WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 7, 2024. The DC Jazz Festival® (DCJF) today announced the initial lineup for the 20th Annual DC JazzFest, taking place . August 28 - September 1. Featured artists include Samara Joy, Stanley Clarke, Kenny Barron, Dianne Reeves, Galactic, Bill Frisell, Bobby Sanabria Multiverse Big Band, Cimafunk, Emmet Cohen, David Murray, Nasar Abadey and SUPERNOVA, Carmen Lundy, Corcoran Holt, Brandee Younger, Kris Davis Diatom Ribbons, Sonny Stitt Centennial, Michael Thomas Quintet, Amy K. Bormet, New Jazz Underground, and more.
This year’s DC JazzFest experience will include more than 80 concerts and programs in neighborhoods citywide. Celebrating 20 years, the DC JazzFest will highlight a diverse selection of NEA Jazz Masters, GRAMMY Award-winning national and international musicians, and Washington, DC’s own jazz talent. DC JazzFest at The Wharf, the festival’s signature event, will be held over Labor Day Weekend on August 31 and September 1. This multi-stage, tentpole blowout will be hosted at District Wharf, a waterfront destination with an enticing assemblage of restaurants, artful shops and incredible river views. DC JazzFest at The Wharf early bird tickets will be available starting March 7 at noon here and to the general public starting March 14. Visit dcjazzfest.org/dcjazzfest for more information.
“DC JazzFest has been a staple of the community that visitors and residents look forward to annually,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, president and CEO of Destination DC, Washington, DC’s official destination marketing organization. “We look forward to exposing travelers to diverse musical talent, as well as Washington, DC’s neighborhoods, hotels, dining, nightlife and more during an incredible bookend to summer in the nation’s capital.”
The largest jazz festival in the Mid-Atlantic region, the 20th Annual DC JazzFest will feature an extraordinary array of performers encompassing an incredible range of jazz/jazz-informed expressions, from DC legends and emerging talents to international superstars, at venues across our nation’s capital.
“It’s the 20th edition of DC JazzFest and a huge milestone,” said Sunny Sumter, DC Jazz Festival President and CEO. “We are proud to celebrate Washington, DC’s rich jazz legacy by bringing some of today’s brightest stars for our one-of-a-kind jazz experience.”
DCJF will announce the full lineup for its “jazz takeover” of DC and provide more details about this citywide celebration later in the spring.
This year’s initial 2024 DC JazzFest Lineup
DC JazzFest ’24 will include a headlining performance by multiple GRAMMY Award winner and fastest rising jazz talent on the planet, vocalist Samara Joy. Among the many celebrated artists performing on our multiple stages at The Wharf will be three National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters: bassist Stanley Clarke, vocalist extraordinaire Dianne Reeves and piano master Kenny Barron. DCJF will also welcome to the DC JazzFest stage for the first time Guggenheim Fellow David Murray and Grammy-award winning guitarist Bill Frisell. On the emerging end of the artistic spectrum, DC JazzFest will welcome the scintillating, Cuban sensation Cimafunk, the deeply swinging young pianist Emmet Cohen in collaboration with master tenor saxophonist Houston Person, rising star harpist Brandee Younger, the winner of our 2023 DCJazzPrix emerging jazz band competition, New Jazz Underground, and a Sonny Sitt Centennial.
DC Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence bassist Corcoran Holt will commence his two-year residency. Audiences will enjoy explosive Latin jazz by percussionist Bobby Sanabria’s Multiverse Big Band, which will include the voice of longtime Manhattan Transfer vocalist Janis Siegel. Also gracing the stages will be DMV’s finest artists, including drummer-bandleader Nasar Abadey and his band SUPERNOVA, pianist-bandleader Amy K. Bormet, and trumpeter-bandleader Michael Thomas Quintet, celebrating 25 years of firing up the DMV! Stay tuned… there’s much more to come!
For press inquiries or information requests, contact Lydia Liebman, DCJF publicist, at lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com.
Learn more about the DC Jazz Festival and all of our programs by visiting www.dcjazzfest.org.
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About DC Jazz Festival: The DC Jazz Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that celebrates America’s original musical art form by presenting year-round programs and performances. Our mission is to present internationally renowned and emerging artists in celebration of jazz, unify diverse communities and enable connections between artists and audiences, advance jazz and music education, provide performance opportunities for DC-based musicians, and highlight DC as a major and vibrant center for jazz. With dozens of performances in venues across the city, the annual DC JazzFest is one of the world’s largest music festivals. This international event attracts jazz lovers from around the world to the nation’s capital. The 2024 DC JazzFest will take place citywide, August 28 - September 1. www.dcjazzfest.org.
DCJF Media Contact:
Lydia Liebman, DCJF Publicist, lydia@lydialiebmanpromotions.com
DCJF Contacts:
Sunny Sumter, CEO, sunnysumter@dcjazzfest.org
Josh Brown, Marketing and Communications, josh@dcjazzfest.org
Keep up with DCJF:
· Twitter: @dcjazzfest
· Facebook: facebook.com/dcjazzfest
· Instagram: @dcjazzfest
· LinkedIn: DC Jazz Festival