29th Summer Solstice Jazz Festival to Bring Energy, Music, Dancing to East Lansing this Weekend

East Lansing will once again be celebrating the year’s longest days with jazz music and dancing downtown.

This weekend the 29th annual Summer Solstice Jazz Festival comes to East Lansing on Friday, June 20 from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and Saturday, June 21 from 2:30 to 10 p.m. There’s also a special kickoff fundraiser event on Thursday before the festival, featuring Tiffany Gridiron with Clif Metcalf, Jeff Shoup and Sam Corey at Beggar’s Banquet. The show runs from 6 to 9 p.m. and tickets are available online. 

The festival began as an idea from former East Lansing Arts Commission Co-chair Al Cafagna in 1996 on MSU’s campus as an ode to solstice celebrations in Europe. Over the decades, it has become its own long-running local event. Shifting and growing over the years, the jazz festival’s mission is to celebrate the spirit of jazz music, and provide a kickoff to the official start of summer. 

City of East Lansing Assistant Director of Parks, Recreation & Arts and Summer Solstice Jazz Festival Coordinator Justin Drwencke is proud to bring another diverse lineup of talent to two stages this weekend. 

“We had some really great headliners last year, and we’re particularly excited to carry forward that same momentum this year — bringing in some big names in the jazz world,” Drwencke said. “We’ve got a headline performance on Saturday, with the Peter Bernstein Quartet. The other headliner [on Friday] is a State of the Saxophone Summit, where we’re bringing in three big names in jazz that play saxophone: Sharel Cassity, Diego Rivera and Greg Tardy.

“Personally, I’m very excited for that one because I played saxophone myself, but I think it’s going to be really cool to bring those three names together and watch them collaborate and do a little bit of a jazz battle on the stage,” Drwencke said. 

Last year’s jazz festival was a huge success. Drwencke said the 8,400 attendees it drew was an increase of about 1,500 people from the previous year. 

“Bringing in some bigger names definitely helped with that attendance, but we were very fortunate with great weather last year too,” he said. “This year, we’ve got a great mix of different Jazz artists, anything from Bebop to Blues to Latin Jazz, and a lot of really great talent coming in. We also work to make it an exciting experience for the whole family, and we’re finalizing details for some family programming and children activities. There will be a face painter, and we’re working with the Library to have some activities on-site to enjoy in between performances.”

New this year is a temporary exhibit, the Black History Mobile Museum, available throughout the festival for community members to visit and learn about Black History in the U.S., and how jazz evolved out of the Black experiences. 

A main goal of the festival is exposing younger generations to jazz music.

“I think there’s something for everyone to enjoy in Jazz,” Drwencke said. “It’s exciting to look throughout the festival and see a child who hasn’t experienced that kind of music before. They’re jumping up and down and dancing, listening and enjoying the music. This festival has the opportunity to be somebody’s introduction into the jazz genre and that really helps fulfill our mission to preserve and protect the jazz genre.”

The event is free to attend, removing financial barriers that accompany most large music festivals.

“We’re really proud to be able to present this exciting event to the community without any type of ticket cost to attend,” Drwencke said. ‘That’s only possible because of the generous support that we received from sponsors and donors. I definitely want to shout-out our biggest sponsors, Michigan State University Office of the Provost, MSU Federal Credit Union and Gregg Hill and Lois Mummaw. We did also receive a grant from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council and from the East Lansing Arts Commission for the festival this year.”

The festival’s footprint this year remains the same, with the Al and Beth Cafagna Founders’ Stage in front of Harper’s off of Albert Avenue, and the MSU Outreach and Engagement Education Stage near the Ann Street Plaza and M.A.C. Avenue. 

The full Friday lineup is as follows: Anthony Stanco from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Randy Gelispie from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and State of the Saxophone Summit from 9 to 10 p.m. on the Al and Beth Cafagna Founders’ Stage. At the MSU Outreach and Engagement Education Stage, is Legendary Mentors: Paul Keller from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Jeff Shoup Trio featuring Freddie Cunningham from 7 to 8 p.m., and Legendary Mentors: Sean Dobbins from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. 

On Saturday, the lineup includes: Kevin Jones & Tenth World from 3 to 4 p.m., Noah Jackson Trio from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., Rick Roe Trio from 6 to 7 p.m., Peter Bernstein Quartet from 7:30 to 8:30 p.m., and Orquesta Ritmo from 9 to 10 p.m. on the Founders’ Stage. At the MSU Outreach and Engagement Education Stage, there is JAMM Scholarship Group from 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., Nanami Haruta from 4 to 5 p.m., Olivia Van Goor and Reuben Stump from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Faith Quashie from 7 to 8 p.m., and Legendary Mentors: Vincent Chandler from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m.

It takes around 50 volunteers to help the festival run smoothly, said Drwencke. They’re still in need of community members to sign up for a shift. Volunteers receive free parking and a free t-shirt. Volunteer registration is available online. 

For more information on parking, CATA bus routes, and biking options, folks can visit the City of East Lansing’s live parking availability feature online. The site shows in real time the amount of spaces left in the central parking ramps, which can be utilized for the festival.