This is an outdated Festival Roundup from back in those plague days of 2020.
Man that was a bad year…
Anyway, look for our most current event listings under the “Events” tab on the menu.
ZEHNDER’S RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Frankenmuth, MI) – Rescheduled for July 29-31
Zehnder’s 26th Annual Ragtime Festival featuring the pride of Michigan, pianist Bob Milne, will be staged at Zehnder’s of Frankenmuth, 730 S. Main St., in the colorful city nicknamed Little Bavaria. Also called “Muth” for short, the city is located in Saginaw County, in Michigan’s Lower Peninsula, about 22 miles south of Lake Huron. Events include dinner concert on Wednesday, lunch concerts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Vaudeville Night Thursday, a Friday-night picnic, and a grand finale dinner concert on Saturday. By the way, Zehnder’s serves a world-famous chicken dinner along with tantalizing breads and pastries. Performers for 2020 tentatively include homeboy Bob Milne along with Andrew Ratajczak, Jeff Barnhart, Kerry Price, Bob Seeley, Martin Spitznagel, Bryan Wright, Anne Barnhart, and Dan Petrella.
Ticket prices for individual events range from $16 to $60. Reservations are required for lunch, brunch, and all dinner concerts. For more info or reservations call (844) 288-1484; or visit zehnders.com.
BIX BEIDERBECKE MEMORIAL JAZZ FESTIVAL (Livestream Event) – July 30-Aug. 1
The Bix Jazz Society is excited to announce we are hosting a VIRTUAL JAZZ FEST on July 31st & August 1st. This virtual concert is being share with our community at no charge. Yes, free to anyone who wishes to experience 1920’s-30’s Jazz. Many of our fans and members have shared the importance of this event in their lives. Covid-19 may be separating us, through Bix, Jazz and technology we will unite.
The 49th annual Bix Beiderbecke Memorial Jazz Festival will feature seven talented bands from Denver to Chicago. Each band will premiere new sets of traditional 1920’s & 30’s Jazz era music on Friday, July 31st from 6pm to 9;m and Saturday, August 1st from 5pm – 9pm. These concerts may be viewed on a smartphone, table, desktop or laptop computer or a television screen. More information will soon be available at www.bixsociety.org and Facebook @Bix Society.
Bands scheduled to perform at the virtual 49th Jazz Fest are: Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles (Denver); Chicago Cellar Boys, led by Andy Schumm; Vine Street Rumble (Kansas City); NOLA (Des Moines); and from the Quad Cities, Josh Duffee Quartet, Manny Lopez Big Band, and the Bix Youth Band, comprised of QCA teens.
Typically, this event is our organization’s annual fundraising event. Tis year is anything but typical. Funds earned are used to sponsor a Bix Youth Jazz Band and Director, provide music scholarships and promote traditional Jazz era music, plus history of Jazz great, Bix Beiderbecke, a Davenport native. We will be accepting donations to help offset the costs of providing this virtual Jazz Fest, music scholarships and programs. Donations are not required to participate. The Bix Jazz Society appreciates the support of its donators and sponsors who have made this opportunity possible.
More information visit www.bixsociety.org; call Michelle Juehring – 563-570-2343, Steve Trainor – 563 650-1512, or email info@bixsociety.org.
53rd ANNUAL WEST TEXAS JAZZ PARTY (Odessa, TX) – Rescheduled to August 6-8
The 2020 West Texas Jazz Party—the 54th annual—will be held at the brand new Odessa Marriott Hotel and Conference Center. Musicians to appear at the Jazz Party include: Warren Vache, Randy Sandke, Russ Phillips, John Allred, Johnny Varro, Nate Najar, Richard Simon, Frank Tate, Ricky Malichi, Kevin Dorn, Ed Metz, Jr., AND MORE!
Ticket prices are: Single ticket, $250 (all performances); Table, $2500 (all performances). To purchase tickets, please visit wtjs.org or call (432) 217-0765 for details and membership information. The address for the Marriott is 305 East 5th St., Odessa, Texas 79761. Contact the Marriott at (432) 580-5805 to book your rooms at the special Jazz Party rate.
