Morristown music preview: Jazz-Blues Festival returns this weekend; Fall Fest on Oct. 2
As a long, hot summer fades into fall, anticipation is growing in Morristown for two of its biggest events of the year.
The move last year of the annual Morristown Jazz and Blues Festival from August to September was borne of necessity: With shifting social distancing guidelines at the time, organizers pushed it back to avoid a potential last-minute COVID-related postponement.
"Last year went really well," said producer Don Jay Smith, who founded the festival at the Morristown Green with his wife, Linda Smith, who died in 2021. "It was perfect weather. The music was great."
So this year, the festival will resume on Saturday, Sept. 17, with five headline musical acts that range from traditional big band and jazz to gritty electric blues. The free event will be held from noon to 10 p.m.
Pushing the event into September proved fruitful in more ways than one as the show went on "without a hitch" for thousands of music lovers, said Smith. Fans were able to avoid the brutal heat that sometimes made sticking out the 10-hour festival a sweaty challenge.
Festival on the Green is next
Two weeks later on Sunday, Oct. 2, Morristown will host its annual Festival on the Green, which takes over downtown from noon to 5 p.m. The gathering has drawn crowds estimated at up to 60,000 since 1994.
Both events, along with another big Morristown tradition - the St. Patrick's Day parade - were canceled due to the COVID pandemic in 2020.
The Festival on the Green, which runs from noon to 5 p.m. rain or shine, offers music and live entertainment on four stages, along with children's games and activities, a beer tent and more than 150 vendors in the streets representing local restaurants, businesses and community groups.
Having two big festivals so close to each other caused "no issues" for the town, Mayor Timothy Dougherty said.
"If anything, it just adds another level of excitement for the month of September in Morristown," Dougherty said. "It's actually kind of cool."
Jazz & Blues Festival lineup
As always, the Jazz and Blues fest kicks off at noon with big-band jazz that encourages dancing. James Langton’s New York All-Star Big Band featuring Dan Levinson gets the opening slot this year. The 14-piece ensemble is famed for its authentic swing-era sound.
Other performers, including jazz guitarist Frank Vignola (2 p.m.), trumpeter-vocalist Bria Skonberg (4 p.m.) and headline blues guitarist Walter Trout (8 p.m.), are already audience favorites from previous appearances.
Completing the lineup at 6 p.m. is 18-year-old sensation Veronica Lewis, who has captivated the blues world with her rocking piano playing and soaring vocals. The teen is particularly pleased to make her debut in a town that is "the home of an organization that has been very important to my family, the Seeing Eye."
"My grandfather, who was a huge jazz fan and musical influence on me, has had a Seeing Eye dog for more than 60 years," she said.
Smith said most of the regular sponsors of the free jazz and blues festival are back and many have "stepped up" their sponsorships this year.
"They really believe in what we are doing," Smith said. "They want to bring entertainment to the community."
The festival is sponsored by several local businesses, including Morristown Airport, Deloitte, Scotto Properties, Hampshire Company, Atlantic Health, Delaware Raritan, Valley National Bank, Headquarters Plaza and law firms including Inglesino-Webster, Rainone Coughlin Minchello and Sills, Cummis & Gross.
Mayor Dougherty is a proud Irishman who "loves the parade and everything that goes with it," but admits the jazz and blues festival is his favorite event of the year.
"[The parade and] the fall festival brings a lot of people to town," he said. "But the jazz and blues festival is part of the arts scene that's happening in Morristown. It's a great event, a family event. It's free. People can come to our downtown and have lunch and dinner, see what we have to offer and at the same time hear some great music."
"It's good to see things getting a little back to normal, even though we are still dealing with COVID on a regular basis and we all have to be conscious of that as we head to the winter," the mayor said. "But these events are outside, which is much safer. We just look forward to the weather gods being good to us."
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com
Twitter: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Morristown fall 2022 preview: Jazz Blues Festival, Fall Fest
