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San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021 Updates
August 13, 2021 - August 15, 2021
San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021 is proud to announce the addition of an array of new artists including Common, Goapele, James Francies, Kandace Springs, Christian Sands, Helen Sung Quartet, Jamie Baum Septet+, Sarah McKenzie, Jazz Organ Fellowship Tribute to Doug Carn, New West Guitar Trio with Leah Zeger, Mimi Fox B3 Trio, SJZ Collective, Tony Lindsay Ray Charles Project, Claudia Villela and Roberto Lumbambo, The Futurelics, Idiot Fish, and in collaboration with Mosaic America, San Jose Jazz co-presents George Brooks & Arjun Verma. These acts join the already announced marquee artists including Morris Day and The Time, Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra, Superblue: Kurt Elling Featuring Charlie Hunter, Judith Hill, Ozomatli, The Motet, Butcher Brown, Shamarr Allen, 7th Street Big Band, and Bloco do Sol.
Adobe Fountain Blues Stage artists will also include Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, Sons of the Soul Revivers, Chris Cain Band, Junior Watson Band, Sonny Green & Tia Carroll w/ The Greaseland Allstars, Gary Smith & The House Rockers, and Delgado Brothers.
31st SAN JOSE JAZZ SUMMER FEST
Friday, August 13 – Sunday, August 15, 2021
Plaza de César Chavez Park, Downtown San Jose, Calif.
Event Info: summerfest.sanjosejazz.org
Silicon Valley’s Premier Music Event
Returns to Downtown San Jose with An Electrifying Artist Lineup
For One of the Summer’s Major Bay Area Music Festivals
Tickets On Sale Now
(Tickets: $35 – $190/Day; $105 – $470/3-Day Passes)
San Jose, Calif. — Silicon Valley’s premier annual music event, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021 announces today its Saturday, August 14 headliner on The Sobrato Organization Main Stage the Academy Award, Emmy & GRAMMY-Winning artist, actor, author, and activist Common. An extraordinary musical force and visionary social justice advocate, Common performs live in San Jose following the release of his latest album, A BEAUTIFUL REVOLUTION Part 1 (Loma Vista Recordings). A recent track off the album, “A Place In This World,” was used as part of Michelle Obama’s “When We All Vote” campaign encouraging Americans to get out and vote in the 2020 election.
In addition to an acclaimed musical career, Common has appeared in numerous films including AVA (with Colin Farrell and Jessica Chastain), THE INFORMER (with Joel Kinnaman and Rosamund Pike), ALICE (with Keke Palmer and Jonny Lee Miller), and EL TONTO (with Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody and Jason Sudeikis). Common’s 2019 hit album LET LOVE was inspired by his work and experiences while writing his second memoir, LET LOVE HAVE THE LAST WORD, which was quickly deemed a New York Times best seller in its first week of release.
With over 45 acts across seven stages, San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021 returns for its 31st festival season from Friday, August 13 through Sunday, August 15 in and around Plaza de César Chavez Park in downtown San Jose, Calif. San Jose Jazz presents a Summer Fest artist lineup just as riveting as ever before for one of the summer’s first major San Francisco Bay Area outdoor music festivals. San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021 is proud to announce today the addition of an array of new artists including Common, Goapele, James Francies, Kandace Springs, Christian Sands, Helen Sung Quartet, Jamie Baum Septet+, Sarah McKenzie, Jazz Organ Fellowship Tribute to Doug Carn, New West Guitar Trio with Leah Zeger, Mimi Fox B3 Trio, SJZ Collective, Tony Lindsay Ray Charles Project, Claudia Villela and Roberto Lumbambo, The Futurelics, Idiot Fish, and in collaboration with Mosaic America, San Jose Jazz co-presents George Brooks & Arjun Verma. These acts join the already announced marquee artists including Morris Day and The Time, Pete Escovedo Latin Jazz Orchestra, Superblue: Kurt Elling Featuring Charlie Hunter, Judith Hill, Ozomatli, The Motet, Butcher Brown, Shamarr Allen, 7th Street Big Band, and Bloco do Sol.
San Jose Jazz steps forward to help bring the city of San Jose back to life and rebuild its inclusive community through cultural collaborations with many longstanding partners of San Jose Jazz Summer Fest 2021. For the first time, the Fountain Blues Foundation, in collaboration with Jay Meduri of the legendary South Bay venue Poor House Bistro, will book and host a dedicated stage at SJZ Summer Fest 2021 featuring blues and New Orleans acts on the new Adobe Fountain Blues Stagelocated in the South portion of Plaza de César Chavez Park. Acts at the SJZ Summer Fest 2021 include Shamarr Allen & The Underdawgs, Sons of the Soul Revivers, Chris Cain Band, Junior Watson Band, Sonny Green & Tia Carroll w/ The Greaseland Allstars, Gary Smith & The House Rockers, and Delgado Brothers.
