[UPDATE 6/23/21]: Organizers at Newport Jazz Festival have announced an alteration to the 2021 lineup with Kamasi Washington subbing in for Wynton Marsalis on Friday, July 30th.
“Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond my control I, regretfully, will be unable to perform at Newport Jazz this year,” Marsalis wrote in a statement. “I was looking forward to returning to Newport once again and am disappointed that I cannot be with you. Best wishes for a successful weekend of great jazz!”
The rest of the lineup for Newport Jazz Festival, which will occur July 30th through August 1st at Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI, remains unaltered. Tickets are on sale here.
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[6/2/21]: Newport Jazz Festival has revealed the lineup for its 2021 event set to take place from July 30th through August 1st at its longtime home of Fort Adams State Park in Newport, RI.
Newport Jazz Festival, among the oldest and longest-running festivals in the U.S., will celebrate its return this summer following its cancellation—along with the cancellation of its sister event, Newport Folk Festival—in 2020.
The 2021 edition of Newport Jazz Festival features Artist in Residence Robert Glasper on all three days and Newport Jazz Artistic Director Christian McBride both as a featured performer and in the Jam Jawn supergroup with John Scofield, Marco Benevento, and Joe Russo.
The rest of the lineup is similarly stacked with star power including Wynton Marsalis, Oscar-nominated Andra Day, Mavis Staples, and Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue.
Other artists set to appear at Newport Jazz 2021 include Makaya McCraven, Khruangbin, Cory Wong, Bogie Band, and more. Of note, the four-time Grammy-nominated Yola will perform a set, making her just the sixth artist in the festival’s 60-year history to play both Newport Jazz and Newport Folk.
As festival organizers explained regarding health and safety protocols for this year’s event,
At the moment, it’s too early to publish our safety protocols in full detail. The conditions of the pandemic are evolving daily and trending in a positive direction. The safety of our fans, artists, staff, vendors and volunteers remains our top priority. We will communicate and publish detailed protocols as the event date gets closer so you know exactly what to expect. For now, please note that you will most likely be subject to certain health protocols required at the time of the event that include proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test, temperature checks, social distancing and mask-wearing.
The event, presented by the Newport Festivals Foundation, typically relies on the revenue from the two summer festivals to carry out its work supporting music programs in the community and across the country. Thanks to the generous donations of Newport Festivals fans and donors, that mission was able to successfully continue in 2020 despite the events’ cancellations.
In addition to its year-round work and in response to the pandemic, the foundation established the Newport Festivals Musician Relief Fund (MRF) to provide financial relief to musicians in our Folk & Jazz communities experiencing a loss of income as a result of COVID-19. Resources from NFF and donations from individuals, foundations, and corporations have allowed the MRF to help over 450 musicians since April 1st, 2020. To learn more about NFF’s programs and work, click here.
Three-day and single-day tickets for Newport Jazz Festival 2021 will go on sale on Thursday, June 2rd at 11:00 a.m. ET here. For more information, head to the Newport Jazz Festival website.
Click below to check out the full 2021 Newport Jazz Festival lineup by day.
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