The Levitt AMP Jacksonville Music Series has come to a close for this summer, but its success and fun are certainly something to be appreciated and to hopefully look forward to again.
We had the chance to speak with Kristen Jenkins of Jacksonville Main Street about this year’s Levitt series, she comments on what went better than last year.
“We made some changes with the layout, we added the bars so people had a place to lean against, we added the umbrellas so there was a little more shade, so I think the layout and the logistics of the concert were better this year, it was a lot more comfortable. It was a lot more family-friendly because you didn’t have to stay in a roped-off area if you were drinking, so that was nice because I think it encouraged a more family-friendly atmosphere,” says Jenkins.
Jenkins also told us about how the series is apart of Jacksonville’s already vibrant music scene, as well as how it adds to it:
“You’ve got the Morgan County Fair, you’ve got the Concert in the Cornfield, the ten-week summer concert series, the free concerts in the park, a lot of the bars have live bands. The list is endless of great opportunities you have to go see live music. I think that Jacksonville Main Street being able to host this concert series has encouraged that and really opened the door for a lot of different groups to bring in something new, other than rock and country. This concert series kind of has opened the door for bringing in different types of genres,” says Jenkins.
Jenkins says that the future of the music series in Jacksonville all depends on the voting this fall:
“We are planning another concert series. We are in the process right now of applying for the grant for another Levitt AMP Concert Series next summer. It is a possibility to get that. The first step is to get the vote, we’ll write the grant and we’ll submit it. Once that’s approved, it will make it to the voting process, which will be sometime this fall, typically in November around Thanksgiving. We have to have the community’s support for it, so if you went to a concert this year and you loved it, we need your vote to get it again,” Jenkins explains.
To hear our full interview with Jenkins, tune into News Radio 1180 at 10:30 AM, or go online to WLDS.com and see the interview in the Newscasts tab.