Phillip Bock

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

For the second year in a row, Sheboygan has been selected by the Levitt Foundation to receive a $25,000 grant to bring a summer concert series to the community.

The concert series last year, which brought nationally-recognized acts such as Biz Markie and Mathew Tembo, drew 14,000 people to downtown Sheboygan for the summer performances and exceeded economic development goals. Last summer's series was a success due, in part, to a Levitt Foundation grant received last year.

The competition for the grant funding this year was tough, with 40 communities nationwide applying for Levitt AMP Grant Award . The Sheboygan proposal submitted by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, in partnership with the City of Sheboygan and Sheboygan Squared, advanced to the final round of consideration after online voters in November elected it to the top 25 proposals.

The Sheboygan proposal, which received the most votes of any community in the competition, ultimately was one of 15 selected by the Levitt Foundation to receive the $25,000 grant, which will be used to partially fund a free weekly summer concert series, produced byJMKAC, from mid-June through mid-August.

“The Arts Center is excited to build on the energy the concert series created last summer,” Ann Brusky, senior manager for public programs at the arts center, said. “Thank you to the partners who make these concerts special and to those who voted to make it happen again. We look forward to seeing everyone this summer!”

The 2016 Levitt AMP Sheboygan Music Series will be held at the Arts & Culture Plaza at the corner of Seventh Street and New York Avenue on the site of the former Boston Store in downtown Sheboygan.

The grant funds will go toward artists fees and will be used to draw more nationally known acts to the series.

“What it means is we can reach further out and reach national artists,” Brusky said. “Last year when we got the $25,000 we were able to bring in bigger names and national artists. It gives us that opportunity again.”

The concert series next summer is planned to be 10 concerts over 10 weeks, running June 16 through Aug. 18.

The Arts Center has begun the process of looking for acts to bring to the series with a complete schedule of concert performances expected to be announced in spring.

“We like to think diverse and bring in different genres,” Brusky said. “At this point it is the point where we can dream, so if people have thoughts or suggestions they should let us know.”

The Arts Center plans on building on the series from last year and is in talks with downtown businesses and food truck operators to see how they can make the concert series even better this year, Brusky said.

“I think what we did last summer was wonderful and well received. We got great feedback from the community, but we do think there is room for improvement and we are looking forward to that,” she said. “We’re really excited to get to the fun part of planning the summer ahead."

The concert series this year will coincide with the start of construction of an 80-unit apartment complex and commercial space on the former Boston Store site. Brusky said the construction should not interfere with the concert series, which will utilize a section of the green-space not being developed.

“These are exciting times for downtown Sheboygan," Chad Pelishek, director of planning and development for the City of Sheboygan, said in a press release. "Bringing the Sheboygan concert series back, along with the development of a new $10.2M luxury apartment complex on the same site, will continue the transformation of this key site in the Arts & Culture District."

In July 2015, the Levitt Foundation invited nonprofits, and municipalities partnering with a nonprofit, to submit proposals that would reflect the three goals of the Levitt AMP awards: Amplify community pride and the city’s unique character; enrich lives through the power of free, live music; and illustrate the importance of vibrant public places. Nonprofits that received the Levitt AMP grant in 2015 were eligible to reapply.

Reach Phillip Bock: 920-453-5121, pbock@sheboyganpress.com, or @bockling on Twitter