Only events that are officially a go, or that have officially cancelled, rescheduled, or switched to an online format are included below. Do not interpret an event not being on this list as a cancellation, it means only that they have yet to announce any information about the upcoming year. Many events are justifiably hesitant to make contracts with artists or big announcements until they are sure they will be able to happen. Certain events may happen later than normal in 2021.
LIONEL HAMPTON JAZZ FESTIVAL – Feb. 25-27, 2021 (ONLINE)
Since the 1960s, the University of Idaho Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival has been honoring the music, dance and history of jazz music and one of its most cherished artists Lionel Hampton.
By providing a virtual experience for students, artists and educators across the globe, the 2021 Festival will continue to honor these traditions while breaking new ground. Music enthusiasts will have the opportunity to attend artist and educational workshops, perform and receive feedback from world-class artist educators, and view phenomenal concerts featuring live performances of present jazz stars and archival footage of past greats including Hamp himself. You won’t want to miss this incredible event! www.uidaho.edu/class/jazzfest
TRIBUTE TO BIX FEST (Racine, WI) – (Postponed)
As you all have probably guessed, we have decided to POSTPONE the 32nd Tribute to Bix Fest due to ongoing Coronavirus concerns. We will definitely be having it a little later in the year once things open up and people feel safe to travel again.
A future date in 2021 will be determined, so check out our website periodically for updates. Please stay well so that we can all celebrate together at least one more time!
Phil & his whistling dog, Little Hoots www.bixfest.com
JAZZ BASH BY THE BAY (Monterey, CA) (CANCELLED)
The Board of Directors of Dixieland Monterey, after much consideration, has voted to cancel Jazz Bash by the Bay 2021. So, with that said, please put March 4-6, 2022 on your calendar for the best Jazz Bash by the Bay ever. We plan to invite the bands and musicians who had verbally committed to 2021 plus many more. More information will be on our website as plans develop. Stay safe! We care about each and every one of you. Keep posted at jazzbashmonterey.com.
CHARLES TEMPLETON RAGTIME JAZZ FESTIVAL (Online Event) March 26 & 27, 7 PM CDT
FRIDAY EVENING UPDATE!! We are pleased to announce that the 2021 Templeton Festival will proceed as a free, virtual event. Friday night will include selections from our 2010-2021 festivals featuring a “who’s who” of ragtime, blues and jazz talent from around the world, including Paolo Alderighi, Mimi Blais, Dave Bennett, Steve Cheseboro, Richard Dowling, Eddie Erickson, Frederick Hodges, Brian Holland, Tom Hook, Scott Kirby, Carl Sonny Leyland, Dave Majchrzak, Larisa Migachyov, Reginald Robinson, Hal Smith, Martin Spitznagel, Adam Swanson, Virginia Tichenor, Stephanie Trick as well as the groups Ivory&Gold® and the Roof Garden Jass Band. The first half of Saturday night will include the best footage from our 2020 festival, featuring performances by Jerron “Blind Boy” Paxton, Stephanie Trick and Paolo Alderighi, Bill Edwards and Jeff Barnhart. The second half will feature bespoke video performances by Tom Hook and Wendell Brunious, Jeff and Anne Barnhart, TJ Müller and Josh Duffee. The Festival will be broadcast at 7:00 p.m. CST on Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo and on MaxxSouth and C Spire, WMSTV. www.library.msstate.edu/ragtimefestival
FRENCH QUARTER FESTIVAL (New Orleans) Rescheduled September 30 – October 3
French Quarter Fest 2021 has been rescheduled from it’s normal April week. It will now be September 30 – October 3. The French Quarter Festival is a free event with several stages around the French Quarter and dozens of local bands, many of which play traditional jazz. No bands have yet been advertised. frenchquarterfest.org
NEW YORK HOT JAZZ CAMP (Virtual Weekend) April 16-18
Enrollment opens MARCH 5TH. Details will be announced any day. The fall virtual weekend had a truly incredible lineup of musicians and a great selection of lectures, discussions, instruction, and jam sessions. www.nyhotjazzcamp.com
ZEHNDER’S RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Frankenmuth, MI ) April 21-24, 2021
Zehnder’s Annual Ragtime Festival Zehnder’s has been host to ragtime performers from around the United States and Canada for over 25 years. Come and enjoy ragtime music performed by our featured pianist, Bob Milne and other world renowned musicians.
