Downtown Memphis is preparing for a brand-new music tradition next month: the inaugural Memphis Jazz Festival, a free three-day event running October 9 through 11 across multiple downtown venues. Organizers say the festival is designed to spotlight local talent while giving the city's jazz scene a moment usually reserved for its blues and soul legacy.
The Downtown Memphis Commission is gearing up for the festival, according to WREG, with organizers hoping the event brings new opportunities and exposure to Memphis talent. Milton Howery III, the commission's chief marketing officer, told the station that Memphians can expect a weekend of jazz music spread throughout downtown. The Downtown Memphis Commission's event page lists Theo Croker and Dear Silas alongside local acts such as the Memphis Jazz Orchestra, Joe Restivo 4, Henry Conerway III, Deborah Swiney, Stephen M. Lee, The Power to the People Quartet, Pat Register, Hope Clayburn & The Memphis Manes, Gary Topper & Symmetry, the Kenny Reed Quintet, the Alex Upton Trio and the Parkerhurt Quartet.
A Weekend That Moves Across Downtown
The festival opens Friday with a Jazz After Hours kickoff at The Westin Memphis Beale Street, according to the commission's event page. Saturday, October 10 shifts the action to Main Street Mall, where two performance stages and workshops will run from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., followed by a late-night jam session at The Dame at Hotel Pontotoc. The weekend wraps Sunday with the Sunset Jazz finale at Court Square Park, closing out what WREG describes as a weekend beginning with hotel jazz experiences and ending at Court Square.
That Sunday finale isn't new to Memphis — it expands on Sunset Jazz at Court Square, an existing concert series.
The Singer Behind the Bigger Vision
Vocalist Deborah Swiney is credited with pushing the idea to grow Sunset Jazz into a full multi-day festival, and per WREG, the Downtown Memphis Commission has worked with her for years toward that goal. Swiney, a vocalist and former background singer for soul legend Al Green, was raised in Memphis church choirs, according to Choose901.
Saturday's late-night jam at Hotel Pontotoc is sponsored by the Memphis Jazz Workshop and hosted by Henry Conerway.
Filling a Gap in Downtown's Music Calendar
Organizers hope the festival creates opportunities for dozens of jazz artists while showcasing their musical talents, per WREG's reporting, and that it helps highlight Memphis's jazz history even as the city remains best known for the blues. That history runs deep: Memphis's jazz legacy developed alongside its blues movement during the 1920s-40s Jazz Age on Beale Street, according to BlackPast.org.
The new festival adds to an already active downtown jazz calendar. Memphis Travel describes Beale Street as Tennessee's most visited tourist attraction, according to Memphis Travel.
Festival Organizers
The Downtown Memphis Commission is organizing the festival. The commission's Blue Suede Brigade and Clean & Green Team work with contractor Block by Block on downtown services.
The Memphis Jazz Festival is free to attend, and organizers are encouraging attendees to RSVP ahead of the event, according to WREG. With acts ranging from headliners like Theo Croker to youth ensembles from the Memphis Jazz Workshop, the festival's organizers are betting that a weekend spread across hotel lounges, a downtown mall and a historic park can carve out new space for jazz in a city long defined by the blues.
