Holy cow would you believe it but it’s August and the summer is just about over. Tonight is the last of the ten part concert series that has been going on at downtown Springfield’s Y-Block most of this summer since the end of May. From The Skatalites, to the Dirty Dozen Brass band and much more, it’s been quite the series of free concerts for everyone to enjoy. Tonight the main act coming in from Tulsa, Oklahoma is solo Americana act John Moreland. From the Levitt AMP site:

Today, Moreland’s understated melodies and uncanny knack for storytelling have left an unmistakable mark on the Americana music scene. The troubadour has received coverage from outlets including No Depression, The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal among others. He has released four studio albums, with his latest, 2017’s Big Bad Luv, hailed as one of the best Americana/folk releases of the year by fans and critics alike, earning glowing write-ups in Rolling Stone and The New Yorker among others. He has enchanted the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s in-studio audience, is a regular opener for Jason Isbell and has had three songs featured on FX’s hit show Sons of Anarchy. Along with Miranda Lambert, Moreland has a super fan in the form of MSNBC host Rachel Maddow, who tweeted “If the American music business made any sense, guys like John Moreland would be household names.”

Check out John Moreland’s music streaming on the player below. The opening act tonight is Edward David Anderson. That starts off at 6:00 pm out on the Y-Block next to the governor’s mansion downtown and goes until 8:30 pm. It’s free to the public. Check out a facebook event for the concert right here. Also don’t forget we are having a show tonight afterwards at 8:00 pm!

It’s another Thursday night so that means it’s another night of a Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series out on the Y-Block downtown right by us. What’s going on tonight? Well for one there is a heat advisory or something going on, so tonight’s performance has bene pushed back to a start time of 7:00 pm to allow things to cool off some. Opening up the event tonight is a band familiar to our stage – Kate The Band. Nice. Tonight is supposed to be indie-rock night out on the lawn, and headlining act is Liz Cooper & The Stampede from Nashville. From the Levitt AMP site:

Liz Cooper and The Stampede are a three-piece folk, psychedelic rock band formed in Nashville. Inspired by the roots, blues and rock music ingrained into the musical fabric of their hometown, but determined to add touches of pop, folk and psychedelia into the mix, Liz Cooper and The Stampede began its musical journey in 2012. Cooper’s ability to switch from a husky baritone to sweet, lilting vocals, over the group’s enchanting and vibrant musical palette makes for a distinct musical voice unlike any other band in the Nashville circuit.

Nice. You can stream some of Liz Cooper’s music on the player embedded below. Tonight’s event will be going from 7:00 pm – 9:30 pm it sounds like, and we still have a show going on at 8:00 pm. Find a facebook event for this one right here. Also check out the Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series website to see the other two concerts that are coming up after this one this summer.

We may have a big punk/hardcore show at Bread Stretchers tonight – but did you also know there is a big free concert going on right through the alley tonight as well as part of the Levitt AMP Springfield Concert Series. This is concert number 6 out of 10 free concerts – just 3 more after this! Tonight is a big concert for the series – The Dirty Dozen Brass Band from New Orleans is making a grand appearance! Here’s a description from the Levitt AMP Springfield page:

Celebrating more than 40 years since their 1977 founding, New Orleans-based Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a one-of-a-kind experience that the band describes as a ‘musical gumbo.’ The term ‘gumbo is appropriate because—much like the traditional local dish—Dirty Dozen Brass Band seamlessly brings together musical influences across jazz, big band swing, funk and soul to create an electrifying experience that feels like an instant party. The core of their sound is classic New Orleans jazz and swing, which they developed as young musicians playing in churches and the local club circuit in New Orleans itself.

The free concert out on the lawn tonight (and that’s the lawn directly in front of the Governor’s Mansion in between 4th and 5th streets) starts at 6:00 pm and goes until 8:30 pm. There is an opening act and that is local jazz musician Frank Parker.

If you want to see what other Levitt AMP concerts are coming up on the block or learn more, check out their website right here. Find a facebook event for tonight’s concert right here.

It’s another Thursday night so that means it’s another Levitt AMP night out on the Y-Block here downtown. This is concert number 5 in a ten part concert series happening every Thursday night this summer, thanks to the Levitt AMP Grant our city won and a few other organizations for making this possible. Tonight the headliner is “Fareed Haque’s Flat Earth Ensemble“. What’s that all about? From the Levitt AMP Springfield website:

Fareed Haque’s Flat Earth Ensemble realizes Haque’s decades-long musical vision, bringing together some of the world’s finest classical guitar and Indian tabla players from opposite sides of the world to create music that reverberates from the tubes of guitar amplifiers to the streets of Mumbai. Haque’s The Flat Earth Ensemble is a culmination of several decades of experimentation with diverse musical genres.

