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Riverboat Jazz Festival

Riverboat Jazz Festival brings more than 100 free concerts to Silkeborg in the lovely Danish summertime. 

Denmark's oldest jazz festival

Since the beginning in 1966, Denmark’s oldest jazz festival has been an extremely popular event with a truly unique atmosphere. The city simply  breathes jazz for 5 days. With swinging parades in the streets, open air stages in the town squares, concerts in nearly every café and on the water, restaurant and venue in town, you won't be able to escape it - but why would you?

If you want to experience the ultimate Riverboat Jazz feeling, you should book a ticket to one of the sailing concerts on board " Hjejlen " - the world's oldest working steamboat - or one of its siblings. 

Every year, about 50.000 people visit the jazz festival in Silkeborg to experience top shelf jazz musicians from all over the world.

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Riverboat jazz festival, you are here.

Is one of Northern Europe's biggest jazz festivals for classical/traditional jazz.  

Riverboat Jazz Festival

Since the Riverboat Jazz Festival started in 1966 with three small passenger boats sailing on a 2 hour sailing tour of Gudenåen, the festival has grown into an event of great volume in both quality and scope.

Since the end of the 1980s, where the festival got its international flair, it has become one of Northern Europe's biggest jazz festivals for classical jazz.

More than 70 orchestras / soloists perform for about 50,000 jazz fans over the 5 days the festival lasts. Riverboat Jazz Festivals musical profile is still the classic jazz, like New Orleans and Dixieland Jazz, swing and mainstream, but in recent years there has also been room for renewal with national and international younger jazz and young talents.

Three large tents each with space for 1000-1500 people, many eateries and bars in the city center, streets and back yard resounding with infectious jazz - and most of them are free!

This is made possible, due to the three main partners: Silkeborg Kommune, Tuborg and Nordea Foundation as well as a large number of companies and organizations that, through their sponsorship and partnership, help secure the festival's economy.

The rest of the economy is ensured by the public by supporting the bars in the tents and on the boats. The festival is run by a board, as well as by employees at the festival office that deals with planning, booking and a number of practical things that precedes a festival.

The festival office also organizes the work at the festival for the 350 volunteers, making the entire project possible The festival always takes place on the first weekend of the summer school summer holiday and is a musical gem in one of Denmark's most beautiful cities.

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Riverboat Jazz Festival 2021 Silkeborg , 24-06-2021 - 26-06-2021

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Artists performing - riverboat jazz festival 2021.

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• Jesper Bodilsen, at Unknown venue on 24-06-2021

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The Riverboat Festival – a musical gem in Denmark’s Lakeland district

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Silkeborg - Riverboat Jazz Festival

The Riverboat Festival – a musical gem in Denmark’s Lakeland district If you say Silkeborg, you will inevitably also have to say beautiful lakeland scenery. The lakes are an integral part of life of the town located in the middle of Jutland, just West of Århus. Silkeborg is The town by the lakes, and the lakes have inspired the locals to many events throughout the times, one of them being the Riverboat Jazz Festival. Apart from being Denmark’s oldest jazz festival, it has grown into being one of Northern Europe’s largest festivals for traditional jazz: New Orleans, Dixieland, and Swing jazz. In recent years, however, the festival has also introduced modern jazz and young talents.

Inspiration from the Thames Since the 60-ties, jazz and jazz clubs have been part of Silkeborg’s cultural life. One of the people behind the concerts then went on a trip to London and experienced a musical cruise on the Thames in true Mississippi style... Almost immediately the idea came: If you can play New Orleans jazz on the Thames, then why not on the local river Gudenåen, where river steamers were already running regularly. Shortly after, they got started, and during the initial years, the Riverboat Jazz Festival took part on the three river steamers, that sailed on the lakes at that time.

From local to international Throughout the years, the festival has constantly grown. At the beginning everything took place on ships in the water, but the amount of bands and festival-goers grew in numbers. The festival started taking churches, music venues, bars and restaurants into use, tents were put up, and other creative, ideas for venues developed. During the first 20 years, only Danish bands played, but since 1986, the festival can call itself international. Every year they have been able to attract internationally renowned orchestras and soloists, and the annual amount of highlights have increased.

