For nearly a decade, the Levitt Foundation has encouraged concert attendees, aka Levitteers, from across the country to share their #MusicMoves on Instagram, showcasing photos and videos that capture the energy and excitement of Levitt concerts. This is more than just a chance for concertgoers to share how much fun they’re having, while being entered into a contest to win a fun prize. #MusicMoves is also a national campaign to create collective joy, spreading Levitt love across the United States! 

#MusicMoves first began in 2015, coinciding with the launch of the Levitt AMP Music Series, which increased the Foundation’s reach across the country. Over the years, we’ve received thousands of submissions from across the country with concertgoers submitting their favorite #MusicMoves—from photos and videos showing conga lines and spontaneous dance moves by children to seniors and everyone in between, to joyous and sometimes irreverent selfies highlighting connections among friends, families, artists and more.  

“We wanted folks on Levitt lawns to realize they are a part of something bigger, part of a national movement that celebrates the power of free, live music to bring people together,” said Vanessa Silberman, EVP of the Levitt Foundation, when describing the origin of the campaign. “#MusicMoves has been an energizing, authentic way to connect what’s happening on Levitt lawns to our larger mission at the Foundation—as well as the work Levitt grantees are doing on the ground in their own communities.” 

Watch our 2023 #MusicMoves Recap video and check out videos from past years of #MusicMoves on our Vimeo page!  

Music can move us physically, emotionally, and creatively, which means the #MusicMoves hashtag is truly expansive and allows for many different interpretations. The campaign has evolved alongside the Levitt Foundation, reflecting our mission and resonating even more now, as the Foundation spends down its assets over the next two decades. 

Each year, the Foundation shares a curated feed of #MusicMoves highlights on its website, giving Levitt communities a chance to see how others have engaged with the campaign. We’ve seen t-shirts, hats, and photo back-drops with the hastag #MusicMoves at Levitt locations from coast to coast, and #MusicMoves has even inspired an art exhibition in Ocala, FL. This year, we’re selecting two #MusicMoves winners from throughout the season to win a pair of Apple AirPods Pro, and we’re thrilled to announce the first one: @themiceliamix, who posted from Levitt AMP Ocala! As we recognize the first of this year’s winners, we also want to share the background of #MusicMoves and the many ways that music moves us. 

#MusicMoves Us Physically 

We’ve all experienced the ways music can get us moving physically, whether it’s toe tapping, hand clapping, or out on the dance floor. Music and dance help regulate and improve our mood and creativity, decrease anxiety and stress, and support physical health through balance and cardiovascular strength. 

The University of Essex confirms this, reporting that putting on music and dancing can significantly improve our cardiovascular, respiratory, skeletal, and muscular systems, as well as our mood and cognitive skills.  

#MusicMoves Us Emotionally 

Another way #MusicMoves us is through our emotions. In his 2018 Tedx Talk, neuroscientist and musician Alan Harvey talks about how music activates pathways in the limbic system, buried beneath the surface of the brain. The limbic system is involved in learning, memory, and our emotional responses. 

“Music also activates a rewards center very deep in our brain,” he explains. This interaction in our brain can explain why we can feel a rush of emotions when listening to music—whether it’s a familiar song or something we’re experiencing for the first time. 

Additionally, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have investigated the emotional response to different genres of music, mapping out how rock, folk, jazz, classical, experimental, marching band, and heavy metal music can make us feel. They found that the subjective experience of music across cultures can be mapped with at least 13 overarching feelings, including amusement, joy, beauty, relaxation, dreaminess, triumph, and feeling pumped up. Which ones have you experienced at a Levitt concert? 

#MusicMoves Us Creatively 

Not only does music impact how we engage with our own body and emotions, it also can impact our creative output! 

A 2017 study found that listening to upbeat, happy music increased “divergent thinking,” which is a key element for creativity. Participants in the study came up with more ideas—and more innovative ideas—while listening to what the researchers deemed happy, or “positive and activating,” music.  

Getting lost in the music can also help free your mind and produce artistic inspiration. Jonathan Schooler, PhD, a professor of psychological and brain sciences at the University of California, Santa Barbara, spoke with Monitor on Psychology magazine from the American Psychological Association about how individuals who engage in certain types of daydreaming report greater artistic achievement, more daily inspiration, and even higher-quality creative writing.  

Letting our brains wander and daydream while we listen to music can help us create something exciting whether that’s on the page, canvas or other creative outlet—and thanks to folks’ #MusicMoves submissions, we’ve seen several Levitt AMP grantees tapping into this connection. Levitt AMP Ocala, Levitt AMP Whitesburg, and Levitt AMP Waco, for example, hosted local artists who created live paintings at their sites during shows, and many Levitt communities have hosted art-making activities for kids, families, and attendees during shows as well! 

#MusicMoves Us Collectively and Builds Bridges 

Music has always been a part of the human experience, and it allows us to connect across languages, cultures, traditions, and through time. Chances are if you’ve been to a Levitt show, you’ve seen how music unites us and brings people together from all walks of life.   

Along with increasing academic performance, introducing music to students has even been shown to increase their capacity to connect with one another. In a case study about Save the Music Foundation’s work in Newark, NJ, 94% of teachers saw improvement in social-emotional skills—much needed in today’s increasingly polarized society.  

In summary, #MusicMoves is all about showcasing that collective experience of coming together and community and sharing the joy of Levitt experiences with others from across the country—in addition to highlighting the fun ways music is expressed through dance and art. As the Levitt network continues to grow and expand, we’ll continue to showcase the universal thread that unites us all. 

Have you submitted your #MusicMoves? We’ll be announcing one additional #MusicMoves winner at the end of the season, so there’s still time to share your photos and videos to be entered to win a pair of Apple AirPods Pro! See the full collection of submissions on our #MusicMoves national feed at http://levitt.org/musicmoves.