I don't know if was an attempt at musical synergy, or the result of poor communication, but this weekend downtown will host both the 29th Annual Flint Jazz Festival and the 2nd Annual Flint Blues Festival. The Jazz Festival has held a long established place in the "Flint Parade of Festivals" and will take place in Riverbank Park today, tomorrow, and Sunday. The Blues Festival will take place only on Saturday in the cultural center.
I have been to Jazz Festival many times in the past, and I have always enjoyed relaxing by the river while listening to some pretty impressive acts (and wondering how they managed to get a grand piano over the canals and onto the ampitheatre stage.) This event is free, and there are usually plenty of street vendors nearby if you don't want to miss a single strum of the bass while grabbing a bite to eat.
I did not, however manage to make it to the Blues Festival last year, however it does have the hefty sponsorship of The C.S. Mott Foundation and Budweiser. Tickets are 15 dollars "at the door" but the whole event is a scholorship fundraiser for the Valley Academy. There also seems to be an accompanying downtown pub crawl on Saturday evening.
As downtown gears up for the heavy onset of August weekend visitors, a little music might be just what we need.
For more information on the acts and on the fesivals themselves, use the links at the top of the post, and happy listening!
I went to the Jazz shows on Saturday and Sunday. Good crowd and a lot of fun. some of my co-workers thought I was crazy for heading downtown during the weekend. But I let them know what was up.
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