Outdoor Stage Lineup Announced for Tri-C JazzFest

Fourteen performances selected to play June 21-22 at Playhouse Square

Fourteen acts featuring hundreds of Northeast Ohio’s best musicians will provide two days of live entertainment during the 45^th annual Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland, presented by KeyBank.

The exciting and varied acts promise to keep the music pumping from the SeibertKeck Insurance Partners Stage at Euclid Avenue and East 14^th Street. The free outdoor performances will run from 3 p.m. to midnight on June 21-22, when Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland overtakes Playhouse Square.

“We’re thrilled to showcase our regional musicians to the thousands of fans on the street,” said Terri Pontremoli, director of Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland. “We love the energy and joy that this brings to so many people here.”

A committee of music industry professionals vetted submissions for the lineup. The chosen artists represent a variety of genres, including jazz, funk, samba, reggae and pop.

Look for the following acts, listed by the day of the performance. A full schedule with performance times is available on the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland website. The schedule is subject to change.

Friday, June 21

• Moises Borges | 3 p.m.: Based in Cleveland for over two decades, guitarist and vocalist Moises Borges was born in Bahia, Brazil. Samba and bossa nova are hallmarks of his performances, along with his soothing voice and charm. Borges has performed in numerous countries, venues and events, including the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Severance Hall and Playhouse Square.
• Ernie Krivda and the Fat Tuesday Big Band | 4:15 p.m.: Ernie Krivda is one of Cleveland’s most accomplished, awarded and well-known jazz artists. This 19-piece group and its legendary frontman have earned a reputation as one of the region’s hardest-swinging big bands.
• HORNS AND THINGS | 5:30 p.m.: Founded by saxophonists J.T. Lynch and Ken LeeGrand 40 years ago, HORNS AND THINGS has shared the spotlight with a who's who list of legendary performers. The band consists of bassist Derrick James, keyboardist Sakait Baksar and drummer Ray Harvin. The group’s albums include Till the Dawn, Northern Wind, Da Boss and its latest release, GET Your HAT On!
• Sam Blakeslee Large Group | 6:45 p.m.: Sam Blakeslee is a New York City-based trombonist and composer who has performed at iconic jazz clubs such as the Birdland Jazz Club, Dizzy’s Club and the Blue Note Jazz Club, among others. He is a faculty member at the University of Hartford’s Hartt School of Music in Connecticut.
• Ronell Regis | 8 p.m.: Ronell Regis is a saxophonist and composer who comes from a line of musicians. His compositions are inspired by his family’s history and reflect the uplifting music of the island of Grenada in the West Indies.
• Sam Hooper | 9:15 p.m.: A captivating guitarist, vocalist and songwriter from Cleveland, Sam Hooper has thrilled audiences in China, Finland, Japan and the United States. Millions have heard his songs on All My Children and The Young and the Restless. The band also played Tri-C JazzFest in 2018 and 2022.
• Carlos Jones and the P.L.U.S. Band | 10:30 p.m.: Carlos Jones has been entertaining audiences for over 35 years, first as a member of the reggae group I-Tal and then with the legendary First Light, before pursuing a solo career with his current group, the Peace, Love, Unity Syndicate (The P.L.U.S. Band). The group brings a brand of high-energy reggae to its shows.

Saturday, June 22

• Da Land Brass Band | 3 p.m.: The Da Land Brass Band was formed in 2016 under the leadership of William C. Washington, Kyle Sherepita, Nathan Hestley and Liam Smith. This versatile band features a modern take on New Orleans street bands with high-energy funk.
• Humbly Submitted | 4:15 p.m.: A group of gospel vocalists and musicians from a myriad of local worship assemblies in Cleveland, Humbly Submitted began its journey more than 30 years ago. The group has worked with gospel artists such as Shirley Caesar, Albertina Walker, John P. Kee, Kirk Franklin, BeBe Winans and many more.
• Ava Preston | 5:30 p.m.: Ava Preston, a 19-year-old singer and songwriter from Cleveland, performs a unique mix of jazz, blues, pop, rock and originals. She is an active singer in Northeast Ohio who received the bulk of her early training at the Tri-C Jazz Academy and is entering The Juilliard School as a master’s student.
• Bobby Selvaggio 11 | 6:45 p.m.: The Bobby Selvaggio 11 is a chamber jazz ensemble that focuses on his original music, featuring Theron Brown, Chris Coles, Tommy Lehman, Chris Anderson, Tony Spicer, Brad Wagner, Mark Russo, Zach Warren, Zaire Darden and Paul Thompson. Selvaggio’s most recent release, Stories, Dreams, Inspirations: For My Boy, is his 12th album as a leader.
• Chris Coles | 8 p.m.: Chris Coles has performed with many local and international jazz musicians and was an awardee of the Knight Arts Challenge in Akron. Coles is on the faculty at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Akron.
• Thomas Schinabeck Quintet With Special Guest Sean Jones | 9:15 p.m.: Thomas Schinabeck is an alumnus of the Tri-C JazzFest Academy and attends the Peabody Institute, studying with the likes of Sean Jones and Quincy Phillips. The band will play Schinabeck’s original compositions with some of the best musicians in Cleveland and his peers at Peabody.
• Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta | 10:30 p.m.: Sammy DeLeon is one of the most recognized Latin bandleaders in Northern Ohio. He plays the timbales, a twin set of metal-encased, single-headed drums with a cowbell and cymbal on the side. For the past decade, he has fronted Sammy DeLeon y su Orquesta, which plays a broad spectrum of dance music styles and has sustained a multicultural audience.

The performances on the outdoor main stage are made possible with support from The George Gund Foundation and SeibertKeck Insurance Partners. Coupled with shows on the William M. Weiss Foundation Next Gen Stage, which will feature performances from Tri-C students and alumni, Tri-C JazzFest’s outdoor entertainment will create nearly non-stop live music.

Other free outdoor activities at the festival include the GE Lighting, a Savant company Kids Corner; Jazz Kitchen with cooking demonstrations and artist interviews; food trucks and vendors; strolling musicians and street performers; games; and shopping.

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland also features nine ticketed concerts in Playhouse Square’s historic theaters. Learn more about the event on the Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland webpage.

Tri-C JazzFest Cleveland is made possible by KeyBank, Fran and Jules Belkin, The George Gund Foundation, The Roy Minoff Family Fund, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Ohio Arts Council, SeibertKeck Insurance Partners, Debbie and Jim Strassman, Margaret W. Wong & Associates LLC and a growing list of donors and vendors.

May 24, 2024

MEDIA CONTACT: Anthony Moujaes, 216-987-3068 or anthony.moujaes@tri-c.edu