Date/Time
Date(s) - Jun 21, 2024 - Jun 29, 2024
All Day
Location
Main Stage on Gibbs Street
The 21st edition of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival will take place this year from June 21–29 at 20 indoor and outdoor venues, all within walking distance in downtown Rochester’s east-end cultural district. More than 1,750 artists from 16 countries will play in 326 concerts, including 100-plus free shows.
This year’s ticketed headliners include Taj Mahal, Lee Ritenour Band, Laufey, John Oates and Samara Joy, who will perform at the Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre. The festival’s free headliners series will feature Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Sheila E. and E-Train, Los Lonely Boys, Cimafunk and Rejuvenation 50! Celebrating The Meters, A New Orleans Mardi Gras Party.
Producer’s top picks for this year’s festival include Christie Dashiell Quartet, Stanley Jordan, Benny Benack III Quartet, Groover Quartet, The Brain Cloud, Jared Schonig, “Two Takes,” Michael Mayo, Ekep Nkwelle, Luca Ciarla solOrkestra, The Levin Brothers, One For All, Hazmat Modine, Steven Bernstein’s Millennial Territory Orchestra and Canadian Jazz Collective.
Young jazz musicians will be featured as well, with 24 student jazz bands from the Greater Rochester area and Maryland performing in free shows on Jazz Street, as well as students playing in several ensembles with Eastman Community Music School. On June 24, two Rochester International Jazz Festival/Eastman School of Music Scholarship concerts will feature this year’s and past years’ scholarship recipients on the Jazz Street Stage.
Jam Sessions will close out each night at the Hyatt Regency Rochester starting at 10:30 p.m. These sessions will be led by trumpeter Mike Cottone on Fridays and Saturdays and guitarist Bob Sneider on Sunday through Thursday. In addition, 5 free Jazz Workshops sponsored by Wegmans will be led by visiting artists at Eastman School of Music for music students of all ages.
The RIJF Official App, with the full schedule, artist bios, map, music clips, news and the ability to create a personal schedule of shows, is sponsored by Harris Beach PLLC and is available for download on iPhones and Android devices. Check out the full schedule, artist and venue info, parking and more here.
