Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble headline the June 13 Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series concert. Taylor joins Community Voices to preview the show, share what it was like to perform in the Road House movie remake, and how his upcoming album will move beyond zydeco.

Chris Enroth and Ken Johnson are horticulture educators with University of Illinois extension and the hosts of the Good Growing podcast, which discusses gardening, horticulture and ecology. The duo also recently recorded an episode about eating cicadas in which they tasted tempura cicadas, cicada pizza and cicada sundaes. They spoke to Community Voices about the podcast, gardening tips and what cicadas actually taste like.To learn more about Good Growing visit: go.illinois.edu/goodgrowingpodcast

Zacari Moore, known professionally as Zuh-Cari, opens the third 2024 Levitt AMP Springfield concert June 13. Although at the beginning of her career, she's collaborating with artists around the country and entered the NPR Tiny Desk Contest. Her music reflects recovering from two family tragedies and advocates for equity.

Esports is a form of organized competition using multiplayer video games. This form of competition has been very popular among high school and college students. The University of Illinois Springfield unveiled their new Esports arena in September 2023. The arena is located in Founders Residence Hall. Jay Swenson UIS Assistant Director of Campus Recreation and Zach Logsdon UIS Information Technology Services IT Technical Associate spoke to Community Voices about the journey to bring the esports arena to campus, Zach's process of building the gaming computers, and about the UIS Esports team. They also discuss misconceptions of esports. Click here for more information about esports at UIS.

For 30 years Juneteenth has been celebrated by Springfield residents. This year Juneteenth Inc. has organized eight days of events and activities to commemorate the holiday. Co-founder and director Cherena Douglass and Director of the UIS Center for Lincoln Studies Jacob Friefeld spoke to Community Voices about the events including a special presentation by Pulitzer Prize winner and MacArthur Genius Annette Gordon-Reed.For more information about the Juneteenth events visit: https://www.juneteenthinc.org/To sign up for the presentation featuring Annette Gordon-Reed visit: https://www.uis.edu/event/juneteenth-annette-gordon-reed

Cathy Doyle and her daughter Addelyn Shawver, Legacy of Giving Music Festival volunteer coordinators, visit Community Voices to discuss the concert event and how net proceeds benefit nonprofits.

The Central Illinois Volunteerism Conference is an annual event about volunteers, organized by volunteers. The conference is scheduled for June 28 and will feature a multi-generational panel of volunteers, break out sessions and a keynote speaker. For more information visit: https://www.civconference.org/

After a two-year search, the Illinois Symphony Orchestra has found its new music director. Taichi Fukumura will conduct the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in its next season. Fukumura and Executive Director Trevor Orthmann spoke to Community Voices about the search process, the vision for the Illinois Symphony Orchestra moving forward and the Sip & Sounds series offered June through September.

Shelly Tulo is a partner in the local band Tulo+Eads with Mike Eads. They open the June 6, 2024 Levitt AMP Springfield Music Series. Tulo also works at the Springfield Sangamon Growth Alliance where she serves as the director of marketing and communications. She talks about how Levitt AMP is one of the projects that helps us 'Thrive in SPI.'

Lenny Pettinelli of the Asheville, North Carolina band Empire Strikes Brass previews the show and talks about the group before headlining the second Levitt AMP concert June 6.