While reflecting back on another phenomenal musical year, we can’t help but be grateful for all of the joy that the Levitt AMP Woonsocket Music Series has brought to our city. And the best is yet to come for Rhode Island Monthly’s Best FREE Outdoor Concert Series and a two time Best of the Blackstone winner.
In sitting down recently with NeighborWorks’ very own Meg Rego, we were thrilled to learn that the Levitt Foundation, which over the past two decades, has helped over 60 non-profits bring thousands of free outdoor concerts to millions through their grantmaking, looks forward to soon becoming a Spend Down Foundation. Over the next 18 years, Levitt AMP concert series across the country will slowly help spend down the foundation’s $150,000,000 endorsement–money that more often than not in similar situations, remains in a bank, while its foundation only benefits from the interest income. By becoming a Spend Down, the Levitt Foundation will be able to magnify the impact the money has by getting it out into the community. And here in Woonsocket, we are thrilled to be a part of that journey.
Join us for a sneak peek inside all of work that makes the Woonsocket branch of the innovated and inspired Levitt AMP Series successful, with the brains behind the operation and the magic behind the communications mic, Meg Rego!
NW: Thanks for joining us Meg! We’d love to hear an overview of the entire Levitt process. What goes into putting the series together?
Meg: Sure! Yes, the process begins essentially when the previous concert series ends. It’s a year round process–and a community driven one at that. The surveys that community members take in the park help inform us what they feel needs to be changed for the coming year, and what acts they’d like to see on stage. Once a summer series ends, acts and their agents start reaching out to us to be included. It’s amazing to see how many musicians want to be featured on our wonderful Woonsocket stage with our great community. We partner with the city to use River Island Art Park as the home of series. There’s a lot more that goes into it–we go before the City Council to get the summer dates approved, attend national Levitt conferences, share with our nation-wide colleagues best practices and our individual concert planning experiences. Our dedicated planning team focuses heavily on youth engagement and how the park is set up. We like for it to emote a family and child friendly vibe, but with adult friendly food and drink options. My favorite part though is helping choose the incredible music. Our artists are diverse in every way possible, global and play their own original songs. It’s a constant work in progress!
NW: We can’t count the number of times we’ve heard you give shootouts to all the volunteers. What do they mean to the success of the series?
Meg: Simply put–the series is not viable without them. The volunteers are responsible for every critical component of the series. Volunteers do everything, from making sure the bands are taken care of in the green room, to welcoming guests and selling merchandise. They collect critical surveys, make up the planning committee, fundraise, and recruit park volunteers. The series truly couldn’t happen without them. The joy of live music in Woonsocket is on the backs of well meaning, dedicated individuals, whose spirits to serve are what make the series so wonderful to attend. They are how we function, and we don’t know what we’d do without them!
NW: Let’s talk about the acts!
Meg: Absolutely! The series is better when we work together to identify the very best acts to perform here in Woonsocket. The headliners play for 90 minutes, the opening acts 45-60 minutes. We have found that our community has the best time when the music is high energy and has a danceable rhythm, regardless of the genre. So through the end of December, we are looking for act recommendations for both headliners and openers that would be a good fit for Woonsocket and fit within our budget! Please email Levitt@nwbrv.org to submit your suggestions!
NW: And last, but most definitely not least, let’s chat about the donors. What do they mean to the series?
Meg: Oh, they’re invaluable. The Levitt Foundation gives us 30k and the series costs $75,000 cash (plus another $50,000 in in-kind support). We are so fortunate to have commitment from the Levitt Foundation through the 2024 and 2025 seasons. After that, we’ll enter a competitive grant process to continue the series. Even with their contribution, we have that additional 45k to fund annually. In order to bring the same high caliber, engaging experience to the park each summer, we need donors. If you, or someone you know, or your corporation is interested in supporting the series, please reach out directly to me at mrego@neighborworksbrv.org. I would love to hear from you!
The summertime series, which occurs Friday nights from June through August at River Island Art Park in Woonsocket, delivers acts ranging in musical genres, from Pop and Reggae to Americana and Zydeco. Every week, concert attendees are also greeted by food trucks, local craft vendors, cultural activities, and an on-site bar provided by Ciro’s Tavern.
As the lead funder and impetus behind the series, the Levitt Foundation pulls out all the stops to help build community and transform underutilized public spaces–River Island Art Park being no exception. Employing every resource available to them, the nationally recognized Foundation focuses on spreading the joys of free, live music.