HISTORIC SUTTER CREEK RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Sutter Creek, CA) August 14-16
The Sutter Creek Ragtime Festival has been watching carefully and with concern on how the Corona Virus (Covid-19) will be affecting the 2020 festival this August. As of June 1st we have gotten permission to proceed from the city and we are definitely a GO! We are still planning on proceeding with the festival as planned. We are also aware that the mainstay of our attendees do fall into the age category that would be more susceptible to the virus. Because of this concern we will be ready to make necessary changes to help with the social distancing issue, if that in fact is still a required protocol. We also may see a dramatic reduction of attendees which may create a need to limit the number of performers that will be participating. We will watch this issue very closely.
This Historic Festival is an ambitious, fun filled, musically entertaining extravaganza! After 21 years we are still going strong. This three day event takes over this quaint gold rush town with lively music and wonderfully happy festival goers. Music is played at Four or Five locations throughout the town. There is a Saturday evening concert and a Sunday afternoon concert to end the festival. Scheduled artists: Brian Holland, Frederick Hodges, Carl Sonny Leyland, Virginia Tichenor, Danny Coots, Michael Chisholm, Paul Orsi, Elliot Adams, Mustache Wax Ragtime Band, The Easy Winners, John Remmers, and Paul Stewart.
All-event badges cost $85; day badge prices range from $20 to $45; children ages 16 and younger will be admitted free if accompanied by a paying adult. (209) 304-0835, historicsuttercreekragtime@gmail.com, historicsuttercreekragtimefestival.com.
JAZZ AGE LAWN PARTY (Governors Island, NYC) August 29-30th
2020 brings about two incredible milestones for JAZZ AGE LAWN PARTY: Our 15th Anniversary, and the official “RETURN OF THE TWENTIES”. The ‘20s were fabulous frenzy, discovery and rebellion. The passing of Prohibition in 1920 triggered more than the guns of gangsters: It was a golden age of art, thought and social progress. The discovery of the tombs of King Tuthankamen and Queen Nefertiti exploded Art Deco design and women’s fashion, blurring gender lines. Coco Chanel literally wore the pants, and women’s right to vote and the newfound freedom of the affordable automobile helped the now-bobbed flapper have the world for her oyster.
To commemorate, we are hosting ONE WEEKEND only: August 29/30. Hosted by Michael Arenella & His Dreamland Orchestra. Several jazz and vaudville acts will make for an exciting afternoon in the sun. Many special events are planned so that a good time can be had by all. Early Bird Tickets $40 per day. jazzagelawnparty.com
24th ANNUAL PENTASTIC HOT JAZZ FESTIVAL (Penticton, BC) Sept. 11-13 CANCELLED
Phase 4 is the final stage of a planned re-opening of events such as the Jazz Festival and as most bands travel to Penticton from the United States, it would be impossible to bring them to Canada with the border restrictions still in place.
CENTRAL PENNSYLVANIA RAGTIME AND AMERICAN MUSIC FESTIVAL (Furnace, PA) Oct. 2-4
The festival is scheduled for October 2-4, 2020, with the following Rockstars of Ragtime invited (lineup subject to change): Richard Dowling, Frederick Hodges, Brian Holland, Daniel Souvigny, Adam Swanson, and Brian & Yuko Wright, with Guest Artist Danny Coots. Events are scheduled to take place in the twin boroughs of Rockhill Furnace and Orbisonia, PA at Orbisonia Presbyterian Church, Rockhill Trolley Museum Pavilion, Iron Rail Bed & Breakfast, and St. Luke’s Lutheran Church. A full schedule will be available closer to festival time on our website, www.rockhillragtime.
