A criticism often heard about jazz festivals is the lack of actual jazz artists on their lineups. That definitely isn’t the case with the legendary Atlanta Jazz Festival. Now in its 46th year, Atlanta’s annual free music festival celebrating jazz music and culture returns to Piedmont Park for the 2023 Atlanta Jazz Festival this Memorial Day weekend. Jazz aficionados and live music lovers will descend on Atlanta from Saturday, May 27th through Monday, May 29th to witness a bountiful array of talent.
The 2023 Atlanta Jazz Festival begins with a heavy roster for day one. Scheduled to take the stage are saxophonists Lakecia Benjamin and David Sánchez, singer-songwriter Tony Hightower, Best New Artist GRAMMY Award winner Samara Joy and the renowned Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis. If that’s not enough music for one day and you’re still looking to hang on Saturday night, there’s the Late Night Concert at Park Tavern featuring a performance by DMV songbird Cecily.
Day two’s lineup is just as impressive. Take a Sunday walk in Piedmont Park with singer and contrabassist Sélène Saint-Aimé, harpist Brandee Younger, poet Nikki Giovanni and saxophonist Javon Jackson, singer-songwriter-modern jazz tastemaker José James and living legend, bassist Stanley Clarke.
The final day of the festival on Memorial Day will end as strongly as it begins. Attendees will be wowed by singers Satya and Brenda Nicole Mooorer, pianist James Francies, multiinstrumentalist Chief Xian Atunde Adjuah (the artist formerly known as Christian Scott) and GRAMMY Award-winning songstress Ledisi.
As you can see, jazz is front and center at the 2023 Atlanta Jazz Festival, but the genre will actually be in the spotlight all May in Atlanta. There’ll be the 31 Days of Jazz series, which begins on May 1st with daily events throughout the city in association with the Atlanta Jazz Festival. Kicking off Memorial Day weekend on Friday, May 26th will be the production The Blues And Its People, a 60th-anniversary celebration of Amiri Baraka’s Blues People: Negro Music In White America, at Atlanta Symphony Hall. Commissioned by The Apollo, it will be performed by Russell Gunn and the Royal Krunk Jazz Orkestra featuring special guests Warren Wolf, Jazzmeia Horn, Miles Griffith, Leon Timbo, Weedie Braimah and jessica care Moore.
Memorial Day weekend in Atlanta at the 2023 Atlanta Jazz Festival sounds like it may need to happen. If you're not already located in or around Atlanta, make plans to converge on the city the last weekend in May now.
As always, the Atlanta Jazz Festival is free and open to the public. No tickets or passes are required to attend. There will be a VIP Experience available to members of the Atlanta Jazz Festival Society. Learn more about membership here, and get information on all things pertaining to the Atlanta Jazz Festival on its official website.