The popularity of the festival, both among artists and visitors show, that people will travel far to experience this event. Year by year, the amount of orchestras and soloists has grown to number 70-80 ensembles, that have an audience of 40.-50.000 during the five days of the festival. The festival can be enjoyed free of charge, and many volunteers and sponsors make an enormous contribution to making the festival a success every year. All events are free of charge and can be reached within walking distance in the city.

The coming festival takes place end of June You can read more about the programme and the performers on the festival webpage: www.riverboat.dk

Well, Silkeborg is buzzing of events throughout Spring and Summer: Experience some of the greatest Danish musicians at Silkeborg’s rockfestival Nye Hede Rytmer - hot rhythms. The festival is held at Indelukket by the lakes. The woodlands by Silkeborg Spa are swarming with freedom fighters, German soldiers and officers, English soldiers - in fact all the characters you could have encountered at the spa during and just after the German Occupation - at the annual Bunker by Night . During the second part of World War II, Silkeborg Spa was taken into use as German military headquarters. You can also pay a visit to the Country Music Festival offering a variety of Danish and foreign country singers and bands. This festival is held at the openair stage by Indelukket. Are you the nostalgic type and into classical, old cars, the place to go is Automania . Here you can get a good look at sports cars and perhaps the car you remember your Granddad driving once.   Open studio doors where a broad range of artists in Silkeborg and its environs invite the public to come and visit their studios. Here you will get a unique opportunity to see how the works of art are created -and you might find a piece of art, that you would like to bring home.

www.riverboat.dk

Gps: 56.174957, 9.558892

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Riverboat Jazz festival 2024

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Riverboat Jazz Festival 2023

Sommeren er over os, og det er igen blevet tid til den historiske og magiske Riveboat Jazz Festival i Silkeborg.

I 2023 kan du opleve jazzen på mange forskellige scener over hele byen og også se de historiske jazzsejladser stævne ud fra havnen i Silkeborg.

Se hele programmet, årets navne og sejladserne på festivalens hjemmside:

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Riverfront Jazz Festival

Held Labor Day weekend, this musical event is jam-packed with some of the world's best national and international jazz artists of all sub-genres, including Lalah Hathaway, Najee, Marcus Miller, Eloise Laws, Chucho Valdés, Kevin Hawkins, Bob James and more!

Featured Events

The Riverfront Jazz Festival 2023 starts off strong with a musical tribute remembering Tina Turner featuring Professional Alumni of TBAAL as well as a performance by Stephanie Mills. Groove to your favorite jazzy tunes at the 6th annual Riverfront Jazz Festival. Every year, talented and legendary artists come together and deliver memorable performances. Enjoy live music , an array of merchandise stalls, and delectable eats .

View this post on Instagram A post shared by TBAAL Riverfront JazzFestival (@tbaalriverfrontjazzfestival)

Discover renowned artists from all over the world performing jazz, R&B, soul, blues and neo-soul. Experience awe-inspiring music from promising young artists from Dallas/Fort Worth area schools and music programs, taking to the stage to showcase their talent. Attend the festival's opening night dancing to your favorite Tina Turner songs and grooving to an engaging performance from R&B artist Stephanie Mills. Dive into weekend-long excitement with performers such as The Voice star Kevin Hawkins, electric blues singer Shemeika Copeland, and jazz-funk artist Jeff Lorber.

Shopping & Dining

Browse through an assortment of goods and merchandise , finding keepsakes and other items from many vendors. Foodies will enjoy munching on savory and sweet meals while listening to entertaining shows and taking in a lively atmosphere. Find scrumptious eats with outdoor food trucks , or devour meals from the convention's food concession booths.

When & Where

The three-day event features day-long performances in one of Dallas's spacious convention centers. Experience rich acoustics across a vast space and discover the showtimes for your favorite acts.

Dates: The festival will be held during Labor Day Weekend, running from September 1 to 3, 2023.

Cost: Tickets start at $89 for one-day general admission.

Getting there: The Riverfront Jazz Festival is held at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center , which is located at 1309 Canton St, Dallas, TX 75202. Festival goers can park in the garage of the convention center with a $15-per-vehicle entry fee.

