The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is kicking off tonight at Rodney Square. The free festival is Wilmington’s premier music event and the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast.
This is the event’s 31st year and will run through Saturday, June 22, with performances starting at 5:30 p.m. on the weekdays and at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
The full schedule is available here: www.cliffordbrownjazzfest.org.
“The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is well known across the United States and around the world,” said Mayor Mike Purzycki. “This highly anticipated event is the crown jewel of Wilmington’s music festivals, and, beginning tonight, we look forward to welcoming residents and visitors to historic Rodney Square for some of the best jazz music around. And I hope many of those attending this week’s main stage concerts will take some time to visit the many new shops and restaurants in surrounding Downtown District, which is thriving as never before.”
The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival opens during African-American Music Appreciation Month, an annual celebration of African-American music in the United States that was initiated as Black Music Month on June 7, 1979.
For a deeper look at how this event comes together, read this profile by DBT of organizer Tina Betz.
