The Café Istanbul Nightfest is gearing up for a run of nighttime shows during Jazz Fest, including sets by Wil Blades, Donald Harrison Jr., Mike Clark, Bill Summers, Dave Malone, Camile Baudoin, Reggie Scanlan, Eric Bolivar, Nicholas Payton, James Singleton, Will Bernard, Mike Dillon, Aurora Nealand, Rex Gregory, Herlin Riley, Yusa, Kyle Roussel, Max Moran, and other world-class musicians.
For Radiators fans unable to make the band’s second weekend show, GATORATORS offers the next best thing. Dave Malone, Camile Baudoin, Reggie Scanlan, Mitch Stein, and Eric Bolivar played their first-ever GATORATORS show ten years ago during Jazz Fest, and are throwing a tenth-anniversary show on Friday, April 29th. Every GATORATORS show features a variety of Radiators classics and other musical nuggets, and this anniversary party should provide some extra-special surprises.
In addition to the stellar musicians mentioned above, Café Istanbul will host the Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey reunion. JFJO hasn’t played together in many years, but they will reunite for an ultra-exclusive one-night-only reunion on May 1st. Brian Haas, Reed Mathis, and Jason Smart—the original Jacob Fred Jazz Odyssey Trio—are looking forward to an evening full of musical exploration, and the intimacy of Café Istanbul should guarantee that this is a show that’s truly not to be missed.
On May 6th and 7th, Café Istanbul will host the annual two-night AXIAL TILT Grateful Dead Celebration, which this year features most of Dark Star Orchestra (guitarists Jeff Mattson and Rob Eaton, vocalist Lisa Mackey, and bassist Skip Vangelas) plus keyboardist Mitch Stein (GATORATORS, Cryptical), drummer Jay Lane (Ratdog, Bob Weir & Wolf Bros) and The String Cheese Incident percussionist Jason Hann (plus some special guests). Each five-hour AXIAL TILT features one acoustic and two electric sets of Grateful Dead music per night, with no songs repeated between nights. For Deadheads or anyone looking to see what the fuss is all about, AXIAL TILT provides the ideal immersive experience performed by some of the most well-respected Grateful Dead tribute artists in the world.
The Café Istanbul Nightfest begins on April 28th and runs through May 8th. For more information about Café Istanbul Nightfest shows and to purchase tickets, click here.