The Return of the Jazz Age, the Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival

Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival

November 4-15, 2022

Escape to Annapolis this fall for the Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival. Celebrate the Sounds of New Orleans with GEORJAZZ; experience the best of Flamenco Jazz, Pop & Rock with the Juanito Pascqual Trio; sing along to Chesapeake Bay Songs & Sea Chanteys, and so much more! Stay in historic downtown Annapolis or book a local short-term rental for two weekends of culture, history, and, best of all - jazz and live music!

Michael Joseph Harris plays a guitar on stage (man in a black and white photo with a beard and wearing a hat)

Michael Joseph Harris of Hot Club Baltimore is a featured festival performer.

Image courtesy of Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival.

History

The greater Annapolis area was once known as a Jazz and Rhythm & Blues stronghold with concerts at resorts such as Carr's and Sparrow's beaches from 1926-1974. Thanks to visionary developer Paul Pearson, who died in 2001, the King of France Tavern in the Historic Maryland Inn was a nationally prominent venue. Just a few blocks away, St. John's College was the home of the Annapolis Jazz Festival, and iconic guitarist Charlie Byrd served as artistic director until 1996.

The Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival will take place in Eastport, "the Left Bank of Annapolis," for this year's concerts. Building on this iconic history, a team of local leaders, including Mayor Gavin Buckley and Executive Director of the festival, Paulina Phillips, have revived this popular live music tradition to the delight of music lovers across the region. With an impressive slate of world-class international and regional artists, the festival will extend incrementally into downtown Annapolis in subsequent years.

The Venues

The Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival will be spread over the first two weekends of November in Historic Eastport for the festival's inaugural year. Enjoy Gypsy Jazz & Swing at the Peerless Rens or a lecture at the Eastport-Annapolis Neck Library. St. Luke's Episcopal Church and Eastport United Methodist Church will also act as concert venues for the festival.

Artists

While you may come for the music, you should also make time to stay for the lectures. In addition to musicians Michael Joseph Harris and Renée Collins Georges, you will also be dazzled by the lectures from Vince Leggett and Jessica Floyd, Ph.D. Reservations are required for all performances and lectures, but many of the offerings are free and family-friendly. Scroll for a list of events and to register.