There you have it. The opening act tonight is Jazz Robots from Chicago – another group that have actually played before over at The Radon Lounge. We’ve included some of Jazz Robots’s music streaming on the player below.

All of that starts tonight at 6:30 pm, goes until 8:00 pm on the Y-Block right next to the governor’s mansion downtown, and it’s all free. It might be a hot one tonight. Check out a facebook event for this concert right here. Also check the Levitt AMP Springfield website for a look at the remaining concerts in the Thursday night series!

Are you hungry some more of that free downtown live music? We sure are. Don’t forget that the Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series is an ongoing thing throughout the summer: and tonight is free concert #4 in the series bringing you some of the hottest Latin pop music in the whole entire nation. Tonight is the Latin dance musician – Oro Solido performing for free out on the block! The opener for tonight is Jerry Palacios. Here’s a description of Oro Solido from the Levitt website:

Blending folksy percussion, fast-paced rhythms and catchy chorus melodies, it’s easy for audiences to fall in love with Oro Solido’s infectious merengue grooves. Fronted by charismatic bandleader Raul Acosta, Oro Solido has become one of the most popular outfits to introduce mainstream American audiences to merengue music. Born in the Dominican Republic, but raised in New Jersey, Acosta played bass in the Latin Jazz group Caribe Band, before forming his own path. Comprised entirely of Puerto Rican and Dominican musicians, Oro Solido officially came to life in March 1994. The same year, the group issued their self-titled debut, featuring the smash single “Esta Cache,” that became an immediate hit with the merengue crowd.

Once again it is looking like the weather is going to cooperate and it is going to be another lovely night in the big city for this free outdoor concert. It starts at 6:00 pm with the opener and goes until 8:30 pm. Out on the Y-Block between 4th and 5th streets between Capitol Avenue and the Governor’s Mansion. Find a facebook event right here. Also check out what other Levitt AMP shows are coming up out on the block right here.

Don’t think that just because The Skatalites concert last week has gone and passed that there isn’t anymore going on downtown this summer – that show was just one of a ten part free concert series thanks to the Levitt AMP Grant our city won for this summer. That series continues tonight with the third concert in the ten-part series. Tonight is more of the “classical” music night, featuring headlining act the Illinois Symphony Orchestra Brass Ensemble! Some of you out there might be more excited about the opening act; who is national famed harpist Timbre from Nashville. Stream Timbre’s music on the player below. This act was brought in some thanks to our friends over at The Radon Lounge, where she has performed before. The main sponsor for tonight is also Foamed Up Coffee, who are also our buds.

Find a facebook event for tonight’s concert right here. It starts at 6:00 pm, goes until 8:30 pm, and it’s free. Happening out on the Y-Block across from the Illinois Governor’s mansion. For a closer look at what’s let of the Levitt AMP Music Series, visit their website right here.

Tonight… yes, tonight. The big event that we’ve been talking a lot about this past month or so – tonight as part of the Levitt AMP Springfield Concert Series, The Legendary Skatalites from Jamaica, est. 1964 will be performing, *for free*, downtown Springfield on the Y-Block. How amazing is that?

The show will be going on from 6:00 to 8:30 pm on the block which is located between 4th and 5th streets, in between Capitol Avenue and the governor’s mansion. Bring a lawn chair if you want. There is an opening act – “TaQsem” from here in town. The Skatalites are supposed to be taking the stage from 7:00 to 8:30 *if* everything goes according to schedule. It doesn’t look like we have any on the forecast, but in the case of rain, the concert will be moved to Central Baptist Church on 4th street right next to the block.

Check out a facebook event for this one right here. Check out the full list of other Levitt Concerts coming up Thursday nights this summer right here.

These are crazy times, and even though this is all we’ve been talking about for the past month or so we felt it appropriate to give you all a friendly reminder that the legendary 1960’s original Jamaican ska group The Skatalites will be performing in free in downtown Springfield in five days on Thursday, June 6th. Wow. Dumb Records is on for a main sponsor for this Levitt AMP Springfield concert which is one in ten Thursday night concerts as part of their series presented by PNC Bank. For a full list and descriptions of each of those concerts coming up check out the Levitt AMP site right here.

For those who are not aware, the Levitt AMP concerts take place on the Y-Block right in front of the Governor’s Mansion downtown. All concerts start at 6:00 pm and go until 8:30 pm. For this upcoming Thursday there is an upcoming act and that is local artist Taqsem. Check out some of The Skatalites’ music streaming on the player below. From what we can tell this is going to be one of six shows the band is playing in the United States this year.