Festivals and Fixes for Your Jazz Month Cravings
April is Jazz Appreciation Month. To celebrate, we’re highlighting the best ways to get your jazz fix, no matter if you’re exploring the coast of Maine or playing footsie with some golden sand on the coast of Florida.
June
Freihofer’s Jazz Festival [Saratoga Springs, NY]
Just 30 minutes south of Lake George, one of the most celebrated and longest-running jazz events in the world turns two stages over to the genre’s best artists. This two-day festival at the Saratoga Performing Arts Center brings together innovative musicians like child prodigy Theo Croker, dubbed “a mad scientist with heavy jazz chops” by critics.
July
North Atlantic Blues Festival [Rockland, ME]
You won’t find many slow jazz hits at this two-day, high-energy festival. But you will find Mississippi’s soul blues singer Dexter Allen belting out spirited melodies just before the Nick Moss Band with its rock-and-roll-inspired vibe takes the stage. The wide range of musicians is partnered with pub crawls and blues brunches to round out a lively weekend.
October
Clearwater Jazz Holiday [Clearwater Beach, FL]
It started as a 10-day series of jazz concerts where musicians turned the backs of flatbed trucks into concert stages. Now more than 35 years later, it’s drawing tens of thousands of music lovers to these Florida white sands to hear legendary acts, like Tony Bennett, Dave Brubeck, and The Avett Brothers, perform live.
