Wednesday is the last night of the Levitt AMP Soldotna Music Series in Soldotna Creek Park. Headlining will be the Denali Cooks opening with Running With Scissors starting at 6 p.m.
Mary McCubbins, who works with Vision Soldotna on special projects, was one of the main coordinators of music in the park this year.
She booked the bands — almost 30 of them — for the concert series, and said it was important that the event have a diverse lineup to showcase different genres and cultures through music.
“I’m really committed to everybody finding something at the park for themselves,” McCubbins said Tuesday.
The Levitt AMP series was canceled last year because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year about 1,200 people attended each show, she said, which was less than in 2019. McCubbins said the weather and COVID probably played a factor in the dip in attendees.
Even though there were fewer people compared to the 2019 season, she still thinks the event was a success.
“As far as music, we’ve had just a great season,” McCubbins said. “In my opinion it was definitely a success musically.”
One of the most difficult aspects of booking the performances, she said, has to do with the location of the city and the state as a whole — bands from the Lower 48 can’t get up to Soldotna very quickly or easily.
“We rely heavily on Alaska’s pool of talent,” McCubbins said, emphasizing that there is a ton to choose from.
Additionally, the weekly Wednesday Night Market hosted a COVID vaccine clinic each week, in which 600 people got their shot, she said.
“Overall I’m super excited with how it turned out,” McCubbins said.
Reach reporter Camille Botello at camille.botello@peninsulaclarion.com.
