When tradition is used as a guidebook, it leaves space for change and limitless growth potential. The Jacksonville Jazz Festival is a Memorial Day tradition that continues to evolve with the changing face of the Downtown area.

As one of the largest jazz festivals in the country, the 2017 Jacksonville Jazz Festival brings the city streets to life May 25-27 with a vibrant street festival atmosphere. Experience the thrill of live music on three stages, local food, art, the Jazz Marketplace, and more, throughout 15 blocks of Downtown Jacksonville.

This year, the Jazz Festival lineup include such legendary artists as The Commodores, Chick Corea Trio, Kamasi Washington, Gregory Porter, Lalah Hathaway, The Rippingtons, Jane Monheit, Joey Alexander Trio, The Blind Boys of Alabama, Lucky Chops, Damien Escobar, Bria Skonberg, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Pacific Mambo Orchestra, Freddy Cole Quartet, Morgan James, Elew, Airmen of Note, Marcus Anderson, Doug Carn West Coast Organ band, Jazzmeia Horn, Roman Street, Sorin Zlat Trio, Gregory Agid Quartet, Clay Benjamin, Ben Adkins, Leon Foster Thomas, Brian Tarquin, The Katz Downstairs, Taylor Roberts, Parker Urban Band, Akia Uwanda, Elio’s Quartet, Party in a Box featuring Allana Southerland, Blake Aaron, Brandon Robertson, Catch the Groove, Jax Jazz Collective, Stank Sauce, DJ Nickfresh and the UNF Jazz Ensemble.

The festival kicks off with the annual Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. The event dates back to 1983 when it was called the Great American Jazz Piano Competition. It has been held at the Florida Theatre since 1984.

Other festival activities include the Jazz Jam, the Omni Sacred Jazz Brunch at the Omni Hotel and Jazz Fest After Dark hosted at various downtown venues.

While the jazz fest was staged at different venues over the years from its humble beginnings in the Mayport fishing village in 1981 to a ticketed event at Metropolitan Park, it came into its own when it was reimagined in 2009 as a free, walkable street festival throughout the downtown corridor.

The Jacksonville Jazz Festival began as the Mayport and All That Jazz Festival. Former Mayor Jake Godbold founded the event as a way to reintroduce the world to the Bold New City of the South and reinvigorate the struggling fishing community of Mayport. Festival producers were floored when their expected attendance of a few hundred topped nearly 25,000 spectators who turn out to see Dizzy Gillespie headline. Other notable headliners throughout the years have included Branford Marsalis, Buddy Guy, Ray Charles and Mavis Staples.

After the overwhelming attendance and an even higher expected turnout in the second year, festival organizers relocated the festival to the newly opened Metropolitan Park. Local churches and organizations raised money by selling food and drinks, allowing the festival to remain free to the public.

As the Jacksonville Jazz Festival continued to grow, it drew such headliners as Miles Davis and Tony Bennett. The headliners had big ticket booking fees which resulted in the jazz festival briefly becoming a ticketed event.

Although the event has changed, the tradition of the Jacksonville Jazz Festival remains a strong and vital thread in the city’s rich, cultural history. Its position along the St. Johns River is expected to help draw thousands of jazz fans to Jacksonville and continues to enrich the revitalization efforts in the downtown core.

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