USC’s Koger Center for the Arts is a national finalist for a grant that could expand its free outdoor concert series.

Winners have not been released, but public voting for the grant award closed Sept. 15. 

The Levitt Foundation will award up to $120,000 over a three-year period to host free outdoor concerts in public spaces.  

Koger Center Director Nate Terracio said the venue would use the funding to extend its “Live Outside” concert series from six to 10 shows in the coming year, as well as hire more bigger-name artists and increase promotion. 

“The problem with ‘free’ is that the budget is the budget, and the way you increase the budget is by, you know, looking for grants,” Terracio said. “So the goal here is really just to take what we’re doing and really enhance (it) so that it’s more well known and we can do more of them.” 

The Koger also hopes to draw more nationally recognized musicians with grant funds, Terracio said. But he expects a boost in opportunity for local artists, too. 

“It’s a win-win for the local group,” Terracio said. “They get paid something to perform to a large crowd, and then you’ve got the larger group playing, which is helping you bring in the larger crowd.” 

This is not the Koger’s first rodeo trying to secure the Levitt Music Series Grant. They were rejected from the previous cycle of grant applications, which awarded grant money from 2022 through this year, despite strong public support.  

Terracio hopes the Koger’s new proposal may change the outcome this time around, saying an abundance of community partners and the lack of any other free outdoor concert series in Columbia should help. The center’s partners in the event of an expanded concert series would include the mayor’s office; the University of South Carolina, which owns the facility; and the Vista Guild, a local business association promoting development downtown. 

“It’s a no brainer for us to be a partner with them on this,” said Abby Anderson, the Vista Guild’s executive director. “Anything that creates an opportunity for people to come (to) downtown Columbia is a good thing for everybody,” including nearby local businesses.  

A greater sense of community and revitalization of downtown spaces are hallmarks of places that already have been awarded the grant, said Levitt Foundation Executive Vice President Vanessa Silberman. 

“Levitt lawns are very activated,” Silberman said. “In addition to the Levitt lawn being a place for economic opportunity and vitality, there’s also the ripple effect of Levitt concerts. And so you think of the spillover of restaurants in the neighborhood that now have this additional foot traffic.” 

Residents of Woonsocket, Rhode Island, for example, credit the grants with reducing the vacancy rate for downtown retail spaces there by an estimated 70%, Silberman said.

The Levitt Foundation declined to release the number of grants awarded this cycle until its public announcement of winners on Nov. 18. But communities should expect a greater number of grantees than in the previous cycle, Silberman said. The foundation also won’t release the number of votes the Koger Center received from the community but said that will be a factor in the final decision. 

“We’re really always so excited to see these communities across the country come out and vote for the power of free live music in their community,” Silberman said. 

Check the Levitt Foundation website on Nov. 18 for the new list of grantees.