The Lansing JazzFest is a free music festival

Music festival

A music festival is a festival oriented towards music that is sometimes presented with a theme such as musical genre, nationality or locality of musicians, or holiday. They are commonly held outdoors, and are often inclusive of other attractions such as food and merchandise vending machines,...

 that takes place each year in the summer in Lansing, Michigan

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 artists such as Marcus Belgrave

Marcus Belgrave

Marcus Belgrave is a jazz trumpet player from Detroit, born in Chester, Pennsylvania. He has recorded with a variety of famous musicians, bandleaders, and record labels since the 1950s. Notable among them are: Ray Charles, Charles Mingus, Gunther Schuller, Motown Records, Tribe Records, Blue Note...

, the Professors of Jazz at MSU

Michigan State University

Michigan State University is a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan, USA. Founded in 1855, it was the pioneer land-grant institution and served as a model for future land-grant colleges in the United States under the 1862 Morrill Act.MSU pioneered the studies of packaging,...

 (Rodney Whitaker, Randy Gelispie

Randy Gelispie

Randy "Uncle G" Gelispie is an American jazz percussionist, drummer, and educator.Born and Raised in Akron, Ohio, Randy Gelispie began playing drums at a young age. Gelispie is the instructor of jazz drums at the Michigan State University College of Music. He has been a professional jazz drummer...

, Diego Rivera

Diego Rivera

Diego María de la Concepción Juan Nepomuceno Estanislao de la Rivera y Barrientos Acosta y Rodríguez was a prominent Mexican painter born in Guanajuato, Guanajuato, an active communist, and husband of Frida Kahlo . His large wall works in fresco helped establish the Mexican Mural Movement in...

, Derrick Gardner

Burgess Gardner

Burgess Gardner is a noted jazz musician, educator, and composer. Born in 1936, he has played the trumpet with jazz legends such as Count Basie, Horace Silver, and Louie Bellson, Ray Charles; as of 2003, the Burgess Gardner Orchestra performed regularly in Chicago.He is particularly noted for hard...

, Sunny Wilkinson, and Rick Roe), Eric Reed

Eric Reed

Eric Shane Reed is a Major League Baseball outfielder who is currently a free agent. He is an alumnus of Texas A&M University...

, Michael Kaeshammer

Michael Kaeshammer

Michael Kaeshammer is a Canadian boogie-woogie pianist, vocalist, composer, and arranger.After studying classical piano for seven years in his German homeland, a 13-year-old Kaeshammer discovered boogie-woogie and stride piano as played by Albert Ammons, Meade Lux Lewis, Pete Johnson, Pinetop...

, Straight Ahead

Straight Ahead

Straight Ahead may refer to:* Straight-ahead jazz*Straight Ahead , 1961*Straight Ahead , 1961*Straight Ahead!, a 1964 The Goldebriars album*Straight Ahead , 1968...

, Don Phillips

Don Phillips

Donald David Phillips is a Canadian Anglican bishop who is the current the Bishop of Rupert's Land.Phillips was educated at the University of Western Ontario and ordained in 1981. He was at Lac La Biche, Alberta until 1984 and then priest in charge at St Thomas' Fort McMurray...

, Lisa Smith and Mike Skory, Sunrise II, Jazz Doggs, Tyrone Johnson, the Claudia Schmidt Quartet, Dick Fizzell & the Dixieland Express, Tim Cunningham, Francis Kofi, Betty Joplin, Sheila Landis, Ritmo

Ritmo

Ritmo is the title of the fifth by the British singer-songwriter Judie Tzuke, released in September 1983. The album peaked at no.26 in the UK.The album was Tzuke's second and final album to be released during her contract with Chrysalis Records...

, Patti Richards, Los Gatos, and more.

The festival welcomes nearly 15,000 attendees over the weekend.

Festival History

The Lansing JazzFest began in 1995 when the Old Town Business and Art Development Association, having successfully produced OctoberFest (now the Old Town BluesFest

Old Town BluesFest

The Old Town BluesFest is a free music festival that takes place each year in the early autumn in Lansing, Michigan. It showcases nationally, regionally, and locally known blues artists such as W. C. Clark, Grana' Louise, Byther Smith, Eddie Shaw and the Wolf Gang, A.C...

), discovered that music festivals are an excellent way to encourage people to visit and enjoy Old Town Lansing

Lansing, Michigan

Lansing is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located mostly in Ingham County, although small portions of the city extend into Eaton County. The 2010 Census places the city's population at 114,297, making it the fifth largest city in Michigan...

. The local jazz radio station

Radio station

Radio broadcasting is a one-way wireless transmission over radio waves intended to reach a wide audience. Stations can be linked in radio networks to broadcast a common radio format, either in broadcast syndication or simulcast or both...

, 89.7 WLNZ, signed on as a founding media sponsor, and Message Makers, a local media company, became its founding business sponsor. In the festival's early days, local musicians donated their time to play at JazzFest, and volunteers from the local community pitched in to see that the 4,000-5,000 people in attendance had a good time. The Lansing JazzFest is the only mid-Michigan festival to increase consistently in attendance every year since its beginning.