Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages) This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (November 2018) (Learn how and when to remove this message) This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: What happened in 2018 to date (if anything)?. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival is a music festival in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that started in 1972 from the Ann Arbor Blues Festival,^[1] which itself began in 1969. Although the festival has had a tumultuous history and suspended operations in 2006, it was restarted in 2017.

Although started with the support of the University of Michigan, the Ann Arbor Blues and Jazz Festival became a volunteer non-profit 501(c) event. What began as an outdoor concert became a full weekend of blues and jazz events. In addition to the daytime festival, evenings offered a choice of indoor (seated) concerts and live jazz in a club setting. Before it ceased operations in 2006, the festival organization expanded to include activities for children, educational outreach programs, and a Meet the Artist program which gave the audience a chance to meet performers.

The festival has included musicians such as Art Ensemble of Chicago, Count Basie, Booker T. & the MG's, James Brown, Ray Charles, Ornette Coleman, Miles Davis, Dr. John, Al Green, Yusef Lateef, Taj Mahal, Maceo Parker, Sun Ra, Bonnie Raitt, Pharoah Sanders, Archie Shepp, and Cecil Taylor.