The fifth Annual Springfield Jazz & Roots Festivaltakes place on Saturday, August
11 in Court Square, downtown Springfield. The
internationally heralded festival draws visitors from throughout the Northeast
and has become a powerful expression of civic pride, uniting our region’s
diverse cultural communities through music, arts, education, and revelry.
Among the performers at this
year’s festival: Maceo Parker, Pedrito Martinez Group, Sweet Honey in the Rock,
Jon Cleary, Avery Sharpe and more. Here is the full festival schedule.
Other features of the festival include a Second Line Parade of musicians to kick off the parade led by New Orleans native Henri Smith. The parade is a tribute to the late and beloved musician Charles Neville. Also, a program about Songs from the Civil Rights Era; a Festival Tasting Experience; and an After-Festival party.
The 5th Annual Cambridge Jazz Festival takes place on Sunday, July 29 at Danehy Park in Cambridge. The event runs from noon to 6 p.m. and is free to the public.
This year's headliners include Terri Lyne Carrington & Special Guests, Gabrielle Goodman, Receita de Samba featuring Anna Borges & Bill Ward, MND FLO and the Ron Savage Trio. Find bios of the performers here.
Gabrielle Goodman
On Saturday, July 28, there is a panel discussion entitled Jazz & Gender: Challenging Inequality and Forging a New Legacy at 47 Howard Street in Cambridge. Find ticket information here.
The 50th Annual Festival Betances is taking place on July 21-22, 2018 at Villa Victoria, located at 100 W. Dedham Street in Boston’s South End.
The two-day festival celebrates Puerto Rican culture, including music, dance, food, visual arts and other traditions. In addition, the festival features a parade, traditional cuisine, arts and crafts, a greased pole competition, children’s activities like face painting and inflatables, and other activities that highlight the diversity of Latino culture.
Among the performers this year are world-renowned artists including Andy Montañez, Giro López, Julio César Sanabria, and 3NITY featuring Zayra Pola.
Here is a video of 3NITY performing Summertime. Band members met at the Berklee College of Music, forming the first all-female Latin band in Boston.
The festival is organized each year by Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción is a non-profit organization and a dynamic community development corporation that started in the South End neighborhood of Boston, to address displacement of low-income families due to urban development. IBA offers affordable housing and supportive programming to improve the knowledge, life skills and health of participants of all ages.
Festival Betances is named after Ramón Emeterio Betances, a Puerto Rican patriot whose medical contributions benefited Latin America, the Caribbean, and the United States. He also became a leader in awakening national consciousness in Puerto Rico, and is considered one of the foremost intellectuals of the 19th century. There is a plaza and a mural dedicated to him where the festival is held.
Read more about the Massachusetts United for Puerto Rico Fund launched in October 2017 by the Boston Foundation and elected officials such as Governor Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh. Dr. Vanessa Calderon-Rosado, Chairwoman of the Advisory Committee, is CEO of Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción.
Find more jazz and world music festivals in Massachusetts this year by visiting MassJazz.com.
The Yoko Miwa Trio is performing at the Regattabar jazz club inside the Charles Hotel in Harvard Square, Cambridge at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, June 1, 2018.
Show tickets are available online or by calling 617 395-7757. Yoko is joined by Brad Barrett on acoustic bass and Scout Goulding on drums.
A native of Kobe, Japan, Yoko first came to Boston in 1997 on a full scholarship. Today she is a full time teacher there, teaching about 30 students a semester. She performs regularly with her trio in Boston and New York City.
Check out great live jazz coming up in greater Boston this weekend, May 18-20, 2018. Friday, May 18 Sal “The Voice” Valentinetti The Cabot Theatre 286 Cabot Street, Beverly thecabot.org/events/category/concerts Pink Martini Berklee Performance Center 105 Mass Ave, Back Bay, Boston berklee.edu/ Keyon Harrold Scullers Jazz Club 400 Soldiers Field Road Allston, Boston scullersjazz.com/upcoming-events/
Broken Shadows Regattabar Jazz Club Charles Hotel Harvard Square, Cambridge regattabar/ Saturday, May 19 Joshua Redman & Brooklyn Rider Berklee Performance Center 105 Mass Ave, Back Bay, Boston berklee.edu/ Sunday, May 20 Fred Taylor Presents Los Van Van from Cuba Hosted by Jose Masso, WBUR’s Con Salsa Somerville Theatre somervilletheatre.com
With a repertoire that crosses genres of classical, jazz,
and golden-era pop music, Pink Martini draws inspiration from music
from all over the world and performs in 22 languages.
The self-proclaimed “little orchestra” is
celebrating the 20th anniversary of Sympathique, its
first and most popular album.