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.
INTERNATIONAL JAZZ DAY CELEBRATION (NYC & Livestream) April 30 7PM ET
A live (and live-streamed) concert from the theatre at Flushing Town Hall on International Jazz Day performed by David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band in honor of the historic legacy of Jazz in Queens and celebrating new generations of Jazz musicians followed by a live Q&A with the musicians.
At a young age, David Ostwald learned playing piano and the tuba – an instrument that was used in early Jazz before the acoustic bass became a staple in Jazz ensembles. David Ostwald’s Louis Armstrong Eternity Band features: band leader and tubaist David Ostwald; Joe Boga (trumpet); Will Anderson (clarinet/alto sax); Dion Tucker (trombone); Arnt Arntzen (banjo/guitar); and, Alex Raderman (drums).
Following the performance on April 30 at 7:00 PM (ET) will be a live artist talk and Q&A moderated by Flushing Town Hall’s Jazz Producer Clyde Bullard. Audience members can submit questions at any time during the show in the Youtube Live chat. The performance will be only available to ticketed viewers. Tickets are available online for $5.00 (plus a $1 convenience fee).
www.flushingtownhall.org/david-ostwald-louis-armstrong-eternity-band
SARASOTA JAZZ FESTIVAL (Sarasota, FL) May 9-13?
Tentative plans are being made to hold the Sarasota Jazz Festival, which usually takes place in March, sometime in May. Yes, we know it might be too soon. That’s why a final decision to hold the festival will not be made until March 31st. We will have everything in place and organized to start selling tickets then, but only if the virus numbers are way down and if vaccine inoculations are way up. Keep posted at jazzclubsarasota.org
PENSACOLA JAZZ FESTIVAL (Pensacola, FL) May 15-16
The 37th annual Pensacola JazzFest will take place May 15-16 2021 at Seville Square in historic downtown Pensacola.
As always, JazzFest is a free and celebrates America’s unique musical art form, jazz. We produce the event with assistance from a variety of corporate sponsors and community organizations. Jazz Pensacola volunteers also work yearlong to present Pensacola JazzFest as their annual gift to the community.
Scheduled artists include: Saxophonist Larry Panella, Jazz pianist Tony Viviano, Saxophonist Doug Horn, Trumpeter Jonathan Martin, Jack Zoesch Quartet, Glenn Parker Band, Jazz pianist Alex Nollan, Nobius, Isabelle Schrack Band, La’Roy Bodiford Quartet, Fais Do-Do, Chip Herrington Quintet, and the Excelsior Brass Band. jazzpensacola.com
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OLD-TIME PIANO PLAYING CONTEST & FESTIVAL (Virtual Event) Memorial Day Weekend
A decision has been made to postpone the Junior, Regular & Senior Division Contests until May, 2022. It is simply not feasible to hold these events given the present health pandemic. The University of Mississippi safety protocols prohibit a live audience at this time. The Contest personnel have agreed to host a virtual New Rag Contest under modified rules on Memorial Day weekend, 2021 in addition to a noncompetitive Junior Showcase for those competitors ages 17-and-under. Stay tuned for details for both of these events in the coming weeks. Thank you for your patience and understanding as we traverse these very difficult times. – Ian Hominick, Art. Dir. oldtimepianocontest.com
SCOTT JOPLIN RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Sedalia, MO) (Cancelled)
The 2021 Festival has been postponed due to Covid concerns. The 2022 Festival WILL occur June 1-4, 2022. The Scott Joplin Foundation has been sponsoring a recurring free online event called Syncopated Saturday Night that can be found on their Youtube and Facebook pages. Links at www.scottjoplin.org
ELKHART JAZZ FESTIVAL (Elkhart, IN) Summer 2021
All indications are that the Elkhart Jazz Festival, which is largely an outdoor event, will be a go in late June or July, near it’s normal time. Stay posted at elkhartjazzfestival.com
SOUNDS OF MARDI GRAS (Fresno, CA) – Summer 2021?
Keep your fingers crossed, we may have our Festival in July, or some other time, instead of February this year. Keep checking in at www.fresnodixie.com for any new details.
