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Levitt AMP deputy director tours Carson City

Levitt Foundation members visited the Brewery Arts Center on July 9. Left to right: Performer Spike McGuire; Vanessa Silberman of the Levitt Foundation; Jon Rogers, BAC board of directors member; Seth Fitzgerald, BAC board member; Gina Lopez, BAC executive director; Mikey Wiencek, BAC director of operations; Sabrina Skacan of the Levitt Foundation; and John McKenna, BAC board member.

Levitt Foundation members visited the Brewery Arts Center on July 9. Left to right: Performer Spike McGuire; Vanessa Silberman of the Levitt Foundation; Jon Rogers, BAC board of directors member; Seth Fitzgerald, BAC board member; Gina Lopez, BAC executive director; Mikey Wiencek, BAC director of operations; Sabrina Skacan of the Levitt Foundation; and John McKenna, BAC board member.
Photo by Kyler Klix.

By Kyler Klix

Wednesday, July 13, 2022

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Vanessa Silberman, deputy director of the Mortimer & Mimi Levitt Foundation, stopped by Carson City on July 9 to meet with the Brewery Arts Center staff and check out the Young Dubliners show.
“We’re excited to be here and learn about Carson City and experience your town,” she said.
Coming from Los Angeles, she has been touring the communities where Levitt helps provide free concerts.

LEVITT
The Levitt Foundation supports 25 communities this year, helping fund more than 500 free outdoor concerts from coast to coast. The BAC won the grant in 2016 and has won it every year since. That helps put on the free Carson City shows.
Silberman said the Levitt Foundation’s goal is to help build community through music and the events. She said what happens off the stage is just as important as on the stage, with food trucks, games for kids and more.
“We want to think of it almost like an outdoor living room for the entire city, where music is the focal point,” she said.
She said it’s all about bringing people together of all ages and backgrounds. She hopes it brings out people who might not come to many other events.
“Our goal is to strengthen the social fabric of communities and what better way than a free outdoor music series?” Silberman said.

BROAD RANGE OF GENRES
Part of the guidelines to receive the Levitt AMP grants are to have a diverse selection of shows. She said it’s opened a lot of people’s minds to different genres and cultures that they might not be familiar with. By providing a free show, people are more likely to check it out instead of something that might cost them $50, she said.
She said many times, someone might come to one night because they only like a certain type of music. When they come, they realize it’s a fun experience and they come back even if it is a genre they normally don’t listen to.
“In some communities they just know they are going to the Levitt that week, and they don’t even know who is playing,” Silberman said. “Because they are coming for the experience.”

COMMUNITY SUPPORT
While the Levitt provides a grant and the Brewery Arts Center must match the funds and provide plenty more, Silberman said the biggest thing the residents of Carson City can do to keep the arts thriving is to attend the shows.
“There is a lot they can do as audience members but just coming and showing up as part of the community is probably the No. 1 thing,” she said.
They can also help by donating to the Brewery Arts Center and buying the artist’s merchandise.

#MUSICMOVES
Silberman said the community also can get involved through social media by posting pictures and videos using the hashtag #musicmoves. She said there are prizes to win by doing so. One winner receives Sony headphones and another will receive a BOSE Bluetooth speaker. Find out more online: levitt.org/musicmoves/

FAVORITE SHOW THIS YEAR
While touring Levitt venues, Silberman sees many concerts. She said one of her favorite shows came a few days before in Springfield, Illinois, for Terrance Simien and the Zydeco Experience. He’s a Grammy-winning artist who played at Carson City’s event in 2019. She said it’s a great way to see Grammy-winning music in the community.
“That was a really fun show,” Silberman said. “At a certain point he came out into the audience and did one of those lines where people are dancing behind him. Audience members were following him and dancing behind him. That was really cool.”

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