Charlotte Jazz Festival Kicks Off Today!

April is national Jazz Appreciation Month and there’s still time to recognize and celebrate the extraordinary heritage and history of jazz in North Carolina with the Charlotte Jazz Festival that kicks-off today.

Scheduled in Uptown Charlotte, the week-long event features Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis, Broadway songstress Patina Miller with a tribute to Nina Simone, dynamic performances at The Jazz Garden Tent at Romare Bearden Park and free jazz concerts all week long.

Events run through Saturday, May 4 and kicks off Charlotte SHOUT, a celebration of art, music, food and ideas that runs to Saturday, May 11. This is the grand finale of CLT250, the celebration of Charlotte’s 250th anniversary, so pack your bags and head to the Queen City.

With more than 75 events on tap now through May 11, many of them free, there’s no planning and no reservations!

Spend your lunch at the Jazz Pavilion on the Levine Center for the Arts plaza for a free concert featuring some of Charlotte’s best jazz artists plus some special guests daily. Food trucks will be on site. Concerts run from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 a.m. and include: Airstream (alternative jazz) on Tuesday; Ariel Pocock Quartet (classic soul jazz) on Wednesday; Shrimp and Grits (modern jazz) on Thursday and Pharez Whitted Group (straight ahead/modern jazz) on Friday.

Another free opportunity to experience amazing music is Jazz at the Pavilion on the Levine Center for the Arts plaza on Thursday and Friday night at 5:30 and 7 p.m. and all-day Saturday! From 1 p.m. to 9 p.m. Click here for the artist line up

Late Night Jams are scheduled in the Knight Underground, the speakeasy-themed hideaway located below the Knight Theater! Musicians performing as part of the Charlotte Jazz Festival will keep the jazz going late into the night. These fan-favorite jam sessions are high-energy, totally improvised and the perfect nightcap. Here's an itinerary to explore the music scene in Charlotte.