Planning for the 2026 Bix Beiderbecke Jazz Festival is in full swing following the merger of the Bix Society with the Quad Cities’ Common Chord organization. (Details concerning the merger were published in the December issue of The Syncopated Times).
With more human resources available than ever, the Bix Society Advisory Board and Common Chord are finalizing performers, special events, and plans for the 55th “Emerald Anniversary” Festival, and hard at work seeking donations to support this effort.
The 2026 Bix Festival will take place July 30, 31 and Aug. 1 in the Event Center of the Rhythm City Casino and Resort in Davenport, Iowa. The Festival theme is “When Bix Met Jean Goldkette”— celebrating the Centennial of Bix’s association with one of the greatest hot dance orchestras of the 1920s. A set devoted to the Beiderbecke/Goldkette alliance is being organized, as well as Centennial tributes to Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five and Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers. Even more special sets are planned and they will be announced as soon as the musicians are confirmed.
Besides the regularly-scheduled sets at the Casino, Festival attendees can enjoy concerts at the Putnam Museum and Bix Beiderbecke’s gravesite in Davenport and a Riverboat Cruise with live hot jazz. Additional events before, during and after the Festival are pending.
The band lineup for the 2026 Bix Festival is: the Chicago Cellar Boys, Graystone Monarchs, Oliver-Smith Incomparables, Bix Youth Band, Mike Davis’ New Wonders and the Fats Waller Legacy Band. Individual musicians who have been confirmed to appear at the Festival include Andy Schumm, Colin Hancock, T.J. Müller, Josh Duffee, Andrew Oliver, Mike Davis, Dave Bennett, Jeff Barnhart, Dave Kosmyna, Steve Pikal, John Otto, Natalie Scharf, Sam Chess, Matt Tolentino, Dave Bock, Jacob Alspach, Dan Anderson, Paul Asaro, and Hal Smith.
![JazzAffair](https://syncopatedtimes.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/ffair2026-SQ.jpg" "JazzAffair")
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Hal Smith is an Arkansas-based drummer and writer. He leads the El Dorado Jazz Band and the
Mortonia Seven and works with a variety of jazz and swing bands. Visit him online at
halsmithmusic.com