SUN VALLEY JAZZ & MUSIC FESTIVAL (Sun Valley, ID) Oct. 14-18
The 31st anniversary edition of Idaho’s Sun Valley Jazz and Music Festival covers five days and offers forty excellent bands (with over 200 shows to choose from), and will be headquartered at the Sun Valley Inn at the Sun Valley Resort. Performance venues include the Limelight Room, the Continental Room, the River Run Lodge, the Opera House, the Duchin Room, Dollar Mountain Lodge,
Performers at the festival include: Clint Baker’s Hot Jazz Band, Banjomaniacs, Barnhart & Myers Hot Jazz Collective, Black Market Trust, Blue Renditions. Blue Street Jazz Band, Boise Straight Ahead, John & Kristy Cocuzzi, Sherri Colby’s Racket Makers, Cornet Chop Suey, Professor Cunningham & His Old School, Bob Draga with Friends, Yve Evans & Co., Gator Nation, Banu Gibson, GROOVUS, Shaymus Hanlin, Hallelujah Chorus w/ Yve Evans & Patty Parsons, High Street Party Band w/ Emily Stanton, Holland & Coots Jazz Quintet, Bruce Innes Trio, Ivory & Gold®, Kings of Swing, Carl Sonny Leyland, Carolyn Martin Swing Band, Jenna McLean Quintet, Joe Midiri’s All Star Big Band, Midiri Brothers Septet, Terry Myers’ All Star Big Band w/ Shaymus Hanlin, NNU Jazz Renaissance, NNU Jazz Revival, Pearl Django, Piano Extravaganza w/ 8 hands on the piano, Pianorama, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Gary Ryan, Side Street Strutters w/ Meloney Collins, Sun Valley Jazz Marching Band, U. S. Coast Guard Dixie Band, We Three
Early Bird Special: 5-Day General Admission Pass is $175 through July 31, and $195 thereafter. Afterglow is $75, including dinner. Tickets available by telephone or at website; (877) 478-5277; sunvalleyjazz.com. Write for brochure (with full ticket pricing information) at Sun Valley Jazz, PO Box 2745, Sun Valley, ID.
JAZZ JUBILEE BY THE SEA (Pismo Beach/Arroyo Grande) Oct. 22-25th
Jazz Jubilee (by the Sea) is celebrating its 44th year—and the event continues to include the neighboring city of Arroyo Grande. The Jazz Jubilee by the Sea is always the last full weekend in October. This year’s theme is “It’s the Roaring 20s Again”. Please plan at least one night in costume! We will have new sanitization procedures in place at all locations during the festival.
Invited bands and performers include: Black Market Trust, Holy Crow, Sierra Seven, Larry, Dawn, & Friends, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, Cornet Chop Suey, Midiri Brothers Septet, Gator Nation, Professor Cunningham and His Old School, Molly Reeves Hold Tight Quartet, Ivory&Gold®, Blue Street, Crescent Katz, High Street, Creole Syncopators, Mariachi Autlence, Riptide, Jeff Barnhart, Danny Coots, Carl Sonny Leyland (and friends), Steven Saavedra, Gary Ryan, Bob Schulz, Paul Ingle, Larry Scala.
Thursday night’s special will feature the BCC Trio (Barnhart, Coots and Cunningham) at the Veterans’ Memorial Hall, with Jeff Barnhart, Adrian Cunningham and Danny Coots in a new show that is sure to entertain. Tickets for this extra show to kick off the Jubilee cost $25.00.
Early Bird 3-Day badges $115 through 9/15. Three-day badges $120 from 9/16 to 10/15, after 10/15 $130. Single day badges are available. Badge sales: PO Box 356, Pismo Beach, CA 93448. For badge sale information, please call (805) 539 5696. For general information, please call (805) 937 8402 or visit pismojazz.com. E-mail your questions to pismojazz2015@gmail.com.
MIKE DURHAM’S INTERNATIONAL CLASSIC JAZZ PARTY (Whitley Bay, UK) Oct. 30-Nov. 1 CANCELLED
This year’s musicians include: Trumpet/Cornet- Enrico Tomasso (UK), Andy Schumm (USA), Mike Davis (USA), Torstein Kubban (Norway), Duke Heitger (USA), Malo Mazurie (France). Reeds- Claus Jacobi (Germany), Michael McQuaid (Australia), Richard Exall (UK), Lars Frank (Norway), David Horniblow (UK), Jean-Francois Bonnel (France), Mauro Porro (Italy). Trombone-Graham Hughes (UK), Alistair Allan (UK), Dave Bock (USA), Adrian Fry (UK). Piano- Andrew Oliver (USA), Keith Nichols (UK), David Boeddinghaus (USA), Martin Litton (UK). Guitar & Banjo- Thomas “Spats” Langham (UK), Martin Wheatley (UK), Félix Hunot (France), Jacob Ullberger (Sweden). Brass bass & String bass- Malcolm Sked (UK), Henri Lemaire (France), Phil Rutherford (UK)- Drums & Percussion- Josh Duffee (USA), Nicholas D. Ball (UK), Richard Pite (UK), Nick Ward (UK). Violin- Emma Fisk (UK). Vocals- Roya Naldi (USA), Thomas “Spats” Langham (UK)
For information, please visit whitleybayjazzfest.com; wbjazzfest@btinternet.com.
