Cleveland, MS — Cleveland, Mississippi, is once again in the running to bring a 10-12 week live music series to town, this time in fall 2019. To pull it off, the city needs people to vote yes in an online contest.
City officials, music leaders, and Delta State University representatives hope the city will win another Levitt AMP Grant Award. Sponsored by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national foundation dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through free live music, Levitt AMP Grants are a matching grant opportunity to serve small- to mid-sized towns and cities (populations not to exceed 400,000). Up to 15 nonprofits will receive $25,000 each in matching funds to produce their own Levitt AMP Music Series—an outdoor, free concert series featuring a diverse lineup of professional musicians.
“Hosting another music series would be a wonderful way to continue to build upon that strong musical tradition in our community,” said Cleveland Mayor Billy Nowell. “Music is our life blood in the Mississippi Delta.”
Cleveland received a Levitt AMP Grant in 2015 and 2016 and featured touring acts that included The Weeks, Southern Komfort Brass Band, Cedric Burnside, Future Thieves, and Street Corner Symphony.
“The town/gown partnership for this initiative is a strong one,” added Delta Music Institute (DMI) Director Tricia Walker. “And the series itself provides a unique opportunity for students in the DMI entertainment industry program to have a valuable hands-on learning experience as they prepare for their careers.”
The Delta State University Foundation submitted the proposal for Cleveland. The proposed venue is Cleveland’s downtown green space, site of the previous Levitt AMP concerts. Cleveland’s proposal is posted on the Levitt AMP website for public voting at http://levittamp.org
A successful campaign depends on community participation to get as many online votes as possible to bring the concert series to town. The top 25 finalists will be selected through online public voting. The number of online votes will be one determining factor to select the winners. The Levitt Foundation will review the proposals of these 25 finalists and choose up to 15 Levitt AMP winners. They’ll be announced on Dec. 18.
Visit https://grant.levittamp.org/voter-registration-page/ to register and vote. Online public voting is now open and ends Nov. 20 at 5 PM Pacific Time.
