North New Castle News

Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki and Cultural Affairs Director Tina Betz invite you to grab your family, friends, and neighbors and prepare to experience the power of live music aimed at bringing our community together. The City is counting down to a memorable inaugural season of FREE summer concerts after the Levitt AMP Wilmington Music Series today announced an impressive lineup of artists who will perform at the newly completed Urban Artist Exchange (UAE) Amphitheater each Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The concerts, which begin tomorrow evening with a special performance by DuPont Brass followed by a day of family fun on Saturday, will continue throughout the summer into mid-October.

The Levitt AMP Wilmington Music Series will present 10 FREE, family-friendly concerts to the public this summer at UAE Amphitheater, located at 1500 Walnut Street in Wilmington’s East Side Historic District. Kicking off the series at 6:30 p.m. this Wednesday, July 12, is DuPont Brass, a unique, soulful brass ensemble from Washington D.C. that combines the brass band tradition with hip-hop flavor. Wilmington hip-hop artist Young Seda will open. This will be followed on Saturday, July 15, by an afternoon of family activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., including yoga from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. and featuring Squonk Opera along with regional bands and DJs, including: Benjamin Wagner, Sharon Sable, INTIKANA, Zeekyel, Hannah Carter, All that Shimmers Parties, Kayla Childs, Kevonna Venable, and Jason Aviles.
 
Also scheduled to perform in July are African American gospel quintet The Legendary Ingrammettes (July 19) from Richmond, Virginia, and North Carolina-based bluegrass band Nu-Blu (July 26). More artists will be announced in the coming weeks and will feature a diverse lineup of high-caliber talent spanning genres such as Hip-Hop, Jazz, Gospel, R&B, Blue Grass, and the Blues. 
 
Attendees are invited to bring picnics, blankets, and lawn chairs to the concerts, which will have an open lawn setting. Visit www.cityfestwilm.com for a full schedule of concerts, directions, and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility.
 
Last November, Wilmington was named one of 33 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to receive a Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Award of $90K in matching funds to present a free concert series at UAE Amphitheater in 2023, 2024, and 2025. Cityfest, Inc., submitted the Levitt AMP proposal and is presenting the concert series. To inspire and engage communities across the country around the power of creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation invited the public to choose the Top 20 finalists through online voting. Learn more about the grant recipients and the 300+ free Levitt AMP concerts across America at levitt.org/amp.
 
“When we first set out to create the Urban Artist Exchange years ago,” said Mayor Purzycki, “Tina Betz and I imagined UAE would be a distinctive destination known for welcoming creative people and using the arts to transform the East Side physically, socially, and culturally. There is no doubt that this incredible space has exceeded all expectations, and we are just now getting started. This free outdoor music series at the beautiful new amphitheater just confirms that our original transformational vision was on target, and I, for one, can’t wait for folks to come out and experience this beautiful setting for themselves.”
 
Mayor Purzycki and Director Betz thanked the Levitt Foundation once again for its support of Wilmington’s continuing commitment to enriching the City and its residents through Wilmington’s love of music and its rich history of nurturing musicians of all genres.

The DuPont Brass and The Legendary Ingrammettes performances are funded in part by a MidAtlantic Arts Foundation Mid Atlantic Tours grant. Mid Atlantic Tours is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Arts’ Regional Touring Program.   

The Mayor and Director Betz also thanked UAE Amphitheater funders: State of Delaware, Longwood Foundation, Welfare Foundation, Cory and Leslie Porter, Delaware Community Foundation, and EdiS Company.
 
The Levitt AMP City Name Music Series is supported in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, which partners with towns and cities across America to activate underused public spaces through the power of live music, creating welcoming, inclusive destinations. Presenting a broad array of music genres and cultural programming, Levitt venues and concert sites are community anchors where families, friends and neighbors of all ages and backgrounds come together. Learn more at levitt.org.

Original source can be found here.