Lewiston Jazz Festival celebrating 20th season this weekend

Robert Creenan, Lockport Union-Sun & Journal, N.Y.
·3 min read

Aug. 23—Lewiston's annual Jazz Festival will be returning this weekend for its 20th official season, with five stages accommodating the 31 scheduled acts.

Festival coordinator Jennifer Pauly said this would be the first Jazz Festival of this size since 2019, since it was canceled in 2020 and there was a smaller event put on in 2021, both due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For the 20th festival celebrations, two big names in jazz will be performing on the Main Stage Saturday night, in the 2019 American Pianist Award Winner Emmet Cohen Trio and the five-time Grammy nominated Joe DeFrancesco Trio.

"They are two big names in the industry," Pauly said. "We're excited to showcase both of them on Saturday."

The acts performing hail from across the country and even Canada, including Grammy nominated Stacy Kent, the Juno Award-winning Allison Au Quartet, acclaimed vocalist Corinne Mammana, and pianists Sally Terrell and John Di Martino.

Over the two days, depending on the weather, the festival brings in between 30,000 and 35,000 people to Lewiston according to Pauly, making it its largest street festival. All of the village's shops and restaurants will be open, other curated restaurants and wineries will be present, and even real estate agents will be out showing off what it is like living in the region.

The performances will be staggered throughout the day so that live music can be heard throughout the festival's entirety.

"There's nothing like the Jazz Festival," Pauly said. "It has an atmosphere unlike any other in Western New York."

The full schedule of performances is as follows:

Friday

The Main Stage:

—6 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. Sally Terrell w/John DiMartino

—8:45 p.m. — 10:15 p.m. Stacey Kent

The Center Street Stage:

—6 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. MMVPT

—8:15 p.m. — 9:45 p.m. Charlie Ballantine Quartet

The Frontier House Stage:

—5:30 p.m. — 7 p.m. Rick Strauss Quartet

—7:45 p.m. — 9:15 p.m. The Skiffle Minstrels

The Peace Garden:

—5:45 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. Becky Davis Trio

—8 p.m. — 9:30 p.m. Alex McArthur

DiCamillo Courtyard

—5:15 p.m. — 6:45 p.m. Adam Bronstein Duo

—7:30 p.m. — 9 p.m. The Autonomous Vehicles

Saturday

The Main Stage:

—12:15 p.m. — 1 p.m. UB Zodiaque Dance Company

—1:45 p.m. — 3:15 p.m. Corrinne Mammana

—4 p.m. — 5:30 p.m. Allison Au Quartet

—6:15 p.m. — 7:45 p.m. Emmet Cohen Trio

—8:45 p.m. — 10:15 p.m. Joey DeFrancesco Trio

The Center Street Stage

—1:30 p.m. — 3 p.m. Original River Dogs

—3:45 p.m. — 5:15 p.m. Maria Sebastian American SongBook

—6 p.m. — 7:30 p.m. Summer Wind: A Tribute to Frank Sinatra

—8:15 p.m. — 9:45 p.m. George Caldwell Sextet

The Frontier House Stage

—1 p.m. — 2:30 p.m. Far Trio

—3:15 p.m. — 4:45 p.m. Jay/Sharp-tet

—5:30 p.m. — 7 p.m. Paradigm Shift

—7:45 p.m. — 9:15 p.m. Hanna PK

The Peace Garden

—1:15 p.m. — 2:45 p.m. Saranaide

—3:30 p.m. — 5 p.m. Dozo My Lady

—5:45 p.m. — 7:15 p.m. Hot Club of Buffalo

—8 p.m. — 9:30 p.m. Buffalo Dolls

DiCamillo Courtyard

—12:45 p.m. — 2:15 p.m. Lance Tanner Duo

—3 p.m. — 4:30 p.m. Stu and Avery Weissman Duo

—5:15 p.m. — 6:45 p.m. Dale Toiver Duo

—7:30 p.m. — 9 p.m. Jared Tinkham Duo