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PEEKSKILL, N.Y. -- Peekskill's Business Improvement District (BID) has released a full schedule for Saturdays Sixth Annual Jazz & Blues Festival.
The festival attracts thousands of people from across the tri-state area and has become one of Westchester's premiere summer musical and creative events. The free outdoor concert and fair will run from 1 to 10 p.m. at the intersection of Central Avenue and North Division Street.
The streets will be closed to traffic for the duration of the event, turning downtown Peekskill into a pedestrian paradise.
The day starts with the Jazz and Blues Brunch from 1 to 4 p.m. with the best local music at restaurants around town. Festival-goers can sample the food and refreshments at the following venues:
- Division Street Grill - Alexis Cole & Richard Sussman
- 12 Grapes - Acoustic Blues
- Nellie's Café - Bakklash
- Peekskill Brewery - Jazz Trio: Danny Rab, Larry Gelb and Cameron Brown
- The Peekskill Coffee House - Danny Rab & Friends
- The Birdsall House - The Flynns
- The Beanrunner Café - Annette A. Aguilar & the Stringbeans
The main stage schedule is as follows:
- 4 p.m. Nation Beat featuring Liliana Araujo: The American/Brazilian collective Nation Beat plays a 21st Century mash-up inspired by Brazilian maracatu drumming, New Orleans second line rhythms, funk and country-blues. They're the first American group to record in Brazil with the legendary Mestre Walter and Maracatu Nação Estrela Brilhante - and the first Brazilian band to perform with Willie Nelson, who called Nation Beat "just a fantastic group."
- 5:30 p.m. The Marc Cary Focus Trio: Pianist, keyboardist and composer Marc Cary has been hailed by Down Beat as one of the most, "multi-dimensional keyboard players on the scene today." Cary's continual search for his musical identity has brought him to all corners of the Earth. A member of the High Integrity Band and later connected with Let Um Play and the Frontline Jazz Ensemble, Cary was among the pioneers of Washington, D.C.'s infamous "GO-GO" scene, which defined that musical genre.
- 7 p.m. Lakecia Benjamin & Soul Squad featuring Lakecia Benjamin: Saxophonist to the Stars saxophonist/bandleader Lakecia Benjamin takes center stage in her own right with her brand of irresistible original jazz-tinged funk and R&B. On her debut album, RETOX, which she released in June, Benjamin shows off her purist jazz resume with a deep, kaleidoscopic and ingeniously arranged mix of original old school soul and funk songs.
- 8:30 p.m. Ascensión featuring Bobby Sanabria (Headliner): Bobby Sanabria - drummer, percussionist, composer, arranger, recording artist, producer, filmmaker, conductor, educator, multi-cultural warrior and multiple Grammy nominee - has performed with a veritable Who's Who in the world of jazz and Latin music, as well as with his own critically acclaimed ensembles. Sanabrias diverse recording and performing experience includes work with such legendary figures as Dizzy Gillespie, Tito Puente, Paquito D'Rivera, Charles McPherson, Mongo Santamaría, Ray Barretto, Marco Rizo, Arturo Sandoval, Roswell Rudd, Chico O'Farrill, Candido, Yomo Toro, Francisco Aguabella, Larry Harlow, Henry Threadgill and the Godfather of Afro-Cuban Jazz, Mario Bauzá. Sanabria has been featured on numerous Grammy-nominated albums, including The Mambo Kings and other movie soundtracks, as well as numerous television and radio work.
The craft alley will be held at 1 p.m. at Sundown Park and the festival food court will be held from 1 to 10 p.m. on S. Division Street.
All parking in downtown on the streets and public garages is free on the weekends. Please see the map on the festival website for all public parking close to the festival.
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