Jazz in the Gardens is returning — but first, another major music fest comes to Miami

Howard Cohen
·2 min read

Like every other major music festival that canceled in 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, Jazz in the Gardens, the popular two-day R&B event, expected a return in March 2021.

We all know how that played out.

Now, Miami Gardens has announced that Jazz in the Gardens will return to the Hard Rock Stadium in March 2022 on two as-yet unspecified dates. And if you can’t wait that long to hear live music, Miami has its own two-day jazz festival scheduled at Bayfront Park this spring.

Jazz in the Gardens’ spokeswoman Suzan McDowell says it will be months until organizers know the final lineup at Jazz in the Gardens. She said in an email to the Miami Herald that organizers are trying to duplicate the 2020 lineup, but many factors have to fall into place before that happens.

Among them: artist availability, of course. Concert tours will resume as COVID-19 vaccinations continue and restrictions lessen, and many schedules will have to be set in place.

Mary J. Blige, The Roots, Ludacris, Charlie Wilson, Kirk Franklin and Jill Scott were on the 2020 schedule.

Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens attracts thousands of music lovers.
Jazz in the Gardens Music Festival at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens attracts thousands of music lovers.

The festival, which began in 2006, has featured R&B, pop or smooth jazz stars like Blige, Lionel Richie, Earth Wind & Fire, Kenny G., Robin Thicke and Maxwell. Sometimes a jazz legend has appeared, too, like keyboardist Herbie Hancock.

Jazz in the Gardens plans to announce details on its website, www.jazzinthegardens.com, when they become available.

Bayfront Jazz Festival

Cuban music icons Aymée Nuviola and Gonzalo Rubalcaba will perform at the Bayfront Jazz Festival on April 30-May 1, 2021.
Cuban music icons Aymée Nuviola and Gonzalo Rubalcaba will perform at the Bayfront Jazz Festival on April 30-May 1, 2021.

In the meantime, music fans longing for a taste of pre-COVID festivities can celebrate at the 2021 inaugural edition of the Bayfront Jazz Festival at Miami’s open-air Bayfront Park and its FPL Solar Amphitheater stage, says spokeswoman Kim Smith.

The Bayfront Jazz Festival — with a lineup heavier on actual jazz artists — is scheduled for April 30 and May 1.

On the bill: jazz vibraphonist Roy Ayers, singer Dee Dee Bridgewater, Latin jazz pianists Chucho Valdés and Gonzalo Rubalcaba and Cuban singer and pianist Aymée Nuviola. Electronic act Mark Guiliana’s Beat Music is also on the bill.

The concerts will play to 1,500 people rather than to a full house, owing to COVID-19 social distancing.

But it’s a heartening start.

Tickets for the 2021 Bayfront Jazz Festival are available at bayfrontjazz.com and Ticketmaster.