The Bessie Smith Cultural Center are in new discussions this week to increase their role in the fate of the annual Bessie Smith Strut. (Photo: Chattanooga Area Convention & Visitors Bureau)

Authored By seanphippster

If selected, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center would host the series on the front lawn. (Photo: Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau)

Chattanooga could become one of 15 cities to land a 10-week live music series in 2017. But your votes are needed to help make it a reality.

Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau officials are encouraging citizens to vote through Nov. 21 in the Levitt AMP [Your City] Grant Awards program.

Online public voting began Tuesday, and a proposal by the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga is among the final proposals. If selected, the concert series would take place on the lawn at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center next fall.

Click here to sign up for the contest and here to vote for Chattanooga. The winning cities will be announced Jan. 5.

The Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation is a national private foundation “dedicated to strengthening the social fabric of America through the power of free, live music.” Their mission is to bring communities together in small and midsize towns and cities across the country.

If selected, the foundation is offering a matching grant of $25,000 to 15 cities to produce their own Levitt AMP Music Series. The 10-week series would feature a diverse lineup of professional musicians.

According to the foundation, a successful and potentially winning proposal will include a variety of factors, such as the characteristics of the public space; access to a range of socioeconomic groups; a programming philosophy that is “inclusive, family-friendly and represent[s] a wide variety of music genres”; and a proven track record of presenting quality concert and events.

The proposal offered by ULGC can be found here in its entirety. Chattanooga would benefit in two ways if selected, according to the proposal:

Chattanooga remains a city that is segregated both by income and geography, and the socioeconomic divisions that exist today underline enduring divides along racial lines. By offering a music series that is intentionally free with diverse types of music and other artistic entertainment, we hope to break down the barriers that prevent people from mixing in social settings and more deeply integrate the people of our city to promote mutual understanding and furthering relationships. The MLK area … once served as a mecca for black music and entertainment. However, this cultural hub started to disappear after desegregation in the late ’60s. Today, only decaying façades of former nightclubs remain. Animating the lawn at the Bessie Smith Cultural Center will help draw the public and tourists once again to the neighborhood to experience live music.

The grant proposal is a partnership between the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga, Jazzanooga, city of Chattanooga Office of Multicultural Affairs, Bessie Smith Cultural Center, and Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau.