Ten free, family-friendly outdoor concerts return this summer!
Last night the Levitt AMP Utica Music Series announced its lineup of artists who will perform at Kopernik Park in Oneida Square/Downtown Utica this summer. Concerts will take place on 8 Monday nights and 2 Friday nights, starting at 5:30pm. July 7 – August 29.
The 2025 season will feature headlining artists from Canada, Ireland, Florida, Kentucky, Boston, Philly, NYC and Nashville. The concerts also feature opening local and regional acts. The diverse lineup of high-caliber talent spans genres like Afro-Andean, Country, Southern Blues Rock, Hip Hop/New Age, RNB/Soul, Gospel and more.
Concert schedule:
5:30pm: opening bands
6:30pm: youth intermission acts
7:00pm: headliner bands
The series welcomes the most diverse audience in the city, in a family-friendly, non-alcoholic, joyful, welcoming environment. It is a space where social bonding can happen week to week and the community can share a common experience with free live music as the vehicle. The concerts help increase communal well-being and connectedness and add a quality of life enhancement that compliments the many economic development projects that are happen ing in Utica.
The series also serves as a creative training ground for youth with their Levitteen Internship Program and each week a youth performer is showcased at intermission, many times earning their first “paycheck” as an artist and getting a standing ovation from a crowd of hundreds.
The concerts are sponsored in part by the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers communities to inject new life into underused public spaces through free, outdoor concerts. The Community Foundation of Herkimer and Oneida Counties and the M&T Bank Partners Trust Bank Charitable Fund Lead Sponsors. Partners in the series include DeSales Center, the City of Utica, Delta Hotels by Marriott and Munson. ICAN is the fiscal sponsor for the series. Season sponsors include Bank of Utica, the Homeownership Center and The Fountainhead Group.
The public is invited to bring their own blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts. The series will also offer art activities for young concert-goers and food trucks/vendors will be on site.
Kopernik Park is located at 317 Genesee Street at the corner of Eagle Street and Park Avenue near DeSales. Admission is free and all are welcome.
Utica is one of 33 small to mid-sized towns and cities across America to win a Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Award of $30K in matching funds to present a free concert series at Kopernik Park. Utica has received multi-year funding to bring this popular free series to the city for the 2023-2025 seasons. The Levitt Foundation supports over
650 concerts throughout the nation each year in over 50 towns/cities, reaching over 800,000 people.
Over the past ten years, Levitt AMP Utica has infused an investment in the arts into Oneida Square of just over $600,000. Adding in in-kind professional services, park upgrades, volunteers, product, hospitality and more, the total investment is close to $1.6 million.
About Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation
The Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation is a national funder of creative placemaking that empowers towns and cities across America to transform underused public spaces into thriving destinations through the power of free, live music. Learn more at levitt.org.
THE 2025 LEVITT AMP UTICA LINE UP
July 7 – Derrick Dove and the Peacekeepers
Kicking off the season is a band that Utica native Joe Bonamassa has described as having “face melting & soul stirring guitar solos” – Derrick Dove and the Peacekeepers. Playing and performing since he was ten, Derrick and his band now have a #1 hit on the Blues Album charts and four #1s 9 countries. They have shared the stage with ZZ Top and the Marshall Tucker Band.
Opening for them will be local favorites Grit N Grace – who bring a unique blend of high energy country, rock, and dance music to the stage.
July 14 – Jessica Lynn
Jessica Lynn is an international touring country artist based in NYC who has shared the stage with Brad Paisley, Keither Urban and Loretta Lynn. Her family plays with her – dad on bass, mom on background vocals and husband on lead guitar. Country lovers will enjoy her high energy performance, which has been compared to Shania Twain.
Opening will be Filled to the Brim, comprised of five local college-aged artists who have developed a mature indie pop rock sound. They came together in 2018 at Jim O’Mahony’s Rock Camp and wrote and recorded their first self-titled album in 2020.
July 21 – Afro Andean Funk
Nominated for two Latin Grammy Awards, Afro Andean Funk is a Peruvian-American duo led by vocalist Araceli Poma who sings in two endangered languages from South America – one that has only 1,500 speakers in the world. Their distinct sound fuses Andean roots music with American funk, rock, electronica and pop… and channels themes of migration, resistance and mysticism.
Opening for them will be local classic rock favorites, Vinyl Logic
July 28 – Colleen Orender
Colleen Orender is the real deal and her vocals are NOT to miss! She is “a touring blues and soul artist for decades, she turns your hometown venues into smoldering 1930’s Mississippi juke joints”. She’ll be coming to us from Nashville.
Her opener is a local female vocalist, making it a powerhouse night… Cait Devin, whose sound is a mix of infectious rock and edge of alt-rock.
August 4 – Bermuda Search Party
Boston-based alt/rock pop band, formally named The Q-Tip Bandits, changed their name in early 2024 to Bermuda Search Party. Formed in college at Berklee College of Music and shaped by Boston’s DIY music scene, the band self-produced their debut LP in 2022. Since then, they have earned four Boston Music Awards nominations, including Live Act and Pop Act of the Year. The audience will get a blend of indie-pop, funk-infused grooves, and soaring brass, creating a sound that feels like pure celebration.
Opening will be Soul Injection, a local favorite
August 11 – The Lee Boys
The Lee Boys are one of the finest African American Sacred Steel ensembles straight from Florida. A family group which consists of two generations of musicians, they grew up in the church where their father was a pastor and a steel player himself. Their music is described as a unique form of gospel with a hard-driving, blues-based beat, where dancing, shouting out and having fun are part of the tradition. They are coming to us from Florida.
Local powerhouse singer and performer Astena Williams will open.
August 15 – Küf Knotz and Christine Elise (Friday night concert)
Hip hop AND A HARP! Hailing from Philadelphia, Kuf was named the Best Rapper of 2022 by Philadelphia Magazine… he has opened for The Roots, Lauryn Hill, Arrested Development and Bruce Springsteen. He blends hip hop poetry with deep grooves of soul, Lo-Fi & 90’s era vibes.
Christine is classically trained harpist, pianist, and vocalist who studied music therapy at the masters level led her to find a passion for community music therapy. She has facilitated group sessions and workshops, and has presented at music therapy conferences around the world.
Opening for them is local hip hop artist and on-air talent J Easy
August 18 – Alysha Brilla
Rolling Stone says that our next artist – ”electrifies the music industry with her kaleidescopic blend of soul, folk and world beats.” Alysha Brilla is an Indo-Tanzanian Canadian singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, music producer, audio engineer and film composer blending folk, world, soul and pop. She is a 2025 Women In Music International Leadership Honouree and a three-time JUNO Award nominee.
Opening for her will be Steve Falvo’s Big Easy Money Band
August 25 – Hermitage Green
Straight from Ireland, Hermitage Green has played together since 2010 after a spontaneous jam session and have been touring the world since – from South Africa and Australia to Dubai, London and Canada. Their unique arrangement of instruments sets them apart.
Opening will be The Shawn Smith Band – a friend and supporter of our series for YEARS, as well as a performer.
August 29 – Joslyn and the Sweet Compression (Friday night concert)
Joslyn and the Sweet Compression is a force out of Lexington, Kentucky with a stirring soul-funk sound inspired by Aretha Franklin, Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston. A headlining favorite at regional clubs and music festivals, they went nationwide in 2023 and engaged fans across the country. Billboard magazine described the band as “Magical… gives everyone the joy!”
Opening for Joslyn will be Rising Ghosts – an alternative band from Syracuse