Where to Stay

Discover many options for top-rated hotels in Dallas , where comfort and cleanliness are highly valued. Unwind in chic interiors at the Aloft Dallas Downtown Hotel , which is a short walk from the festival. Relax near the event at the AC Hotel Dallas Downtown , enjoying premier amenities such as luxurious bedding and a swanky bar.

Downtown Dallas is a continuously growing area with a beautiful arts scene, urban green spaces, fine dining and luxurious shopping.

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A guide to Moscow’s summer festivals

May 26, 2018 • 4 min read

People attend open-air concert during Usadba Jazz festival at the Archangelskoye Estate @ Anton Gvozdikov / Shutterstock

Believe it or not, in summer Moscow usually gets rather hot. It’s also the season when the city is fully awake, with more events happening than at any other time of the year. Almost every weekend a new market, exhibition or festival takes place, making it pretty hard to choose which one to attend.

Of course, the highlight of this summer in the Russian capital will be the celebration of football, as Moscow gets ready to host the 2018 FIFA World Cup (from 14 June to 15 July) along with 10 other cities across the country. Nevertheless, over the years some big annual events have become an integral – and fun – part of Moscow’s summer culture. Here are our top picks.

Usadba Jazz at Arkhangelskoe

This iconic open-air jazz festival has been taking place in Moscow for over a decade, making it one of the city’s favourite outdoor events. The location is always the same – the gorgeous 19th-century  Arkhangelskoe Estate and its surroundings. Apart from some great classical and modern jazz, blues, funk, soul and world music, there’s a new theme each year: in 2017 it was ecology, introducing some local eco-designers and culinary artists to jazz-loving Muscovites.

Dates: 2–3 June 2018

Red Square Book Fest

This year Moscow’s annual book festival will be taking over the historic Red Square for the fourth time. The event celebrates the reading culture, introduces the best local publishing houses, and allows visitors to purchase books, attend masterclasses and listen to some well-known modern Russian writers. The program covers several themes, including fiction, non-fiction, ebooks, children’s and educational literature, antique and secondhand books, as well as Russian regions.  Famous Russian museums present their publishing projects and catalogues, and there are live concerts and performances throughout the festival.

Dates: 3–6 June 2018

Moscow Flower Show

Who knew Moscow could be a rose? Last year a new sort of rose was created just to celebrate the 870th anniversary of the Russian capital. This international garden festival is a paradise for the admirers of landscape design and all things green and blooming. Both recognised and up-and-coming landscape designers present their works and compete for the main prize, awarded by an international jury. And visitors get a chance to release their inner flower child.

Dates: 29 June–8 July 2018

Taste of Moscow

This international food festival   has been around for a long time, covering 19 cities of the world and gaining huge popularity in Moscow. The city’s 30 best restaurants will take part in the program this year, offering visitors their most renowned dishes and products. You can treat yourself to delicacies from one of the exclusive menus created specifically for the festival, attend degustations or learn how to cook from a professional chef. The interactive program will also include concerts, masterclasses, pop-up performances and children’s activities.

Dates: 26–29 July 2018

Much loved by both locals and visitors to the city, the annual Park Live rock festival has achieved international status in its six years of existence, treating the fans with performances from world-famous and local rock stars. Hosting Muse in 2015 has been the highlight in the festival’s history, while Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lana Del Rey, Limp Bizkit and System of a Down have also headlined. In 2018 revellers will have a chance to see David Guetta, Gorillaz and Massive Attack at the vibrant Gorky Park  in the heart of the city.

Dates: 27–29 July 2018

Afisha Picnic

Moscow’s biggest open-air festival is a summer rave for food and music lovers. Organized by Afisha magazine, it’s been expanding year on year, eventually moving from concert halls and stadiums to the vast Kolomenskoe Museum-Reserve , a former royal estate and a Unesco World Heritage Site by the Moscow River. The organisers make sure there’s lots going on, so apart from multiple music stages you can find food stalls with local products, a designers’ market, gaming and lecture areas – all with a strict no-alcohol policy.

