Five Points Jazz Festival returns for its 16th year May 19-20, bringing with it the familiar sounds and sights celebrating the Harlem of the West.
This year 10 stages will host more than 45 bands, while the streets and local institutions are filled with food, drinks, art, film screenings, jam sessions, face painting and kids activities.
As always, the festival will take time to honor people for their contributions to the culture and economy of Five Points. This year, honorees include Norman Harris III, who led the rejuvenation of Denver’s annual Juneteenth celebration and has been working with the Five Points Jazz Festival since 2013, Lu Vason whose career included everything from hair styling to concert promotion and establishing the only African American touring rodeo in the U.S. in 1984, and Jeff S. Fard, who founded Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center and is the publisher and editor of Five Points News.
Festivites kick off at 11 a.m. that Saturday with a parade down Welton Street led by Wende Harston and Jim “Daddio” Walker.
The festival held strong in the face of beer-branded, national act-boasting competition over the past couple of years. On its 15th birthday last year, the festival was still growing, despite fears from locals that Project Pabst Denver setting up its own music festival just seven blocks away would be a blow to attendance.
“This is my third year planning the festival, and the first year planning would have been 2014, and we were the only thing going on that weekend,” Brooke Dilling, Denver Arts & Venues’ special events coordinator and lead organizer of Five Points Jazz Fest, said last year. “Now there’s the Pabst fest down on Larimer and a couple other things going on, and I think that’s a testament to how much Denver is growing. I think it helps us because it drives more people to our festival.”
Project Pabst won't be back this year, but you can read more about that and the history of Five Points Jazz Festival here.
And here's the whole schedule:
Main Stage, 29th and Welton streets
11 a.m.-noon – Dinosaurchestra
11:15 a.m. - Five Points Jazz Festival Tribute Award presentation, Norman Harris III
12:30-1:30 p.m. – Crescent City Connection
1:40-1:55 p.m. – Montbello High School Drumline
2-3 p.m. – William and the Romantics
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Hazel Miller Band
4 p.m. - Five Points Jazz Festival Tribute Award presentation, Lu Vason
5-6 p.m. – Maria Ho Quintet with Richie Cole
6:30-7:30 p.m. – Jakarta
Plaza Stage, 2736 Welton St.
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Red Hot Rhythm Rocket
1-2 p.m. – Robert Johnson and the Mark Diamond Trio
2:30-3:30 p.m.– Leon and the Revival
5:30-6:30 p.m. – The King Stan Band
Arts & Venues Stage, 26th and Welton streets
noon-1 p.m. – Denver Jazz Heritage Orchestra
1:30-2:30 p.m. – Jazz Arts Voices and DSA Vocal Jazz
3-4 p.m. – Ginga
4:30-5:30 p.m. – Fluxus
5 p.m. - Five Points Jazz Festival Tribute Award presentation, Brother Jeff Fard
6-7 p.m. – Impulse
The Roxy, 2549 Welton St.
12:45-1:45 p.m. – Tina Phillips
2:30-3:30 p.m. – Gregory Goodloe Quintet
4:15-5:15 p.m. – Southside Jazz Project
6-7 p.m. – Bob Montgomery/Al Hermann/Josh Quinlan Sextet
Coffee at The Point Indoor Stage, 710 E. 26th Ave.
11 a.m.-noon – The Connor Terrones Jazz Ensemble
1-2 p.m. – Polarity
3-4 p.m. – Spencer Zweifel Trio
5-6 p.m. – Miguel Espinoza Flamenco Jazz
7-8 p.m. – Dana Landry Quartet
9-10 p.m. – Carmen Sandim Septet
Coffee at The Point Outdoor Stage, 710 E. 26th Ave.
Noon-1 p.m. – Unconventional Wisdom
2-3 p.m. – Royal Street Ramblers
3-3:20 p.m. – Montbello High School Drumline
4-5 p.m. – Hines Devine Jazz
6-7 p.m. – Latitude Experience
8-9 p.m. – The Hendersons
Cervantes – 2637 Welton St.
noon-1 p.m. – Joe Anderies Beyond Borders
2-3 p.m. – Bucknerfunkenjazz
Blair Caldwell African American Research Library, 2401 Welton St.
11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. – Sheryl Renee
12:30 p.m. - screening of "Lady Day: The Many Faces of Billie Holiday"
1:30-2:30 p.m. – Yo Momma
2:30 p.m. - screening of "The Count Basie: Swingin' the Blues"
3:30-4:30 p.m. – Quincy Avenue Rhythm Band
715 Club, 715 E. 26th Ave.
1:15-2:15 p.m. – Matt Skellenger Group
4:45-5:45 p.m. – M Squared
6:30-7:30 p.m. – Paul Mullikin Trio with Strings
8:15-9:15 p.m. – Patrick McDevitt Nation
Goed Zuur, 2018 Welton St.
7-10:30 p.m. – Gumbo le Funque
11 p.m. - 1:30 a.m. – Half Pint and the Growlers
The Joe Bonner Legacy Jam Session at Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center, 2836 Welton St.
1-6 p.m. Featuring Tom Tilton, Vince Wiggins, Carl Jackson and open to all musicians.
