News that is music to jazz lovers’ ears: the 41st edition of the TD Victoria International JazzFest returns June 21 to 30, and the full lineup is here.
This year, the festival hopes to attract an audience of over 35,000 people with a program that contains 60 programs and four workshop/clinics on nine stages in downtown Victoria and Esquimalt’s Bullen Park. Over 250 musicians in 54 bands from around the world – including Australia, Norway, Sweden, Cuba and Venezuela – will perform.
In the Marquee Series at the Royal Theatre and McPherson Playhouse, previously announced headliners are four-time Grammy winner Booker T’s Stax Revue with opener Blue Moon Marquee, who are hot off a 2024 Juno win for Blues Album, Australian heart-throb Ziggy Alberts, twin bill: Morgan James & Take 6, and Veronica Swift.
Programming will run again at two family-friendly, outdoor grassy field venues this year: The Cameron Bandshell at Beacon Hill Park and Bullen Park in Esquimalt. The Funk & Soul in the Township series at Bullen Park will feature three high-energy evenings of danceable ticketed performances by Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East (Avataar), MarchFourth (Tight Hair), and Five Alarm Funk (Grapefruit is Impossible).
A free-to-attend triple-bill birthday bash, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the festival, takes place Thursday, June 27 at Bullen Park. Funk will be the name of the game with three collectives: Busty & The Bass, Blasé Blasé, and Downtown Mischief – no tickets required.
Ticketed performances continue to make up the Presentation Series portion, with eight evening performances hosted by Hermann’s Jazz Club (including Marc Atkinson Trio f. Becky Prokova, Audrey Ochoa, Laura Anglade Quartet and Bellbird) and new music venue Wicket Hall in the Strathcona Hotel (featured artists are Cory Henry, LA LOM, Lakecia Benjamin, and Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y).
Eighteen free-to-attend performances will begin at 12 p.m. each day either at The Cameron Bandshell or Bullen Park in Esquimalt, featuring exclusively BC-based artists.
Workshops will take place at Esquimalt Rec Centre, hosted by touring artists performing at the festival including former Snarky Puppy keyboardist/vocalist Cory Henry.
The complete festival line-up, artist bios, performance schedule, and tickets are available now at jazzvictoria.ca.
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