Third annual Havre de Grace Jazz and Blues Fest returns

Tony Roberts, The Aegis, Bel Air, Md.
·2 min read
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May 31—This weekend will mark the Havre de Grace Jazz and Blues Fest's return for its third year. The Havre de Grace Arts Collective is hosting three days of music, film and more in a city-wide festival held at multiple venues across the Havre de Grace Arts and Entertainment District.

The festival kicks off with First Friday and jazz and blues performances at multiple venues in the Havre de Grace Arts and Entertainment District, including "The Wilburn Company Headliners Stage" at the STAR Centre of Havre de Grace and the "Carolyn and Peter Zinner Main Stage" at the Cultural Center at the Opera House for ticketed seated concerts. All venues will follow COVID safety protocols, organizers said.

Festival headliners include Grammy-nominated Shemekia Copeland, named International Artist of the Year by the UK Blues Federation, Entertainer of the Year by the Blues Foundation, and #1 blues album of the year by MOJO Magazine; and Swedish jazz singer and musician Gunhild Carling, who performances are reminiscent of the 20′s and 30′s hot swing style.

The festival lineup also includes Grammy-nominated singer, songwriter and guitarist Raul Midón; a workshop and show by Felix Pastorius and the Hipster Assassins; and weekend jazz and blues brunches with Kevin Howard and Kevin Levi. A "Maryland Rising Stars" concert will feature Ebban and Ephraim Dorsey, and Piedmont Blūz, ambassadors of country blues music and the Piedmont style of fingerpicking.

There will be free, one-hour shows featuring Joe Keyes and The Late Bloomers Band, the Billy Pierce Band, the Bratcher Project, Roberto Villedo Group and Oliver Unger Band. This year there will also be Family FunDay Sunday, with free shows and activities beginning with a High School Jazz Bands show, family-interactive show from the Baltimore Jazz Alliance for Kids, and other family activities on Pennington Avenue, and special family pricing to the closing show with Carling.

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For a full lineup, information about other festival-related events in Havre de Grace and to order tickets, visit www.HdgJazzBluesFest.org or visit the Havre de Grace Visitors Center.

Maps to the venues can be found at https://hdgjazzbluesfest.org/venues/.