EVERGREEN JAZZ FESTIVAL (Evergreen, CO) July 23-25
The Evergreen Jazz Festival Board of Directors intends to make a decision in April regarding whether
there will be a 2021 festival. There are two key factors affecting that decision:
- State and county restrictions and guidelines currently prohibit public gatherings anywhere near
the size of festival audiences. While the numbers are gradually being relaxed as conditions
improve, this is still a major unknown. - Evergreen Elks Lodge, the festival headquarters venue, has set a policy of limiting events to 50
attendees until at least September. Unless that changes or a waiver can be obtained by April, it
appears unlikely the festival will take place this year.
Meanwhile, the festival has fielded a brief survey to past patrons to identify attitudes and feelings about
attending in 2021. Not surprisingly, all 11 bands in the lineup have agreed to stand by until a final
decision can be made. www.evergreenjazz.org
50th Annual BIX BEIDERBECKE MEMORIAL JAZZ FESTIVAL (Davenport, IA) August 5-7
The 2021 Bix Fest will present what we hope you’ll agree is one of our best line-ups ever, so far we have Andy Schumm and the Chicago Cellar Boys, Joe Smith and the Spicy Pickles, NOLA Jazz Band, Josh Duffee’s ALL-Star Graystone Monarchs Band, The Mortonia Sextet led by Hal Smith and Dave Bennett, for their 16th appearance the Cakewalkin’ Jazz Band, Miss Jubilee from St. Louis, the Southside Aces of Minneapolis, and the Bix Youth Band. Ticket information and hotel info will be available on our newly remodeled website later this spring. www.bixsociety.org
23rd Annual HISTORIC SUTTER CREEK RAGTIME FESTIVAL (Sutter Creek, CA) August 13th-15th
If all goes smoothly the festival will return to a three day festival, after surviving the Pandemic year with a historic heat waved one day festival in August 2020. We are already on our way for this year’s festival planning and the musicians are rearing to perform. As of now it sure looks like things will be returning to some sense of normalcy, but we know that even by August there will still be some guidelines that we will be expected to adhere to. Whatever requirements and precautions need to be addressed, we will do so with the utmost safety for our musicians and attendees. So no doubt the festival may look a little different when it arrives, but rest assured the music, relaxed atmosphere and the genuine joy of being amongst great musicians and like minded Ragtime enthusiasts will be the highlight of your summer!
The website has been updated with current info and the pricing will remain the same as last year. We will be headquartered at the Auditorium CIty Hall this year and will have a few other venues throughout the town as usual. I believe that This year will be perfect weather too. www.
Hot Jazz Jubilee (Postponed to 2022)
The Hot Jazz Jubilee Board of Directors met recently, and, after lengthy discussion and much weighing of pros and cons, the decision was reluctantly made to postpone the 2021 festival to 2022.
For those of you who have already booked a room at the DoubleTree or elsewhere, please contact the hotel to cancel. We will notify you when you can rebook for 2022. We will of course roll over all prepaid badges from 2020 and 2021 to next year. We will miss seeing you and sharing all the fun this year, but watch this space! As soon as conditions allow, we will be hosting some live music fundraising events. And watch out 2022! We will be back and so will all those wonderful Musicians and Bands, as promised! (Yes, they have already put us on their calendars!) So mark YOUR calendars for Labor Day weekend, September 2nd-5th, 2022! In the meantime, stay safe!! hotjazzjubilee.com
REDWOOD COAST MUSIC FESTIVAL (Eureka, CA) September 30th – October 3rd
The Redwood Coast Music Festival, which normally takes place in the spring, has been moved to the fall for this year. 4 days, 8 Stages, 40 Bands, and 100 Live Sets are planned. www.rcmfest.org
JAZZ FEST AT SEA (Caribbean) October 3rd-10th 2021
If you’re a fan of Traditional Jazz, Classic Jazz, Chicago Jazz, Swing, in fact just about any style which emerged during the first half of the 20th century, plan to attend JazzFest at Sea – one of the premier jazz cruises of the year. We will be departing from Port Canaveral, Florida for an amazing jazz cruise to the Bahamas and Western Caribbean on the MSC Divina for 7-nights. Not only will you have your choice of amazing evening performances on our jazz cruise, but you are also invited to the afternoon sessions as well. All presented in an intimate jazz club atmosphere limited to 250 guests!
With pricing starting at only $999 per person including taxes and fees, this makes the perfect vacation getaway for all jazz lovers. Contact us today at 1-800-654-8090. www.jazzfestatsea.com
