Detroit Jazz Festival
Goes Virtual
On July 1 Chris Collins, Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation president and artistic director, announced a new virtual format for this year’s Detroit Jazz Festival. In recognition of current city, state and federal safety guidelines for public gatherings during the pandemic, the Festival will be held without audiences. All performances will be streamed or broadcast live (no replays or on-demand) from indoor sound stages at the Detroit Marriott at the Renaissance Center and closed to the public.
Jazz enthusiasts will be able to view or listen to performances for free in a number of ways including: Channel 22, the city’s new Arts and Entertainment Channel; the Festival’s web page; on public radio and television stations (WRCJ and WDET); and on the DetroitJazzFest LIVE! app. Programming includes opening night followed by 8 to 10 hours per day of live/real-time performances. The Festival begins on Friday, September 4, and runs through Monday, September 7.
The Detroit Jazz Festival will showcase mostly Detroit area artists, highlighting Detroit’s incredible jazz talent to the world, on the Festival’s stages. An exciting new virtual lineup will be announced soon to replace the lineup announced in the spring. There will be open submissions for Detroit area jazz artists through July 15. To apply and to find more information, please go to detroitjazzfest.org. We hope to have the new lineup for our August issue of this Update. Rocket Mortgage is this year’s presenting sponsor.
The Festival is also putting out an open call for Detroit artists to design this year’s poster. The Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation will donate all proceeds from the sales of the poster to the Detroit Arts Fund which supports arts and culture in the city.