Plans announced for Jazz & Beyond festival

Sixty performances with more than 100 musicians are slated at this year’s Jazz & Beyond Carson City Music Festival on Aug. 1-17.

The festival, which began in 2004, is presented by the Mile High Jazz Band Association. It offers a variety of acts, including jazz, bluegrass, blues and mariachi. Sunday afternoon concerts are held at the grounds of the Legislature and are expected to attract large crowds. Other events include free concerts at Carson Mall, Comma Courtyard and other locations around downtown Carson City.

“Jazz & Beyond is a homegrown event that celebrates the talent of our region and relies on many local citizens who donate their time and effort,” said committee co-chair David Bugli, who is president of the Mile High Jazz Band Association. “Volunteers, sponsors, and advertisers help us make the event one of the best in the area and keep most performances admission free.”

The Nevada Sesquicentennial Fair will run from July 30 through Aug. 3 in Fuji Park. Festival organizers are lining up talent for the fair’s Jazz Day on Saturday, Aug. 2. Free concerts will be presented by Slide Mountain Band, Reno Video Game Symphony-Tantalus, Lynne Colvig Quartet, the Reno Jazz Orchestra and the St. Christopher Project in Fuji Park.

Other musical acts scheduled to perform during the festival are A Little Latin, Back Forty, Beatles Flashback, Buddy Emmer Blues Band, CeCe Gable and the DG Kicks Combo, Impromptu, Jackie Landrum Quartet, the Jazz Guys, Me and Bobby McGee, Mile High Jazz Band, Millennium Bugs, New West Guitar Trio, No Comprende, Sloe Djinn Fez and Take This. Several musical performances presented by local restaurants and other venues will also be listed in the festival schedule. Free concerts are planned on two Sundays, Aug. 10 and 17, at the Legislative Plaza.

Two paid-admission events are planned — a garden party with Corky Bennett Trio on Aug. 1 at the Governor’s Mansion and a speakeasy swing dance with Brass Knuckles on Aug. 9 at the Brewery Arts Center’s Grand Ballroom.

Festival sponsors are Mile High Jazz Band Association, Carson City, For the Love of Jazz and private donors. Organizers seek additional sponsors so they can add more free concerts and events.

Performance times and other details will be posted at JazzCarsonCity.com as they are confirmed. To sponsor or for more information, call Bugli at 775-883-4154.