Dates: 4 August 2018

The Times and Epochs re-enactment of a battle between Polish and Ruthenian archers © Degtyaryov Andrey / Shutterstock

Times and Epochs

The ultimate historical festival in Russia expands with each passing year, taking over Moscow parks, recreational areas and some of the main streets. It brings together the best from the world of historical re-enactment, boasting more than 6000 geeky participants in 2017 (many of them from abroad). Soldiers, merchants, craftsmen, musicians all walk the streets in traditional costumes, performing or teaching the arts, crafts and games of the past. Best of all, the festival is focused on getting the audience involved in the lifestyles of different eras, from the Stone Age to the Soviet times.

Dates: 10–22 August 2018

Moscow City Day

Moscow turned 870 in 2017, and to celebrate the occasion, the city administration decided to host a 10-day festival under the slogan ‘Moscow is a city where history is being made’. With Russian avant-garde the main theme, dozens of events, lectures, performances and street markets celebrated the history of the capital as well as its prominent inhabitants. Plenty of music, food and modern art is always to be expected on the city streets during this time. Don’t miss the magnificent fireworks.

Dates: 1–10 September 2018

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Jacksonville Jazz Festival announces first performers for 2024 event

B ritish singer Joss Stone , Japanese pianist Keiko Matsui and New York jazz duo the Baylor Project are among the first artists announced for the 2024 Jacksonville Jazz Festival , which will move to Metropolitan Park and Daily's Place for three days over the Memorial Day weekend.

On Friday, May 24, the festival will bring the Brian McKnight 4 , the Kenny Barron Trio and Jamison Ross to Daily's Place and Nicholas Payton and the duo of Lee Ritenour and Dave Grusin to Metropolitan Park.

On Saturday, May 25, pianist Brian Culbertson , vocalist Gregory Porter and saxophonist Lakecia Benjamin are scheduled to play at Metropolitan Park, violinist Josh Vietti and the Huntertones at Daily's Place.

For the festival's final day, Sunday, May 26, Stone, sax man Jeff Ryan and the Baylor Project are at Metropolitan Park and Matsui and RnR with trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot are at Daily's Place.

All performances are free, but VIP tickets have been offered in the past. More performers are expected to be announced.

The  festival started  in 1980 in Mayport and moved to Metropolitan Park the following year. No festivals were held in 2001 or 2002, but it came back to the park in 2003 with Tony Bennett as headliner. It moved to the downtown streets in 2009 and has since seen stages at J. Weldon Johnson Park, the Duval County courthouse, the Jacksonville Landing, Ford on Bay, the Shipyards and Riverfront Plaza.

The covered stage at Metropolitan Park was the main venue for the festival when it was held there, but the pavilion was torn down in 2016 after city inspectors found it was unsafe. Temporary stages have been used for Metropolitan Park concerts since.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jacksonville Jazz Festival announces first performers for 2024 event

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Portland jazz festival keeps loyal patrons coming back.

Pianist Sullivan Fortner, who performed at the Old Church with bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Kayvon Gordon, leads a clinic during the PDX Jazz Festival.

To get from one’s car to the Old Church, a beautifully refurbished old building in a corner of Portland, Oregon’s compact downtown, one must pass near an open-air fentanyl market. It is not necessarily as dangerous as it sounds, but it is not pleasant.

So give credit to the Portland Jazz Festival, presented by PDX Jazz, for booking the kind of acts that keep dedicated jazz lovers coming back. Of the five shows booked into the Old Church during this year’s edition, two sold out, and at least one other came close. The Old Church, which seats 300, was one of 13 venues hosting 29 acts over the course of 15 days, not including daytime community events, which are free. The festival, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, has survived previous financial crises, a virtual-only year during the pandemic and bouts of bad weather, and it will survive the depressing mess in downtown Portland. Attendance is not yet back to pre-pandemic levels, but seven of this year’s events sold out, including headliner Jon Batiste’s opening-night concert in the 2,800-seat Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, and the Bob James/Lee Ritenour show in the 880-seat Newmark Theater.

