Wilmington’s new UAE Amphitheater will be the siite of a new concert series on Wednesday nights, starting this week and lasting through mid-October.
A weekly Wilmington series of free concerts designed to help bring the community together through live music debuts Wednesday, July 12.
DuPont Brass will headline the first of weekly 6:30 p.m. concerts, designed to be family friendly, at the Urban Artist Exchange Amphitheater, created on the site of the city police’s former stables. Wilmington hip-hop artist Young Seda will open at 6:30 p.m.
The Wednesday night concerts will continue into mid-October.
The series is dubbed the Levitt AMP Wilmington Music Series, after the nonprofit that gave the city a $90,000 matching grant to pay for three years of concerts.
“The Levitt AMP Wilmington Music Series offers a diversity of artists and genres that amplify the Levitt Foundation’s mission, which aligns with the core mission of the Urban Artist Exchange Amphitheater and Mayor Mike Purzycki’s promise to provide Wilmingtonians and visitors with a vibrant place to live, work and play,” said Tina Betz, director of Wilmington’s Office of Cultural Affairs and Cityfest Inc.
“All concerts will be free and open to the public to experience the power of live music,” she said. “In addition to the Levitt AMP Wilmington Music Series, UAE Amphitheater audiences will also enjoy other unique and creative live performance offerings such as the Saturday, July 15th SQUONK! Opera.”
SQUONK! Opera’s 2023 tour, Hand to Hand, features two hands that are larger than a house, with music designed to raise the roof. Photo by SQUONK!
Wednesday’s event will be followed by a family fun day Saturday, July 15, with activities from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., including yoga from 10 a.m. until 12 p.m. Performers will be Squonk Opera and h regional bands and DJs such as Benjamin Wagner, Sharon Sable, INTIKANA, Zeekyel, Hannah Carter, All that Shimmers Parties, Kayla Childs, Kevonna Venable and Jason Aviles.
The UAB Amphitheater is at 1500 Walnut Street in Wilmington’s East Side Historic District.
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, bluegrass, and the blues.
Attendees are invited to bring picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts, which will have an open lawn setting.
Go to www.cityfestwilm.com for a full schedule of concerts, directions and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility.
