The Levitt AMP Middlesboro Music Series kicks off September with Liz Vice — a soul artist on the rise. Mixing gospel as well as R&B into her music, Vice has gained acclaim in the music world for her a natural charisma and “smoky” voice.

Her latest album, “Save Me,” has received acclaim from outlets such as NPR, American Songwriter and The Bluegrass Situation.

Her previous album, “There’s a Light” has earned one million views on Spotify and counting.

NPR stated “the mindfulness she brings to the stories she tells on ‘Save Me’ proves essential and powerful.”

The material that makes up this latest album was inspired by various periods of struggle in Vice’s life and the turmoil of pursuing her passion for music.

NPR described the first track off the album “Drift Away” as “a bit of the prophetic exhortation of a Civil Rights-era spiritual. The way she elevates an internal struggle to life-or-death heights in the title track straddles contemporary worship and modern rock language.”

Vice lives in Brooklyn, New York and originally hails from Portland, Oregon. In the beginning of her career, she hadn’t seen herself as a performer. She worked behind the scenes in video. Vice began attending church and would sing the gospel music, which greatly inspired her.

Much of Vice’s music is inspired by the hardships she faced as a teenager when she suffered major health issues that resulted in hemodialysis for three years and an eventual kidney transplant. Vice draws from these times and infuses her experiences into her music.

Catch Liz Vice at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Levitt Lot in downtown Middlesboro after Harlan County native musician Tyler Smith opens the week’s festivities.