Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival readying for return to Court Square

Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival

The Pedrito Martinez group performing at the 2018 Springfield Jazz and Roots Festival taking place in Court Square. (Ed Cohen photo) Freelance

The Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival, the City of Homes’ biggest music festival, will celebrate its sixth season on Saturday, Aug. 10, with a day of world-class jazz, blues and world music punctuated by countless activities designed to strengthen and celebrate the local community.

According to Kristin Neville, who serves as the event’s executive co-producer alongside Evan Plotkin, this year’s festival aims to shine a spotlight on some of the world’s best and brightest musicians while also celebrating the communities of color – including Springfield’s very own – from which countless influential musicians have originated.

“The Jazz & Roots Festival is presented by the Blues to Green nonprofit organization. It's our primary program and this is our sixth annual festival,” said Neville. “We're going to have a full day of music in Court Square.”

Neville, who also serves as Executive Director of Blues to Green, said this year's festival will feature a number of esteemed musical acts spanning from the local music scene to the international jazz, blues and world music scene.

“We're going to have two stages set up. On our main stage, we're going to have Ryan Hollander, a local artist, open up. Throughout the day we're going to have Samite, originally from Uganda, performing with his ensemble, Tia Fuller, a renowned, Grammy-nominated saxophonist who has worked with Beyonce and teaches at Berklee, and Elio Villafranca, a classically trained musician who's from Cuba, performing his composition 'Cinque.'

The festival will be headlined by Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles, according to Neville.

“He's most known for the Grammy-winning jazz act Snarky Puppy. But he's toured with everybody from Springsteen to Boys II Men. This is his solo project, blending blues, funk, neo-soul and jazz together in a high-energy, positive way,” she said.

Neville said, however, that the message of positivity extends beyond the musical acts and into the local community, with countless local organizations working to support the festival, whether by way of offering their support as food vendors, setting up arts and music-related tents or opening their doors to the festival's artists for special programs prior to the event itself.

“A couple of our artists, Samite and Elio, are going to appear at Springfield's Community Music School on Friday night to talk about their lives and their music. Samite in particular has a story of resistance and resilience. He has an amazing life story. He's from Uganda. He fled to Kenya as a political refugee before ending up in the U.S.,” she said.

Neville also noted that multiple artists would also be engaging in community outreach programs at organizations such as the YMCA of Greater Springfield on Friday afternoon.

“We're trying to have offerings like the Friday evening conversations and community outreach programs. It's artists from all over the world coming together to reflect the diversity of Springfield and celebrate music coming from communities of color,” she said. “And we try to provide a platform for the city's artists, businesses and nonprofits to become part of the event.”

Neville, who noted that the event is free to attend, said that donations are encouraged.

“It's an unticketed event, but we do encourage people to support the festival by making a small donation to Blues to Green to support us in making this accessible to people in all walks of life,” she said.

The Springfield Jazz & Roots Festival will take place on Saturday, Aug. 10 starting at 11 a.m. For more information on how to become a sponsor , volunteer or to make a donation, visit http://springfieldjazzfest.com.

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