Since 2020, when Chris Doss assumed executive leadership of the festival and Nicholas Salas-Harris was hired as artistic director, PDX Jazz has broadened its programming to include more of what it calls “jazz adjacent” music. The goal is admirable: to bring in younger listeners and diversify the audience, not to mention sell tickets. In terms of artistic quality, however, the results have been mixed. African music, funk, blues and zydeco — cool. Dance club DJs and internet sensations, sometimes not so much.

In the festival’s second week, Feb. 19–23, I saw five extraordinary shows; four were extraordinarily good, one extraordinarily bad. Pianist Sullivan Fortner, who appeared at the Old Church with his trio of bassist Tyrone Allen and drummer Kayvon Gordon, should be more famous than he is. Best-known as an accompanist to Cécile McLoren Salvant, Fortner has old school/new school chops recalling everyone from Art Tatum and Thelonious Monk to Keith Jarrett. He is still in the process of defining his identity as recording artist and bandleader, but his two-hand stride technique is jaw-dropping, and his unassuming manner is charming. Highlights included a calypso-inflected version of Charles Trenet’s “La Mer” and an elegant reading of Hoagy Carmichael’s standard “Stardust.” Toward the end of the set, Fortner brought up saxophonist Nicole Glover, a former Portlander now playing with the band Artemis, who was in town for a show of her own the night before.

Bassist John Patitucci closed the festival with a sold-out show at the Old Church featuring his trio of guitarist Yotam Silberstein and drummer Rogerio Boccato playing classic Brazilian songs by Djavan, Milton Nascimento, Ivan Lins and others. (The same group had performed the night before under Silberstein’s leadership.) Patitucci is both a master of tone on the double-bass and the best electric bass guitar soloist since Jaco Pastorius. His fleet-fingered exchanges with Silberstein on the electric instrument and unaccompanied acoustic solo provided a satisfying finale to this year’s festival.

In the mid-week, guitarist Julian Lage delivered another impeccable trio set in the sold-out Revolution Hall, at 800 seats the largest of the festival venues located across the river on the city’s east side. With bassist Jorge Roeder and drummer Joey Baron, Lage mostly featured music from his latest album Speak To Me. The audience sat transfixed for more than an hour, as Lage alternated ripping, rock-edged runs containing trebly echoes of surf guitar with gently melodic meditations on more standard jazz changes. Baron gave a master-class in restraint before finally busting loose with a crashing solo. Dan Balmer, who has been the foremost jazz guitarist in Portland for 40 years, opened with a set of more conventional jazz fusion. Most of the program was taken from his latest album, When The Night, but the highlight was a piece dedicated to the late Native American saxophonist Jim Pepper, who served as a mentor to Balmer in the late 1970s and early ’80s.

For my money (and yes, I did buy tickets), the week’s finest performance was turned in by vocalist Dianne Reeves at Revolution Hall. Reeves has not released a new album in 10 years, and the room was only about half-full, but if Reeves was at all bothered it did not show. Backed by a superb band including Romero Lubambo on guitar, John Beasley on keyboards, Reuben Rogers on bass and Terreon Gulley on drums, Reeves sat on a stool and delivered a finely calibrated set that ranged from Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams,” Betty Carter’s “Social Call” and Milton Nascimento’s “Ponta de Areia” to her own crowd-pleasing story-songs “Nine” and “Better Days.” Her voice was in flawless form, and as at all of the above shows, the sound engineers were up to the task of adapting to the acoustics of the hall.

The contrast between Reeves’ artistry and dignity and what took place the next night in the ballroom at the Portland Art Museum could not have been more sharply delineated. The festival’s program guide described Sudan Archives’ music as “left-field strains of R&B, hip-hip, folk and electronic music with the fiddling styles of West Africa,” and her album Natural Brown Prom Queen came in No. 2, behind Beyonce, in Pitchfork’s 2022 top albums list. What that amounted to onstage was a young woman wearing a skimpy leotard and a thong, jumping around to a throbbing electronica beat and waving her ass in the faces of the front row while shouting out catch phrases, some of which should not be repeated here. The violin, which she can barely play, was used mostly as a prop. True, the show brought in a younger, more diverse crowd, some of whom were dancing and may have even enjoyed the spectacle. And I’m hardly a jazz purist. But other than opening act Melanie Charles, who can actually sing, I’d say this act was more “strip-club adjacent” than “jazz adjacent,” only louder. DB

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Who will play RiverBeat Music Festival? A few guesses, from Foo Fighters to Post Malone

The countdown is on for Memphis' new music fest.

