- Greenville Jazz Festival is taking place between June 7-8 along Main Street in downtown Greenville.
- The city of Greenville's tourism department spent nearly 17 years researching how to put forth the best jazz festival possible.
- The surrounding business and community center near downtown Greenville hosted 14+ free events in April and May that have provided jazz performances and educational programming.
The idea for the upcoming Greenville Jazz Festival began nearly 17 years ago when the city started looking for an event to diversify the downtown music scene and draw in a new crowd of visitors.
Last year, was a one-day celebration, but this year's event will be two days Friday, June 7 and Saturday, June 8. The festival will feature a New Orleans-style second line and another day of jazz music along Main Street.
This festival was the brainchild of longtime city parks and recreation leader, Angie Prosser, who retired in June of 2022. It was developed over the years by watching the habits of attendees at other local events such as Fall for Greenville, Artisphere and Main Street Friday's.
At that time, the city of Greenville did not manage any of those events but knew they wanted to bring jazz into downtown's culture.
"When we originally talked about the event, we looked at what the city offered and how we could diversify an event and make it make sense for Greenville," said Tara Eaker, current recreation and tourism director at the city of Greenville. "We took our time in observing what other cities are doing and our response was at our other events."
Around 2016, Eaker and other city planning officials noticed The Furman Jazz and Blues Stage at Fall for Greenville would always be packed on the opening evening. It was the clarity needed to push for an entire festival dedicated to jazz music in Greenville.
After surviving the hurdles of COVID-19 and approval from city leadership, the inaugural Greenville Jazz Festival in 2023 took place and lasted just one day. The festival will be two days this year and last Friday and Saturday evening. According to Eaker, the hope is to expand into a three-day festival.
More on local music:
Other cities helped to influence the Greenville Jazz Festival
Over the years, Greenville tourism and recreation staff visited a few other notable jazz festivals in Washington D.C., Detroit, and Jacksonville, Florida.
If Greenville was going to put on its first signature Jazz Festival, they wanted it to be well vetted and unique, according to Will Young, tourism administrator with the city of Greenville.
On their visit to the Washington D.C. Jazz Festival, Young's staff noticed the educational side of the festival which partnered alongside their all-county jazz band, in an event known as "JazzED." It held smaller jazz sessions and events in spaces 15 minutes from downtown.
Those best practices influenced the city of Greenville to partner with the Greenville Jazz Collective to host free jazz education and performance events at community centers all throughout the city.
"The Jazz Collective partnership was very important to us," said Young. "They've been carrying the jazz flag for years now and we have been excited to see it grow."
Over two months, spaces like Horizon Records, the Juanita Butler Community Center and Chicora Alley turned into sessions featuring the work of Dizzy Gillespie and Freddie Green, both, jazz legends from South Carolina.
The first year the Jazz Collective had around 25 people per event, but this year around 100 people showed up to more than 14 events in the Greenville area dedicated to strictly jazz music, according to Matt Dingledine, president of the Greenville Jazz Collective.
"We understand that not everyone wants to go downtown, but we wanted everyone to feel like they are a part of the celebration of jazz in Greenville," said Dingledine. "It's part of our region and city's heritage and everyone belongs and is invited to continue celebrating."
More on Festivals:Five of the most interesting artist booths at Greenville's Artisphere 2024, what to know
When is the 2024 Greenville Jazz Festival
The second annual Greenville Jazz Festival is happening on June 7 and 8 as 14 bands and artists will perform on two stages along South Main Street in downtown.
This event spans from Court to River Streets and is a free event with food, beverages and vendors throughout the weekend. Each day will begin with a parade led by a brass band, which is also known as a "Second Line" in New Orleans jazz culture.
The music lineup includes New Orleans–based Preservation Hall Jazz Band and Butcher Brown, plus local favorites such as the All–County Jazz Ensemble and Undercover Jazz across 10 different sub-genres of jazz.
"For the city of Greenville, we love putting on events, " said Eaker, tourism lead. "But what's most important is bringing people to Greenville, and the Greenville Jazz Festival is another opportunity to reach another audience to highlight what we do here."
To buy food and beverages at this year's event, attendees will need to purchase Taste Tickets which hold a $1 value, per ticket.
For a look at the entire Greenville Jazz Festival music lineup visit their website at https://www.greenvillesc.gov
– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Sign up today for a digital subscription.
