Elkhart Jazz Festival

It's the Elkhart Jazz Festival – one of the premier jazz festivals in the country – where you’ll enjoy three days of phenomenal jazz in a cozy downtown-campus setting.

More than 100 world-class jazz artists!Six unique stages within easy walking distance; enjoy the freedom to wander from stage to stage throughout the sessions – or just plant yourself in the presence of jazz greatness and soak it in. Four jam-packed sessions and 90+ sets over the 3-day festival.Ticket packages for single-session or all-session admission.Small-town intimacy with big-city flair.

History:

Since 1988, jazz legends and jazz fans have come together each summer for one memorable weekend at the Elkhart Jazz Festival. Combining warm, intimate, small town hospitality with the excitement of big city jazz, the Elkhart Jazz Festival has become an internationally acclaimed event --and truly the place "where jazz lovers meet jazz legends."

During its inaugural weekend in 1988, the festival welcomed 67 musicians and 3,000 jazz enthusiasts. Today, the festival showcases more than 150 performers and draws an audience of 25,000 to our community celebration of America's classic art form - jazz

Playing a crucial supporting role in the festival are the numerous corporate sponsors, the City of Elkhart and its Genesis Program, loyal patrons and other benefactors. In addition, many of the instruments featured during the festival are provided courtesy of area musical instrument manufacturers, such as Ludwig Drums, Conn-Selmer Musical Instruments, and Shirk's Piano. Popularly known as the Band Instrument Capital of the World, Elkhart's companies employ nearly 2,000 skilled craftspersons in the production of instruments that give voice to music.

The Elkhart Jazz Festival is perhaps the only volunteer-delivered jazz festival in the nation. And it's only one reason that Elkhart is known as "The City with a Heart."