The Roots and two other Grammy winners will headline Atlanta Jazz Festival
Kamasi Washington, The Roots and PJ Morton will headline this year’s Atlanta Jazz Festival. The trio of Grammy winners are among over a dozen acts who will perform during the free three-day event that will take place May 23-25 at Piedmont Park.
Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, which hosts the festival, announced the star-studded lineup during an event at the Illuminarium on Tuesday night. There, city officials and festival organizers talked about the 49th annual iteration, along with inviting some acts to speak about performing at the event for the first time.
“We are living in a time where arts and culture, artistry, festivals, music is so essential,” Adriane Jefferson, director of the Mayor’s Office of Cultural Affairs, said. “It’s so important to bring people together. Bringing joy into our world is really key for our festivals to continue because our voices speak loud during a time when we really need to be deep and reflective. The Atlanta Jazz Festival provides that space.”
Jefferson said this year’s lineup represents the history and evolution of jazz music, adding that the bill of performers is a “full-circle moment.” The festival will kick off with an Atlanta native (rising blues-rock musician Buddy Red, who also is rapper T.I.’s eldest son) and will end with an artist whose career bloomed in the city (Morton, who attended Morehouse College).
Red will make his debut at the event on May 23, telling Tuesday’s crowd he couldn’t wait to “serve as another great example on that stage what it means to be from Atlanta.”
Morton, the festival’s closer, wasn’t at Tuesday’s event, but he’s among the lineup’s impressive offering of Grammy winners. Morton, also a keyboardist for pop-rock band Maroon 5, won best gospel album with Darrel Walls at this month’s Grammy Awards. Washington also won a Grammy this year in the record of the year category for co-producing Kendrick Lamar and SZA’s hit “Luther.”
Additional Grammy winners in the lineup include Esperanza Spalding, Nate Smith, and Christian McBride (playing with his band Ursa Major).
Other highlights include Aja Monet, Nicole Zuraitis, Destin Conrad, Cleveland P. Jones, Myron McKinley Trio, Donnie, Butcher Brown and Cody Matlock.
Five acts will perform each day.
Formed by former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson in 1978, the Atlanta Jazz Festival has evolved into one of the largest free public jazz and arts festivals in the country, with roughly 200,000 annual attendees. Last year’s fest included headliners Russell Gunn and Derrick Hodge.
“This was a way to celebrate the city’s cultural diversity and to make sure that we all enjoyed ourselves,” Mayor Andre Dickens said during Tuesday’s event, referencing the festival’s origins.
Dickens announced the lineup for the festival, which will be sponsored by the Atlanta Beltline, Bank of America and Design Essentials, a Black-owned haircare brand.
On May 22, the festival will host a pre-event celebration at Atlanta Symphony Hall to honor Miles Davis, who would’ve turned 100 this year.
About the Author
DeAsia is a music and culture reporter for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She focuses on the intersection of arts, culture and diverse communities, as well as how emerging social trends are being expressed through the lens of the Atlanta aesthetic. DeAsia's work can be seen in Pitchfork, Essence, Teen Vogue, Elle and more.
