The midday sun was bright and strong, but thankfully Franklin Square in Uptown Oakland was well-shaded, with two large picnic tables, a half dozen smaller metal ones, and a woman in a red dress crooning into a microphone. A man jangled keys on a color-matched keyboard behind her.

This was AMP Lunch and Listen, a new series of free weekly lunch hour concerts presented by Oakland Central as part of its Oakland Works Wednesdays, a program looking to revitalize downtown with arts and commerce.