Downtown Raleigh's Moore Square is about to fill up with horns, hand drums, and folding chairs again. Jazz in the Square, the free outdoor concert series hosted by the Downtown Raleigh Alliance, kicks off its sixth season this Thursday, running weekly through October 8 with six evenings of live jazz from local and student musicians.
According to CBS 17, this year's lineup spans traditional jazz, contemporary jazz, Latin jazz, and even video game music, with performers ranging from working regional bands to emerging student ensembles from around the Triangle. Concerts run from 6 to 8 p.m. each Thursday, and attendees are encouraged to bring blankets and chairs to spread out on the park's central lawn. The Downtown Raleigh Alliance has confirmed the season's return, marking the sixth year the organization has brought the series to Moore Square.
The six-show schedule features the Butler Knowles Quartet, Jasmine Best & The Jazz Xperiment, Brevan Hampden y sus Hermanos, the Turnabout Players, the NCCU Jazz Collective, and a closing joint performance by the Enloe Jazz Ambassadors and the Moore Square Middle School Jazz Band, according to the Downtown Raleigh Alliance. Food trucks and beverage vendors will set up alongside the performances each week, and licensed vendors on site sell food, beer, and wine.
Collegiate and Student Talent Take the Stage
The October 1 slot brings North Carolina Central University's Jazz Studies program to Moore Square, a program founded by jazz legend Donald Byrd and one of only two historically Black colleges and universities in the country offering a Master of Music in jazz studies, per The EDU Ledger. NCCU jazz groups have also earned national recognition at competitions hosted by Jazz at Lincoln Center.
The season closes October 8 with Raleigh's own Enloe High School Jazz Ambassadors sharing the stage with the Moore Square Middle School Jazz Band. The Enloe ensemble was selected in 2024 to perform at the national Charles Mingus High School Competition & Festival, according to Enloe High School Bands, and the program regularly represents Wake County at statewide music conventions.
A Historic Park Built for Public Gatherings
Moore Square itself carries deep roots in Raleigh's history. The four-acre park was created in 1792 as one of five original public squares in William Christmas's planned grid for the city, and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, according to the The Cultural Landscape Foundation. The surrounding area also served as the hub of Raleigh's African American business corridor during the mid-20th century.
The park reopened in August 2019 after a two-year, $13 million revitalization by the City of Raleigh that added a central lawn, water feature, plaza, and vendor infrastructure, as reported by INDY Week. That renovation preserved the park's historic framing oak trees while building out the infrastructure now used to support events like Jazz in the Square.
Getting There and Getting Settled
Event parking is available at the nearby Wilmington Street Parking Garage, which offers free parking for up to two hours before 7 p.m. and free parking all night after that, per the Downtown Raleigh Alliance's event guidance. Designated bike parking is also available at the park's South Blount and East Martin Street entrance.
City rules allow dogs inside Moore Square as long as they're leashed, and event guidelines permit visitors to bring outside food and non-alcoholic drinks from nearby restaurants into the park. The park sits next to Raleigh's busy GoRaleigh transit hub, which serves roughly 13,000 daily riders and saw a 42% surge in ridership between fall 2024 and fall 2025, according to Raleigh Riders Resist Move To Moore Square Bus Station. The City of Raleigh and the Downtown Raleigh Alliance spent more than $1 million on private security in 2025 to supplement police patrols around the square, underscoring how much effort goes into keeping the block welcoming for evening crowds.
