Well… here we go! We announced the 2008 Groove-FM Jazz Winnipeg Festival yesterday. We’ve got tons of great music lined up for this year - not that I'm at all biased.
One of the things I’m most excited about is our newly configured Late Nite Series program at the Exchange Event Centre. There you will be able to hear up to four sensational jazz groups perform nightly. The idea is to build audiences for new and different jazz groups that you may not have heard of before. On June 21 for instance, maybe you’ll go in to check out the lovely and talented Jodie Borle but stick around and discover Melissa Stylianou or the legendary Andy Bey . Recent Juno Award-winner Chris Tarry, Elizabeth Shepherd and Winnipeg ex-pat Zen Zadravec are all playing alongside some of the best jazz talent Winnipeg has to offer.
The idea is to give artists and audiences alike the chance to hear and see different things. We’re also encouraging festival artists to wind up each evening with a jam session. Obviously, I'll be talking some more about the artists we've got coming up in the coming weeks.
And make sure you spend some time on our terrific new website put together by our good friends and neighbours at the Mars Hill Group. On it, you'll find streaming audio and video, the Uptown Download of the Week and lots more.
