, RNB, Blues and more.

 

Concert schedule:

5:30pm: opening bands      

6:30pm: youth intermission acts     

7:00pm: headliner bands

 

The series welcomes the most diverse audience in the city, in a family-friendly, non-alcoholic, joyful, welcoming 

environment. It is a space where social bonding can happen week to week and the community can share a common 

experience with free live music as the vehicle. The concerts help increase communal well-being and connectedness and add a quality of life enhancement that compliments the many economic development projects that are happening in Utica.

 

The series also serves as a creative training ground for youth with their Levitteen Internship Program and each week a youth performer is showcased at intermission, many times earning their first “paycheck” as an artist and getting a standing ovation from a crowd of hundreds.

 

The concerts are sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers communities to inject new life into underused public spaces through free, outdoor concerts. The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and the M&T Bank Partners Trust Bank Charitable Fund are Lead Sponsors. Partners in the series include Rust 2 Green Utica, DeSales Center, the City of Utica, Delta Hotels by Marriott and Munson. Utica Monday Nite is the fiscal sponsor for the series. Season sponsors include Bank of Utica, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and The Fountainhead Group.

 

The public is invited to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts. The series will also offer art activities for young concert-goers and food trucks/vendors will be on site.

 

Kopernik Park is located at 317 Genesee Street at the corner of Eagle Street and Park Avenue near DeSales. Admission is free and all are welcome. 

 

Utica is one of 33 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to win a Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Award of $30K in matching funds to present a free concert series at Kopernik Park. Utica has received multi-year funding to bring this popular free series back to the city for the 2023-2025 seasons. The Levitt Foundation  supports over 650 concerts throughout the nation each year, reaching over 800,000 people.

 

 

UMN (Utica Monday Nite) For The Arts is the brainchild of founder Lynne Mishalanie, whose passion for shining a light on the brilliance of the community’s arts created an enduring legacy of economic benefit and civic pride. Continuing to provide the community with a broad spectrum of artistic experiences, its primary purpose is to act as advocates and 

activists in support of the arts, and in recognition of their valuable contributions to the region’s quality of life. The non-profit organization currently serves as fiscal sponsor for the Levitt AMP Utica Music Series. For more information, contact info@umn4arts.org

 

The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers towns and cities across America to transform underused public spaces into thriving destinations through the power of free, live music. 

More than 650 free Levitt concerts will take place in 50 towns and cities across the country this year, all featuring a rich array of music genres and high-caliber talent. Learn more at levitt.org.    

 

 

Shamarr hails from the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, bringing influences in jazz, hip-hop, rock, funk rhythms, blues and country to the stage. He has collaborated with Willie Nelson, Patti LaBelle, Harrick Connick Jr, and Lenny Kravit and is a sought-after artist for festivals and venues around the world. His True Orleans Foundation has a vision of carrying on the cultures and traditions of New Orleans music.

 

Opener: Rebirth Fellowship Chorale – a local gospel ensemble featuring some of the most moving voices in the city

 

Kommuna Lux performs their own style called “Odesa Gangsta Folk” – combining klezmer music and common gangster folk songs from their hometown, all with a dose of rocket fuel. They are celebrating their 10th year of playing together and will bring joyful songs and melodies from Odesa and all Eastern Europe right to Utica!

 

Opener: Halfmoon Orchestra – created in 2022, features some of the most prolific orchestral musicians in the region

 

With vocals in Spanish, Yoruba and Spanglish, OKAN is a Cuban-born duo who are BOTH are Grammy and Latin-

Grammy nominees. They fuse Afro-Cuban roots with jazz, folk and global rhythms in songs about immigration, resistance and love. Their recent release Okantomi was awarded the 2024 Juno Award (the band’s second Juno recognition) and was included in NPR Alt Latino, Le Monde, and CBC Music’s “Best of 2023” lists.

 

Opener: Filled to the Brim, comprised of five local talented teenagers and college-aged artists who have developed a mature indie pop rock sound. They came together in 2018 at Jim O’Mahony’s Rock Camp and wrote and recorded their first self-titled album in 2020.

 

Joslyn and the Sweet Compression is a force out of Lexington with a stirring soul-funk sound inspired by Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston. A headlining favorite at regional clubs and music festivals, they went nationwide in 2023 and engaged fans across the country. Billboard magazine described the band as “Magical… gives everyone the joy!”

 

Opener: a “Shared Stage” opening night – curated by Naz Deloach of Dreamers Studio featuring local hip hop and RNB artists – Bradeee, Gab-Bee, Jaschubs, PB Mogul, Tori Sway and Tr3boy… all accompanied by DJ Mase

 

The Mallett Brothers Band is an independent rock and roll, Americana, country band from Portland, Maine. They were founded and have been touring since 2009 and have a dedicated fanbase across the U.S. and beyond. Their style that ranges from alt-country to jam and roots rock, influenced by the singer/songwriter tradition, harder rock, classic country. 

 

Opener: The Shawn Smith Band, the newest musical collaboration by local favorite and The Voice contestant Shawn Smith

 

Reggae artist Joe Samba, we are hoping that you can experience him in the park this year on July 22, because he is JOY and ENERGY! Joe is a New Hampshire-based singer, songwriter and guitarist and finds the sweet spot between Caribbean bliss and punkified energy… matched with his dynamic vocals.

 

Opener: Stephen Phillips, a pop/funk artist and multi-instrumental from Syracuse with extensive vocal range and TONS 

of energy. 

 

Larry hails from Venezuela and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass musician who – after a decade in South America – got stranded back home in the pandemic. 

Both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo, they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, fiddle, maracas, guitar, upright bass, and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. 

 

Opener: Count Blastula, bringing a unique energy, sound and vibe that makes every show a one-of-a-kind celebration of “groovy funky jamming dance-y goodness.”

 

Laura Rain and the Caesars is a smashing Motor City soul band. Born and bred in Detroit, Laura’s style is a unique blend of contemporary funky soul, blues and R&B worthy of the city’s rich history and musical innovators. Their sounds pull from a bygone era with vintage-toned energy. Having released four albums, they have also been honored with a Detroit Music Award for Outstanding Blues Songwriter and tour the U.S. Canada and Europe.

 

Opener: Soul Injection, together since 2001, they are NO strangers to the local scene, bringing all your favorite dance tunes.

 

Chris and Courtney Barnes – better known as The Sensational Barnes Brothers – will grace our stage on August 12th. 

They are a musical blend of old and new, a real gem in the gospel/soul scene. Music is in their lineage – their mother 

was a Raelette – a back up singer for the legendary Ray Charles… and the family began a family band with Chris – 

the youngest – was just 6 years old. They fostered their musical foundation in church. If you’re somehow under the 

impression that gospel music can’t be downright funky, then the Barnes brothers are here to convince you otherwise.

 

Opener: a second “Shared Stage” opening act featuring local singers Cassandra Dolan and Yara

 

Angie K is shaking up Nashville with her fresh blend of hard hitting country with a nod to her Latin roots. She has been touring 10-12 cities per month for the past 8 years, has accumulated over 20 million streams, and was the only independent artist to play on the Nissan Stadium stage during the 2022 CMA Fest. She was a contestant on The Voice in 2016 on Team Blake. She was recently named to the 2023 class of CMT’s ‘Next Women of Country’ and their “Listen Up” class of 2024. 

 

Opener: The final “Shared Stage” performance with H Melody and Strings Attached.