“We now have a bigger stage, in the shade, and it will make a much better presentation,” says Bob Gonzalez, Board President, Fountain Blues Foundation, producers of the San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival. “We’re pleased to be working with San Jose Jazz on making this year’s Fest a success.”
Sobrato Organization Main Stage and Adobe Fountain Blues Stage will be located at the epicenter of SJZ Summer Fest 2021 in Plaza de César Chavez Park with additional shows presented on the Montgomery Theater Stage, Hammer Theatre Stage, San Jose Museum of Art Stage, CEFCU Salsa Stage, and SJZ Break Room Stage. Additional local curatorial and performance partners include Mosaic America, Bloco do Sol, Jazz Organ Fellowship, and Universal Grammar. A Jazz Mass at Cathedral Basilica of St. Joseph will take place on Saturday, August 14 and Sunday, August 15, 2021.
San Jose Jazz also partners with Team San Jose and hotel concierges to feature sets by live jazz bands in lobbies across downtown from August 13 – 15. Book rooms now to get incredible rates ranging from $109 – $199 at hotels on or near the Fest grounds including at Westin San Jose (Sainte Claire), San Jose Marriott, Hilton San Jose, Hotel De Anza, AC by Marriott San Jose, Hotel Clariana, DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose, SpringHill Suites by Marriott San Jose Airport, and Hyatt Place San Jose. For information on hotel deals, please visit: summerfest.sanjosejazz.org/festival-info/hotel-deals
“We are happy that San Jose Jazz Summer Fest is returning events and music to our city,” says John LaFortune, President and CEO of Visit San Jose. “We welcome all visitors to support musicians, our community, and our local businesses across the festival weekend to experience Downtown and all our unique neighborhoods that are always alive with music.”
Arts and cultural programmers are the heartbeat of renewal and restoration efforts following the COVID-19 pandemic and San Jose Jazz remains a leading Bay Area institution preserving downtown San Jose as an exciting hub for arts and entertainment while adhering to all Santa Clara County COVID-19 protocols. Don’t miss out on the return of their beloved festival in the heart of Silicon Valley.
Sponsors for the SJZ Summer Fest 2021 include The Sobrato Organization, Adobe, Gordon Biersch, Google, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, CEFCU, Jay Paul Company, Urban Catalyst, Miro, Heritage Bank, UA Local 393, and media partners DownBeat magazine and KCSM Jazz 91.
General Admission, Priority Access, and VIP tickets range from $35 – $190/Day; and $105 – $470/3-Day Passes. To purchase tickets, please visit: summerfest.sanjosejazz.org
About San Jose Jazz
Founded in 1986, San Jose Jazz is a public benefit organization celebrating jazz as a dynamic, evolving art form and is producer of the annual San Jose Jazz Summer Fest and Winter Fest. San Jose Jazz innovates trend-setting initiatives to foster artistic ingenuity and preserve the jazz tradition as a forward-thinking movement. Through diverse music and educational programming, San Jose Jazz offers singular content and events by investing in the SF Bay Area ecosystem of exceptional talent for local and national audiences to enjoy.
For more information, please visit sanjosejazz.org.
About The Fountain Blues Foundation
In 1981, San Jose State University Associated Students wanted to do a Free-of-Charge show to repay their fans for their support during the year. After a sold-out concert at the San Jose Civic Auditorium that Spring with headliner Charlie Musselwhite, the SJSU board of directors decided on a blues festival format for the following year. Directed by their fierce leader and Fountain Blues Festival founder — the late, great Ted Gehrke – John Lee Hooker and the Coast-to-Coast Blues Band were hired to headline in 1982, with over 2,500 people, putting the Fountain Blues Festival on the National map for good. Gehrke and his devoted fans, volunteers and supporters helped bring such legends as Etta James, Buddy Guy, Robert Cray, Bo Diddley, Koko Taylor, Betty Lavette — and countless others over the past 38 years.
The Fountain Blues Foundation is organized to preserve and promote blues music. Preservation activities take a variety of forms, including live performances, broadcasts, lectures, and community education about the history of the blues, culminating in the annual San Jose Fountain Blues & Brews Festival.
The Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, supports blues musicians by facilitating live performances of blues music by seasoned and emerging artists; providing programs to expose and promote blues music to the broader music community; providing education for musicians, including mentorships and music industry experiences that promote professional artistic exchange; partnering with local venues and merchants to promote a community that supports the blues art form.