In about 2⅟₂ months, the inaugural RiverBeat Music Festival will get underway in Tom Lee Park in Downtown Memphis .

The event — which replaces the long-running Beale Street Music Festival — is being produced by Forward Momentum,  the promoters of the Mempho Music Festival .

While we know the dates (May 3-5) and who is involved, little else has been confirmed about the upcoming RiverBeat fest — though an announcement of the lineup is expected soon.

Given the dearth of info about the inaugural RiverBeat — there’s been no word how many stages, how many acts and what level the headliners might be — the best we can do at the moment is ponder the possibilities.

Shaky Knees and Jazz Fest crossover?

Two other major regional festivals, Shaky Knees in Atlanta and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival , are scheduled to coincide with RiverBeat. Shaky Knees will run the same weekend as RiverBeat, May 3-5, while Jazz Fest will carry over two weekends, from April 25-May 5.

Historically, given sheer proximity, there has been crossover between those festivals and what acts played Beale Street Music Festival , and it is conceivable that will continue with this year’s RiverBeat fest.

Among the big names, Foo Fighters will play Jazz Fest on May 3 before closing out Shaky Knees on May 5. If you recall Foo Fighters were scheduled to headline the 2022 Beale Street Music Festival , before the tragic death of their drummer Taylor Hawkins, which resulted in all their performances being canceled.

Could the Foo Fighters finally return to the Memphis festival stage this year with a RiverBeat appearance on May 4? As of now, the Foos' schedule could theoretically accommodate that — as they have no other commitments on that date. Though given the epic length and intensity of Foo Fighters' concert performances, is it reasonable to think they would travel and play three nights in a row?

Several other Beale Street Music Fest alums are also scheduled to perform, with Weezer set for Shaky Knees on May 4, and Neil Young and Crazy Horse confirmed for Jazz Fest on May 4. Weezer most recently played the 2022 Beale Street Music Festival , while Young — backed by Promise of the Real — headlined music fest in 2016. Young, who just announced a long tour with Crazy Horse, looks to have some leeway on RiverBeat’s opening night of May 3. Both those acts could be considerations as RiverBeat headliners.

Others notable names who have strong draws in the Memphis market, including Hozier, will appear at Jazz Fest. But Hozier will play a BankPlus Amphitheater show in late April (as part of his Jazz Fest routing). Punk rocker turned ‘80s hitmaker Billy Idol is also set for a Shaky Knees performance — and Idol has history at Tom Lee having played Beale Street Music Festival in 2011, so he could be a name to watch.

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A Mempho connection?

If we want to make guesses based on the Mempho Music Festival’s history of headliners, a couple names immediately come to mind. Multiple-Grammy winner and Americana star Jason Isbell has toplined the Mempho fest twice and would be a good candidate for RiverBeat. But, as it turns out, he will be otherwise occupied with dates on his own headlining tour during RiverBeat weekend.

Mempho’s biggest get came in 2018, with the booking of rap-pop superstar Post Malone (somewhat oddly, Malone had also headlined that same year’s Beale Street Music Festival). As it happens, Malone will be on the road playing the Charlotte, North Carolina-based Lovin' Life Music Fest , which takes place May 3-5. It’s very possible he could drop into Memphis to headline RiverBeat that weekend as well.

Another Lovin' Life performer who could have some appeal at RiverBeat is Fleetwood Mac legend and solo star Stevie Nicks. In addition to her Lovin' Life set, Nicks is scheduled to play a headlining arena show in St. Louis on May 7, so the routing works for a Memphis date in between. (Specific dates for Post Malone and Stevie Nicks at Lovin' Life have not been announced yet).

In any case, all will be revealed soon when the first RiverBeat festival lineup is announced.

