Gregory Porter, Samara Joy, Kenny Garrett, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington,
Omar Sosa, Orrin Evans, Veronneau, Leigh Pilzer, and more
August 30 - September 3, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 3, 2023. The DC Jazz Festival® (DCJF) today announced the initial lineup for the 19th Annual DC JazzFest, taking place August 30 - September 3. Featured artists include Gregory Porter, Samara Joy, Kenny Garrett, Charles Lloyd, Terri Lyne Carrington, Omar Sosa, Orrin Evans, Veronneau, Leigh Pilzer, and more.
This year’s DC JazzFest experience will include more than 60 concerts and Meet the Artist events in over a dozen neighborhoods citywide. The DC JazzFest celebration highlights a diverse selection of DC-based, national, and international jazz talent. DC JazzFest at The Wharf,the festival’s signature event, will be held September 2-3 over Labor Day Weekend. This multi-stage, tentpole blowout will be hosted at TheWharf, a waterfront destination with an inviting array of restaurants, shops and spectacular river views. DC JazzFest at The Wharf tickets will be available starting March 3 at 10:00 AM here. Visit dcjazzfest.org/dcjazzfest for more information.
“It’s fortunate that we have the DC JazzFest as a draw for people to experience Washington, DC over Labor Day weekend. Residents and visitors will look forward to capping off summer with incredible jazz and diverse music, while exploring DC’s neighborhoods, hotels, dining, waterfronts and more,” said Elliott L. Ferguson, II, President and CEO of Destination DC.
The largest jazz festival in the Mid-Atlantic region, the 19th Annual DC JazzFest will feature an extraordinary assemblage of performers, from DC legends and emerging talents to NEA Jazz Masters and international superstars, at venues across our nation’s capital.
“It’s a jazz takeover over Labor Day weekend.” said Sunny Sumter, DC Jazz Festival President and CEO. “We are proud to build on the District’s rich jazz heritage and bring some of today’s most exciting artists for our one of a kind jazz experience.”
DCJF will announce its full lineup and more details on our citywide celebration later in the spring. We look forward to this grand “jazz takeover” of DC August 30-September 3.
This year’s initial 2023 DC JazzFest Lineup
DC JazzFest ’23 will include a headlining performance by GRAMMY award-winning vocalist Gregory Porter. Among the many performing on our multiple stages at The Wharf will be three National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Masters including saxophonists Charles Lloyd and Kenny Garrett, and four-time GRAMMY award-winning drummer Terri Lyne Carrington with her New Standards project celebrating the enormous contributions of women jazz composers. On the emerging end of the artistic spectrum, DC JazzFest will welcome sensational, multi-Grammy winning vocalist Samara Joy, and the winner of our 2022 DCJazzPrix emerging bands competition, the Julieta Eugenio Trio.
DC Jazz Festival Artist-in-Residence pianist-composer Orrin Evans will return with his quintet. We also welcome kinetic Afro-Cuban pianist-composer-conceptualist Omar Sosa Quarteto Americanos. DMV’s finest artists grace our stages, including saxophonist-bandleader Leigh Pilzer, and the dynamic Brazilian flavors of WAMMIE award-winning band Veronneau. Stay tuned… there’s much more to come!
For press inquiries or requests for information, 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 unique original art form by presenting year-round programs and performances featuring local, national and internationally acclaimed artists. 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 largest music festivals in the world. This international event attracts jazz lovers from around the world to the nation’s capital. The 2023 DC JazzFest will take place citywide August 30-September 3. 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
The DC Jazz Festival®, a 501(c)(3) non-profit service organization, and its 2022 programs are made possible, in part, with major grants from the Government of the District of Columbia, Muriel Bowser, Mayor; DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities; National Capital Arts and Cultural Affairs program of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts; DC Office of Cable Television, Film, Music & Entertainment, the Office of the Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development; and with awards from National Endowment for the Arts, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Gillon Family Charitable Fund, Galena-Yorktown Foundation, Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, Leonard and Elaine Silverstein Family Foundation, Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Chamber Music America, Dallas Morse Coors Foundation for the Performing Arts, Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation, Mid Atlantic Arts, The Venable Foundation, Arts Forward Fund of the Greater Washington Community Foundation, Les Paul Foundation, Ella Fitzgerald Charitable Foundation and HumanitiesDC. ©2023 DC Jazz Festival. All rights reserved.
