It’s June which means the Clifford Brown Jazz Festival returns to Rodney Square in Wilmington this month.
This year is the 37th year the festival is in downtown Wilmington, running from Wednesday June 19 to Saturday June 22. Wednesday to Friday the mainstage performances start at 5:30 pm and run until 10 pm.
The Saturday show starts at 1 pm.
The festival also includes post-festival jam sessions from 10 pm to 1 am local venues like Nomad Bar, The Queen and the Wilmington Public Library.
"The festival is a sense of pride. It's been called the largest free jazz festival in this region. So, it's a place where people bring their blankets, bring their chairs and come out and with family and friends and make new friends. We have food vendors with a variety of food available," said Tina Betz, director of cultural affairs for Wilmington.
All pre-festival activities, mainstage performances and jam sessions are free to attend and open to the public.
Betz says this event always brings high quality artists with this year being no different.
"For this year for example we have Joshua Redman coming. We have Chief Adjuah - who is formerly Christian Scott - coming, Wycliffe Gordon will be the featured artist with our Clifford Brown Festival Jazz Orchestra,” said Betz. “So we have world-renowned artists who will be here."
There will also be post-festival jam sessions each day from 10 pm to 1 am at various local venues in downtown Wilmington.
The event is an annual tribute to the late jazz trumpeter and Wilmington native Clifford Brown. More information on the festival can be found at cliffordbrownjazzfest.org.