THE ARIZONA CLASSIC JAZZ FESTIVAL (Chandler, AZ) November 5-8, 2020
The music starts at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, November 5, and ends at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 8. In addition, an Afterglow that includes a buffet dinner and music will be offered at the hotel from 6 – 8:30 p.m. on Sunday for a cost of $35.
The bands will be: “BIG” B.A.D. Rhythm, the Black Market Trust, Cheryl’s Vintage Swing with special guest Dan Levinson on reeds, Cocuzzi Courtet, Cornet Chop Suey, Lynn Robert’s Swinging Saxes, Queen City Jazz Band, St. Louis Rivermen, Sentimental Breeze, Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi, Sun City Stomperz, Tom Rigney & Flambeau, We 3 + 1, Wildcat Jazz Band, Wolverine Jazz Band, and guest Howard Alden.
Dabney and Karen Hopkins will be offering dance lessons throughout Saturday and Sunday providing you the opportunity to learn new steps along with the Phoenix Lindy Exchange.
The event is held at the Crowne Plaza Phoenix – Chandler Golf Resort, One San Marcos Place, Chandler, AZ. For rooms, call the hotel at 877-685-5594 before October 6 and be sure to identify that you will be attending this event. Badges may be purchased before October 29 by sending a check or credit card information to ACJF, 10918 E. Michigan Ave., Sun Lakes, AZ 85248 or by calling 480-620-3941. They will be available at the door starting at 2 p.m. on Thursday, November 5. Badges are $110 each if purchased before August 15; $130 after that date. Day badges will be available for purchase at the door: Thursday $20, Friday $55, Saturday $65, Sunday $45. Band sponsorship is very much appreciated. (www.azclassicjazz.org)
SUNCOAST JAZZ FESTIVAL (Clearwater FL) Nov. 20-22 CANCELLED
This year’s Suncoast Jazz Festival has been officially cancelled. Some form of Live Stream event or downsized in person event may take place. Check back for details
For more information, please visit www.suncoastjazzfestival.com.
WEST COAST RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Live Stream Only) Nov. 20-22
The West Coast Ragtime Festival in person event has been cancelled for 2020 but there will be some form of Live Stream event to take the place of it that weekend. Please tune in to enjoy some of the same great artists you would have seen as we prepare for 2021. westcoastragtime.com.
THE SAN DIEGO JAZZ FEST & SWING EXTRAVAGANZA (San Diego, CA) Nov. 25-29
Celebrating 41 Years! Discerning jazz fans call the San Diego Jazz Festival “the crown jewel of jazz festivals.” The event is held annually during the Thanksgiving weekend at the Town & Country Resort and Convention Center in San Diego. It is a favorite of festival-goers from around the globe, with all music venues conveniently located in the Town & Country Convention Center, which includes six different stages of featuring traditional jazz, ragtime and swing music.
Invited Guest Artists: Katie Cavera, Lee Fugal, Carl Sonny Leyland, Marty Eggers, Virginia Tichenor, Stephanie Trick & Paolo Alderighi. Invited Bands & Groups: Big Butter Jazz Band, Captain John Royen’s New Orleans Rhythm, Champagne Dixie, Cornet Chop Suey, Dave Bennett Quartet, Dave Stuckey & the Hot House Gang, Gino and the Lone Gunmen, Grand Dominion Jazz Band, Heliotrope Ragtime Orchestra, High Society Jazz Band, Jazz Jammers, Mad Hat Hucksters, Memphis Speed Kings, Mission Bay Preservationists, Night Blooming Jazzmen, The Regulators, Sue Palmer and her Motel Swing Orchestra, Titanic Jazz Band, Uptown Rhythm Makers, Yerba Buena Stompers and more to be announced.
For badge sales, sponsor details and lodging, please visit sdjazzfest.org or call (619) 297-5277. AFCDJS, P.O. Box 880387, San Diego, CA 92168-0387. Read our review of last year: From the San Diego Jazz Fest
Joe Bebco is the Associate Editor of The Syncopated Times and Webmaster of SyncopatedTimes.com
