The countdown to a memorable season of free concerts in Selma, Alabama is underway! The Levitt AMP Selma Music Series announced its impressive lineup of artists who will perform at Selma’s Riverfront Amphitheater each second and fourth Saturday at 8pm from June 8th to October 26th. So grab your family, friends, and neighbors and get ready to experience the power of free, live music to bring our community together!

Sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a social impact funder supporting nonprofits nationwide at the intersection of music, public space, and community building, the Levitt AMP Music Series injects new life into underused public spaces through free, outdoor concerts across the nation.

The Levitt AMP Selma Music Series will present a total of 11 free, family-friendly concerts to the public this summer into the fall at Selma’s Riverfront Amphitheater. The series will feature a diverse lineup of high-caliber talent spanning genres like jazz, bluegrass, and gospel.

Kicking off the series at 8pm on Saturday, June 8th, is Element XI, a diverse ensemble of passionate and talented musicians, who have been rocking shows since its inception by Daryl Lockhart in August 2012. The essence of the music Element XI has perfected is reflective of the city that bears the name “The Rocket City,” Huntsville, Alabama. Just like the progressive city of its origin, the band endorses the ever-changing sound of a new generation, while forging a deep appreciation for the rich sounds of the past that inspire and shape the stylings of contemporary music.

Also scheduled to perform are Selma’s own Asher Havon on June 22nd, who is currently competing on NBC’s The Voice; Nu-Blu on July 13th, a nationally known bluegrass band from Tennessee; Kim Scott on July 27th, an award-winning jazz musician; Ashley Sankey on August 10th, delivering a soulful sound by way of Birmingham, Alabama; and Ms. Necie and Sounds on August 24th, performing her new music along with a few classics. Other artists on the roster include D. Morton and Gifted, Young Guy, PC Band, and Marcellus the Singer.

The public is invited to bring their own picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts, which will have an open lawn setting. A variety of food trucks and vendors from across the region will be on hand for every show to satisfy almost any food or beverage craving. The Levitt AMP concert series will be held inside Selma’s Riverfront Amphitheater, right across from the Evans Reception Hall located at 3 Lawrence Street in Downtown Selma. Admission is free.

Visit www.TRHTSelma.org for a full schedule of concerts, directions and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility.

In November 2022, Selma was named one of 33 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to receive a Levitt AMP Selma Grant Award of $90K in matching funds to present a free concert series at Selma’s Riverfront Amphitheater in 2023, 2024, and 2025. The Black Belt Community Foundation along with the City of Selma and the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce submitted the grant proposal and presented the inaugural Levitt AMP Selma Music Series in 2023. In an effort 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 and text voting. Learn more about the grant recipients at levitt.org/amp.

About Black Belt Community Foundation

The mission of the Black Belt Community Foundation’s is to forge a collective stream of giving that transforms our 12-county region and connects those interested in having an impact in this region with nonprofits that are making a difference today. Founded in 2004 with the idea that those living and working in the Black Belt best knew the area’s challenges and opportunities, the Black Belt Community Foundation actively puts needed resources into the region that make a lasting impact. The foundation operates in three main areas: Gifting, Receiving, and Growing. The Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation initiative in Selma (TRHT Selma) is one of the Foundation’s programs and serves as the lead organization in implementing the Levitt AMP Selma Music Series. TRHT is a comprehensive, national and community-based process to plan for and bring about transformational and sustainable change, and to address the historic and contemporary effects of racism. TRHT Selma was initiated in Selma in May 2017 with the Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) established as a TRHT grantee by funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. BBCF has joined forces with the Selma Center for Nonviolence as their programmatic place partner to implement the THRT process for Selma and Dallas County.

About Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation

The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is a private family foundation that exists to strengthen the social fabric of America. Through its commitment to creative placemaking, the Levitt Foundation supports the activation of underused public spaces—such as neglected parks, vacant downtown lots, and former brownfields—into welcoming, inclusive destinations where the power of free, live music brings people together to create more equitable, healthy, and thriving communities.

The Foundation’s primary funding areas include Levitt venues, the Levitt AMP Selma Grant Awards, and the Levitt VIBE Music Series. These programs present free concerts in outdoor, open lawn settings featuring high-caliber talent in a broad array of music genres and cultural performances. Levitt venues and concert sites attract people of all ages and backgrounds and reflect the character of their town or city, while benefitting from the framework and best practices of the Levitt program.

The Levitt Foundation invests in community-driven efforts that harness the power of partnerships and leverage community engagement. Levitt venue nonprofits and grantees collaborate with other local nonprofits and community groups to inform programming, outreach, and engagement, embodying the Foundation’s funding philosophy and core values to support projects that are inclusive, catalytic, and dynamic, and create connectedness and joy.

The Foundation also supports events, festivals, and field-building initiatives to broaden access to live music experiences and promote equitable and healthy music ecosystems. Reflecting its ongoing commitment to self-reflection and contributing to the creative placemaking field, the Levitt Foundation invests in research to evaluate the social impact of Levitt programs in communities, which in turn informs the Foundation’s evolving philanthropic practice. In November 2023, the Foundation announced it would spend down $150 million in assets and sunset by 2041 to accelerate impact and spark a larger movement for free concerts in public spaces across the country. Learn more at levitt.org.