Videos, photos and article by Ella Warren, contributor
From July to September, the Levitt AMP Music Series will feature seven free concerts in the grassy field beside Turner Pavilion. This year marks the fourth Levitt AMP festival in Harrisonburg.
“It is providing this opportunity where people from all over our community can come together for free, enjoy a night of fellowship, enjoy some talented musicians that we’re fortunate to bring to town, and… gather and celebrate as a community,” said Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance (HDR) volunteer Brian Webb.
The Levitt AMP Music Series is sponsored by the Levitt Family Foundation, an organization dedicated to “activating underused public spaces” and bringing together community members, according to the Levitt Family Foundation’s website.
This summer’s first concert on July 2 doubled as a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary. While the first concert began at 5:30 p.m., future concerts, including the next one this Wednesday featuring Canadian indie soul/jazz fusion group SHEBAD, will start at 6 p.m.
With local music venues closing in recent years – including the Golden Pony, Warehouse, Friendly Fermenter and Crayola House – the music festival series fills a gap in the area’s culture.
Harrisonburg will see seven acts ranging from indie soul to jazz to folk. Musicians such as Fabiola Méndez and Gentleman Brawlers take inspiration from afro-funk, while Joslyn and the Sweet Compression bring soul from Kentucky. The full event schedule can be found on HDR’s website.
“[Music is] a very universal language. You don’t have to understand what they’re saying. It’s more of a feeling, and I think that’s such a beautiful way to bring people together,” added HDR volunteer Natalie Squazza.
Year four … and counting
The Levitt AMP Music Series sponsors towns and cities with populations under 250,000 and an underutilized outdoor gathering space. Nonprofits apply for a three-year grant in which the Levitt Family Foundation matches fundraising efforts up to $40,000.
Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance, which supports local businesses and events, received a grant from 2023-2025 and renewed that grant for 2026-2028, becoming one of 48 localities to host the festival this year.
“When we first applied, we were a new AMP grantee, so it was a longer process with the public voting and a bunch of stages,” said Jennifer Bayes, HDR’s director of events. “Since we’re already in the system, we were able to get another three year grant from the Levitt Family Foundation to continue doing the concerts for another three years.”
The Levitt Family Foundation sets guidelines for curating a lineup of musicians. Webb said Harrisonburg prioritizes diverse music from all over the globe.
HDR received over 250 submissions for potential musical acts. Webb led a selection committee of HDR volunteers to determine which artists were best for Harrisonburg.
“We want a good mix of music, so we try to get bands from different countries to come here. We get bands from all over the United States to come and play these shows,” Webb said. “It’s really cool to be on that committee because you get to think about what you want to see and what you want to bring to Harrisonburg.”
“It’s bringing… musical acts that people wouldn’t normally get to be exposed to,” added Bayes. “We’ve had everything from Ukrainian folk to multiple Spanish speaking artists.”
In 2025, HDR began featuring local openers for some of the concerts; this year, local openers will perform every night.
“We added that as a sponsorable item within the concert series, so that helped us be able to fund that add-on,” Bayes said.
While previous years held ten concerts, HDR will only hold seven concerts this year due to a lack of funding.
“We won’t go into the school year as much, and it won’t be getting dark as early,” Bayes said.
After 22 years, dream of a downtown park lives
The kickoff’s key event sponsors included Blue Ridge Insurance Services, Eastern Mennonite University, and Build Our Park.
Build Our Park is a volunteer nonprofit leading a project that will transform the Turner Pavilion area into an expansive park site. The new park will include a permanent concert stage for outdoor music events like the Levitt AMP Music Series.
“Harrisonburg loves live music. It’s become a piece of our culture here,” said Erin Bishop, Vice President of the Build Our Park Board of Directors. “What the future park offers is a permanent stage and also flexible areas that can house smaller events. We look forward to a time when events… that wanna take place in the heart of Harrisonburg and Rockingham county can come here and have the infrastructure that they need to succeed.”
At the July 2 event, Build Our Park set up a booth underneath Turner Pavilion to hand out informational brochures and answer questions from the community.
According to a Build Our Park booklet, the project began in 2004 when HDR first proposed making a downtown park. The Build Our Park organization was founded in 2011 and gained the city’s approval for their proposed redesign in 2024.
At the kickoff, Build Our Park announced they have raised $2.7 million in pledges and gifts. Bishop said the current plan is to continue to fundraise.
“Right now, the goal is $3.9 million … and it includes a very sizable inflation estimate. We anticipate the ultimate cost to build the park will be less,” Bishop said.
Construction could begin as early as fall 2027, with a potential park opening early 2028, Bishop said.
Levitt AMP’s kickoff featured a July 4th atmosphere
Community members began setting out lawn chairs in the early evening on July 2. While waiting for the music to begin, attendees could browse booths set up by local businesses, play mini-golf, or blow bubbles provided by Bubbles by the Burg.
Multiple food vendors set up shop near the shaded pavilion, and Sage Bird Ciderworks and Restless Moons participated in a “beer garden” for 21+ attendees.
The Friendly City Co-Op provided free sparkling waters at their “hydration station,” which was a a new addition last year, said Mackenzie Jenkins, the co-op’s marketing and events manager. The hydration stations will be present at every concert to keep attendees cool in the summer heat.
A sensory-friendly tent was available for attendees to use. Additionally, HDR plans to have noise cancelling earplugs for future concerts.
HDR gave out free Levitt AMP merchandise and patriotic accessories. Children ran around the field with red, white and blue ribbons as local opener Dr. How and the Reasons to Live took to the stage.
Dr. How and the Reasons to Live have been playing in Harrisonburg for 20 years. Frontman Chris Howdyshell said the band reached out to HDR when they heard their friend Scott Miller would be headlining. Howdyshell said he was happy to see so much support for local music.
“You’re supporting a local business that’s trying to make it. You’re supporting local people,” Howdyshell said. “God bless the folks that are on tour, but there’s something sweet about giving love to the local people as well.”
As the sun began to set, Scott Miller and the Commonwealth performed a mix of solo and band Americana songs. Miller, a Virginia native, thanked the crowd for their support and called Harrisonburg an “awesome city.”
The night ended with a Downtown Dollars giveaway, providing a random winner with gift certificates that can be redeemed at various downtown locations.
As the final note of Crysta’s Bliss’s national anthem rendition rang out, fireworks exploded across the sky above City Hall.
The Levitt AMP Music Series will continue into September. HDR also posts guides for each concert on their social media accounts.
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