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April 8, 2024 - Total Solar Eclipse in Rochester

The Greater Rochester region is in the path of totality for the Total Solar Eclipse. Learn more and plan your eclipse visit today!

Headliners announced for 2024 TD Winnipeg International Jazz Festival

One of the summer's signature music events has released the first wave of artists featured in their 35th anniversary year. 

Jazz Winnipeg has announced that New Orleans musical mainstays Preservation Hall Jazz Band and multi-genre vocal phenom Veronica Swift will headline evenings at the Burton Cummings Theatre on Thursday, June 20 and Saturday, June 22, respectively. 

“For our 35th year, we’re going to continue to groove together in downtown Winnipeg with artists that represent the breadth of what’s exciting in the contemporary jazz world,” said Jazz Winnipeg’s executive director Angela Heck in a news release.

Local bandleader and saxophonist Sean Irvine's Kind Neighbours project opens for Preservation Hall with French-American singer Laura Anglade opening for Veronica Swift. 

The festival returns to the city's Central Park neighbourhood to hear acclaimed Afrofuturist jazz of Isaiah Collier + The Chosen Few perform at Knox United Church on Thursday, June 14. The next night, Benny Green: Solo Piano performs in the venue with local star Jocelyn Gould opening the show. On Monday, June 17,  guitar-led Pasquale Grasso Trio play in the space with local openers Free Time.

Tickets go on sale to the public Friday, March 22 at 10 a.m. 

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26-30 JUNI 2024

Der er meget at glæde sig til på dette års Riverboat Jazz Festival, for endelig kan vi igen afholde en festival uden restriktioner.  De tre store telte er i år placeret på Havnen , Torvet og på Skoletorvet . 

Kirkekoncerten med Gunnertoft Gospel finder sted i Silkeborg Kirke onsdag d. 22 juni, festivalens åbning sker på Torvet om torsdagen kl. 17 hvor borgmesteren fløjter festlighederne igang med efterfølgende Blues Night.

Derefter folder festivalen sig ud i Silkeborg midtby over hele weekenden. 

Hjeljeflåden sejler ud med levende jazz ombord, der er verdensklasse betalingskoncerter i Kedelhuset , råhygge på Rampelys og Gipsy Jazz mm. i Jysk Musikteaters foyér. 

På gågader og fra gårdhaver, caféer og restauranter strømmer jazzen ud i et overflødighedshorn af swingende jazz. 

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Critic’s Notebook

On the Menu at Flamenco Fest, Tradition With a Side of Nuttiness

At City Center, performers like Olga Pericet and Manuel Liñán knew the rules they were bending.

By Brian Seibert

The flamenco dancer Olga Pericet began topless, curled up on the floor like a beached mermaid or a woman recovering from a night of carousing. Her face was covered by a tightfitting mask with painted-on doll features. Later, she danced with a yellow raincoat over her head. She also stood on a bench in a pink wedding cake of a dress, with guitar-shaped cutouts festooning her arms, posing like a surrealist’s conception of a religious icon.

Her show, “La Leona,” was as far out as this year’s Flamenco Festival at New York City Center got. And still, it was rooted in the integrity of tradition. The heart of flamenco lies in the impassioned individual statement in a communal context, a musical conversation. So what might seem like improvements or expansions — elaborate group choreography, imaginative conceits — risk straying from the emotional core that makes flamenco flamenco. This year’s festival showed the risks and the rewards. If the intensity of the dance selections was lower than in some previous editions, the range was wider.

The festival didn’t even start with flamenco. Instead, the Ballet Nacional de España began its program on March 8 with “Invocación Bolera,” a modern evocation of the 18th-century escuela bolero, which is essentially Baroque ballet with Spanish poses and castanets.

This was a welcome switch, and “Invocación” had its charms, showing off a well-trained and large company. Eighteen dancers in period attire filled the stage, their castanets adding a chattering commentary to neat ballet jumps and turns, making them buzz. The choreography — by Rubén Olmo, the group’s artistic director — arranged the groupings adroitly.

A similar professionalism marked “Eterna Iberia,” by Antonio Najarro, though here the style was 20th-century theatricalized flamenco. Percussive footwork was multiplied in tight unison, groups moved in handsome lines and circles, castanets trilled and soloists broke out in displays of expertise.

