TRENTON -- Trenton's free summer concert series returns this Thursday with a diverse lineup that organizers hope will give people a reason to stay downtown after work.

The 10-week Levitt AMP Music Series kicks off with Grammy-winning bassist Derrick Hodge and wraps up Aug. 31 with the Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey.

Hoping to draw bigger crowds, organizers made some changes, including switching the day and time to Thursdays at 5 p.m., moving the venue to Mill Hill Park, adding food trucks and booking artists whose national tours were already bringing them to the area.

Trenton Downtown Association says it also wanted to push "Thursdays in Trenton" by having the concert series a few hours after its Capital City Farmers Market ends.

"The goal is to get people who don't invest their time in Trenton after 5 p.m. to invest their time in Trenton after 5 p.m.," said Joseph Kuzemka, who was brought on by TDA to run the series after his successes with Art All Night, Trenton Punk Rock Flea Market and the Capital City Food Truck Battle.

The series' lineup includes musicians from a variety of genres, including jazz, funk, soul, blues rock, R&B and Latin electronic music.

"We wanted to mix it up as much as possible," Kuzemka said. "We've got just about everything."

He says the opening acts showcase the city's local talent since all of the groups are either Trenton natives or have ties to the area.

The schedule is as follows:

June 29: Jazz bassist Derrick Hodge, with Downright Down opening

July 6: Sotomayor (Latin-inspired electronic fusion from Mexico), with Agudos Clef opening

July 13: Jeff Bradshaw (smooth jazz/funk/R&B from Philadelphia), with Ja-Tun & Random Acts of Soul opening

July 20: Lawrence (soul pop from New York), with Kyrie London opening

July 27: Viva La Hop (funk/jazz/hip-hop from Boston), with Switch Mob opening

Aug. 3: The Steppin Stones (blues rock from Nashville), with Paul Plumeri opening

Aug. 10: Bad Rabbits (R&B/soul/rock from Boston), with Black Collar Biz opening

Aug. 17: Big Mean Sound Machine (Afrobeat/dance/funk from Ithaca, N.Y.), with Chalk & The Beige Americans opening

Aug. 24: The Weeklings (Beatles-inspired power pop from Asbury Park), with Groovy Movies opening

Aug. 31: Capital Philharmonic of New Jersey, with a still-to-be-determined opening act

The music will begin at 5:30 p.m. and end by 8 p.m.

Food will be available starting at 4:30 p.m. Choices will include downtown's own 1911 Smokehouse BBQ and a rotating selection of savory and sweet food trucks.

Attendees can bring a lawn chair or blanket. Free parking will be available in the Liberty Commons garage on Front Street.

Trenton was one of 15 cities to be awarded a $25,000 grant from the Mortimer and Mimi Levitt Foundation to put on the series. New Jersey Manufacturers Insurance and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts provided matching grants.

Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find NJ.com on Facebook.