SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO) — The Levitt at the Falls summer concert series can take a bow today because of its musical ties to a winner in Sunday night’s Grammy Awards that aired on KELOLAND TV. The South Carolina-based quintet, Ranky Tanky, has won its second Grammy award. The band helped set the stage for the Levitt’s post-pandemic comeback.

Ranky Tanky, which has won acclaim for its musical stylings inspired from the coastal South known as Gullah, walked away with another Grammy, and the Levitt at the Falls staff couldn’t be happier.

“And they’re just the nicest people. So talented, couldn’t happen to a better group of people,” Levitt at the Falls Executive Director Nancy Halverson said.

Ranky Tanky has now won two Grammys in the category of Best Regional Roots Music Album, winning for the first time in 2020. The following year, the band was the first group to take the Levitt stage after the pandemic cancelled the 2020 outdoor season.

“The energy, the positivity that they bring to their set was the perfect way for us to come back out of the pandemic,” Halverson said.

“They’re wonderful teachers, too. So they were able to share why their music was important as well as just celebrate the joy that comes with it,” Levitt at the Falls Director of Communications Rose Ann Hofland said.

But Ranky Tanky isn’t the only Grammy-winning group to perform on the Levitt lawn. A dozen past winners and nominees played here last year, alone.

“Ruthie Foster was one of our artists that was a Grammy winner, the Okee Dokee Brothers had multiple Grammy awards, Terrance Simien has multiple Grammy awards, so we’ve had quite a few,” Halverson said.

The Levitt lawn is snow-covered and quiet for now. But the staff is busy this winter booking acts for the upcoming concert season this summer. And being able to name-drop Grammy-winning groups like Ranky Tanky can help seal the deal.

“When I’m at these booking conferences and I’m talking to different agents and trying to get them to help route their bands our way, when they see the roster of artists that we’ve had, it does have an impact,” Halverson said.

It’s unlikely Ranky Tanky will be returning soon because the Levitt likes to bring in new acts each year. But Halverson is hinting that they’re talking with other Grammy-winning performers who may be taking the stage this summer.

Halverson has just returned from a booking conference in Kansas City. Levitt at the Falls will announce their summer lineup on May 4th.