The 22nd Annual Main Street JazzFest is this weekend, Friday, May 4 and Saturday, May 5, on the Public Square in Historic Downtown Murfreesboro. JazzFest has been named a Top-20 Event in the Southeast for the fifth year in a row by the Southeast Tourism Society. The fun-filled family friendly event is Free. JazzFest is for families, featuring food vendors and the always-popular Kids Alley. From noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday, kiddos will enjoy inflatable jump houses, tumbling and gymnastics, a musical petting zoo and more. A full schedule of jazz music performances is listed below:
Friday Night May 4 features "Future Jazz Greats"
6:00-6:20 p.m. Siegel High School
6:30-6:50 p.m. MTCS
7:00-7:20 p.m. Siegel High School Lab
7:30 -7:50 p.m. Riverdale High School
8:00-8:20 p.m. Oakland High School
8:30 -8:50 p.m. Blackman High School
9:00-9:20 p.m. Smyrna High School
9:30-9:50 p.m. LaVergne High School
10:00-10:20 p.m. Central Magnet
Saturday May 5
"Kroger Stage" Schedule
11:00- 11:20 Rockvale Middle
11:30-11:50 Stewart's Creek Middle
12:00-12:30 Stewart's Creek High School
12:30-12:50 The Swingin' Storm of Rocky Fork
1:00-1:20 p.m. Oakland Middle School
1:30-1:50 p.m. St. Rose Middle School
2:00-2:20 p.m. Siegel Middle School
2:30-3:00 p.m. Stewart's Creek High School (7th period)
3:10-3:40 p.m. Scales Elementary
3:50- 4:20 p.m. Blackman Middle School
4:30-5:00 p.m. All Rutherford County Jazz Band
5:10-5:30 p.m. Steel De Boro
"Bob Scales Main Stage" Schedule
12:45 p.m. Seymour High School Jazz Band
2:00 p.m. MTSU Jazz Ensemble 1
3:15 p.m. 129th Army Band
4:30 p.m. MTSU Jazz Faculty
5:45 p.m. Yamil Conga's Nashville Latin AllStars
Yamil Conga’s Nashville Latin AllStars are a perfect mix of Old San Juan and Nashville. A native of Puerto Rico and a current resident of Nashville, Yamil has benefited from an array of musical influences. Salsa runs in Yamil’s blood, and this versatile drummer and percussionist learned from the salsa greats like La Fania All Stars, Ray Barretto, Tito Puente and Roberto Roena. Yamil Conga toured for six years with the Centricity Music band, Unspoken and is now the conguero for the Nashville Salsa Machine, Roland Barber, Souvenir, Lalo Davila and Friends, and jazz pianist Tyron Hamilton. He’s also backup drummer for the country band Reckless. His out-of-the-box, emotional and heartfelt approach to drumming is contagious. Yamil will also conduct a jazz clinic at 3:30 p.m. at The Center for this Arts, and this free event is open to the public.
7:00 p.m. Cosmic Collective
When the Cosmic Collective met in a jazz combo at Middle Tennessee State University, the members quickly discovered their collaboration was something that needed to continue past the semester. Every performer in the ensemble adds a particular element to the sound, resulting in a blend that is dynamic, smooth and refreshingly unpredictable. Band leader and vocalist Nikki Michelle attributes their success to the chemistry they share as friends. “Having fun together and doing something we love is what makes this project work and keeps us coming back to create something beautiful,” she says. Their fusion of electric jazz and modern sounds has been described as “refreshing and vintage at the same time.”
8:30 p.m. Jennifer Bruce & DejaNu
Jennifer Bruce and DejaNu are brilliantly weaving the classic songbook with a new spin of songs that were originally recorded in the pop style. They have given songs written by such acclaimed artists as Paul Simon, Carole King, Stevie Wonder, Burt Bacharach, Hall and Oats, and the Everly Brothers new life. It’s a New American Songbook. Bruce, the power behind the microphone, is a multi-talented song stylist who has the chops to cover the great tunes of all time and has been influenced by many musical genres. She has a rich, sultry, soulful voice and excels at song interpretation reminiscent of many classic torch singers. Jennifer Bruce and DejaNu will release their second album of New American Songbook classics this spring.
About Main Street
JazzFest isn’t Main Street’s only contribution to the community. The Saturday Market, the summer Friday Night Live concerts, Trick or Treat on the Square and the Christmas Tree Lighting are all thanks to Main Street, which is a nonprofit organization. The Main Street Program is affiliated with the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s National Main Street Center and follows the tenets of that program. Main Street capitalizes on the unique character of the courthouse square and the surrounding business district with the goal of transforming it into the cultural, social, professional and retail center of Rutherford County ... in essence, the hub of community life.
Special thanks to the Main Street JazzFest Committee: Don Aliquo, Mike Bickford, Gloria Bonner, Cheryl Bradley, Thom Coats, Anne Coggins, Kirk Garrett, Cindy Gossett, Doug LaRusso, Jeanie LaRusso, Ricky Martini, Bracken Mayo, Mike Panesi, Karl Wingruber. Main Street's mission is to maintain, enhance and promote the historic Downtown as the heart of the community.
For more information contact Kathleen Herzog, director at 615-895-1887 Kathleen@downtownmurfreesboro.com or visit the MainStreet JazzFest Facebook page at www.facebook.com/mainstreetjazzfest.