If you build it, they will come, and come they do—musicians, dancers, visual artists, spoken word artists, neighbors, residents, visitors from surrounding communities, old, and young—to Caddo Common Park’s artist-designed outdoor pavilion. Since its inception as the epicenter to the vision and planning for Shreveport Common, a historic, long-blighted nine-block area of Shreveport’s oldest downtown neighborhood, the pavilion has been integral to the community’s Creative Placemaking plan to revitalize the area. And now another group, the Levitt Family Foundation, a passionate national supporter of creative placemaking, is coming to Caddo Common Park. Grant support from the Levitt Family Foundation will allow the Shreveport Regional Arts Council (SRAC) to program ten vibrant, live music experiences on the pavilion stage from May 2 to June 13, and from September 5 to October 3, with a break for the summer heat. 

The Levitt Family Foundation exists to strengthen the social fabric of America. They partner with communities through their Levitt AMP Music Series to activate underused outdoor spaces and deploy the power of free live music to bring people together and invigorate civic life. The Foundation was founded in 1966 by Mortimer and Mimi Levitt to support the arts, culture, and education. Today, through its commitment to creative placemaking, the Foundation supports the activation of neglected parks, vacant downtown lots, and former brownfields, transforming them into welcoming destinations in support of healthy, equitable, and thriving communities. The original Levitt Pavilion in Westport, Conn. opened in 1974 and transformed the town dump into a community gathering space for free outdoor concerts. The success of that pavilion led Mortimer to lay the groundwork for a national network of Levitt venues so communities across the country could come together through shared experiences of free concerts under the start. 

Funded in part by the City of Shreveport and the Parish of Caddo, SRAC has been programming Caddo Common Park since its opening in April 2021, and has hosted several events at the park, including the creation of a “Rainbow City” with inflatables by the nationally renowned Los Angeles–based collaborative, FriendsWithYou, helmed by artists Samuel Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III. Artists throughout the region have also been featured on the pavilion stage, including the popular Seratones with 2025 Grammy Award winner A. J. Haynes, as well as the Shreveport Symphony Orchestra with its annual Spooky Symphony concert. The Caddo Common Pavilion is the ultimate creative outdoor space designed to allow neighbors and the greater community to “happen upon the fun.” 

SRAC Executive Director Rebecca Bonnevier said, “When we learned about the Levitt AMP Music Series Grant, we jumped at the opportunity to apply so we could expand our park programming. We aggressively reached out to our Northwest Louisiana community with billboards, media interviews, and social media to enlist regional involvement and support in the grant process. The community support was strong, voting for Shreveport on the Levitt Foundation site. As a result of that support, the strength of Caddo Common Park’s pavilion in a once-blighted area of downtown Shreveport, and SRAC’s history of producing successful events on its incredible stage, we were awarded a Levitt AMP Music Series Grant totaling $120,000 to produce thirty free live music events over the next three years.” 

The community of local live music producers and professionals had a hand in putting together the lineup of artists proposed to Levitt for the ten annual music performances. With input from the Levitt Family Foundation team, these local music professionals orchestrated a list of performers and finalized a roster and schedule of events for the inaugural year of the Levitt AMP Shreveport Live Music Series. Criteria for eligible performing groups included: they must be professional; 80 percent of their performance repertoire must be original music; they sell their music via digital, album, or other professional means; they have an established website; and they perform regularly in a mix of venues. Once final approval has been received from Levitt, SRAC will announce the performers. 

Shreveport Common Executive Director Wendy Benscoter said, “The Levitt Foundation is a passionate supporter of creative placemaking, which is fundamental to the revitalization of Shreveport Common. This grant award advances Shreveport Common’s mission by powering up SRAC’s ability to offer free dynamic concerts for all to enjoy. Music brings us together and invigorates community life. These concerts by local, regional, and national musicians will create the unique, fun, diverse, and inclusive something-to-do at Caddo Common Park, bringing more people to enjoy the park and the surrounding Shreveport Common neighborhood.” 

The Levitt AMP Music Series Grant is helping Shreveport and the surrounding Northwest Louisiana communities find its rhythm with a series of free live music concerts that will create a welcoming, inclusive atmosphere in Caddo Common Park using the power of music, hand-on-art activities, an arts market, community-made art, and more. Bring on summer and the good times that will roll!