Olmo’s “Jauleña,” a shape-shifting solo beautifully danced by Inmaculada Salomón, was more contemporary, mixing in modern-dance angularity. But the biggest difference between all this and Ballet Nacional’s final selection, “De Lo Flamenco,” was musical: a switch to live flamenco musicians from recorded orchestral compositions. At the Sunday matinee I attended, this change at least doubled the energy.

Otherwise, “De Lo Flamenco” — a tribute to the choreographer Mario Maya that gathers together some of his pieces with similar work by others — resembled “Eterna Iberia.” Maya was a master of this mode: smoothly shifting picturesque formations, synchronicity, impressive soloists. But with the live, idiomatic music, it was as if the mode had been plugged in and turned on.

Pericet’s “La Leona,” on Friday, benefited from excellent music all the way through. Guitars, vocals and percussion were updated with funky-fusion electric bass (played by the virtuosic Juanfe Pérez), but the thrust of Pericet’s experimentation was scenographic.

“La Leona,” or “The Lioness,” refers to its star but also to a 19th-century guitar. The show makes an analogy between the body of a guitar and that of a woman, although Pericet dances in a man’s suit, too. Her previous shows have been similarly eccentric in concept and costume, but I’ve often found her dancing to be overly careful and calculated . Not this time. Playing air guitar, Pericet strummed at crotch level. Declaring “I am hot,” she fanned those nether regions.

This was an artist having some fun. The comedy could be on the goofy side of dada, as when the percussionist and vocalist played rhythms with scissors. And dancing to a flamenco version of Thelonious Monk’s jazz classic “’Round Midnight,” Pericet strayed unconvincingly into the realm of Twyla Tharp or Bob Fosse. But the overall impression was of an artist steeped in tradition trying to avoid boredom. The nuttiness was winning, and the music maintained the integrity. She finished at her most traditional, like Picasso reminding people he could draw representationally, showing off her rhythmic play with some rock-star wildness.

The festival’s concluding “Gala Flamenca” is the most traditional format: musicians (here including the gale-force vocalist Sandra Carrasco) supporting solo dancers. Of the dancers, the most improved was Alfonso Losa. He is now an all-rounder, gorgeously re-sculpting arm positions mid-turn in perfect pirouettes, delivering rhythmic complexity and surprise in footwork both with and without the addition of a cane. And Miguel Fernández Ribas, known as El Yiyo, was the most disappointing. Hailed as a new star , he was loud, fast and awkward, not yet ready for prime time, not yet able to command a stage.

Choreographically, the strongest selection was a duet for Losa and Manuel Liñán, who staged the show. Now facing off, now mirroring, now side by side, the men conveyed a dueling energy that was periodically amped up with tambourines.

Though Paula Comitre’s footwork was muddy, she handled the long-tailed bata de cola dress and a fan with rare expressivity. Fanning herself in a deep backbend, she evoked melancholic languor. Spinning and spinning with the dress’s tail trailing her, she looked lost, wrapped up in sadness.

Liñán also wore a bata de cola for his climactic solo. Such cross-gender costuming has lately become his signature. Dancing the serious form solea, he spun with enough effortful, tornado-like force that I half expected to see smoke. Like Pericet, Liñán clearly knows the rules that he is bending. His idea of tradition isn’t dead.

Stepping Into the World of Dance

In Irish dance, precision is prized. But perfection is beside the point at Gayli , a series of L.G.B.T.Q.-friendly ceili classes during March at Mary’s Bar, a queer Irish pub in Brooklyn.

A childhood encounter with an American soldier in Iraq led Hussein Smko to become a dancer. Now the artist performs on New York stages .

“Deep River” is in many ways an apt title for a dance work by Alonzo King, a choreographer fixated on flow .

Robert Garland has held many positions at Dance Theater of Harlem over many years. At long last, he has caught the most prized title: artistic director .

Alexei Ratmansky, arguably the most important ballet choreographer today, has stepped into a new role at New York City Ballet  with a deeply personal first work  that reflected his Ukrainian roots.