Stellar line-up of musicians this weekend at the All-Canadian Jazz Festival in Port Hope

Celebrating its 15th year as an acclaimed showcase for the finest in Canadian jazz, the All-Canadian Jazz Festival is bringing a stellar line-up of top Canadian jazz/blues musicians to Port Hope this weekend (September 9 to 11, 2016).

Performances at the family-friendly tented outdoor festival in Port Hope’s Memorial Park take place on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon, Saturday evening, and Sunday afternoon.

The Friday evening concert is free, and tickets for Saturday and Sunday afternoons are $30 each ($10 for youth aged 12-17, free for children under 12). The Saturday evening headline concert is $50, and a weekend pass is available for $100.

Tickets are available at allcanadianjazz.ca.

The festival begins with a free concert at 7 p.m. on Friday night, featuring local young swamp boogey blues swing of The Quickshifters opening for Brass Transit, “Canada’s greatest tribute to the music of Chicago”. Festival organizers expect a huge crowd, so you’ll want to get there early (gates open at 5 p.m.).

Brass Transit

Saturday afternoon’s line-up includes jump/blues jazz band The Jive Bombers (12:15 p.m.), the flamenco soul of singer Amanda Martinez (1:30 p.m.), pop-up saxophone duo Kirk MacDonald and Pat LaBarbera with a tribute to John Coltrane (2:45 p.m.), and jazz/gospel/R&B vocal diva Dione Taylor (4 p.m.).

Amanda Martinez

Pat LaBarbera and Kirk MacDonald

Dione Taylor

On Saturday evening at 7 p.m., Peterborough native Chelsey Bennett opens for legendary pianist Oliver Jones, whose appearance in Port Hope will be the second-to-last gig on his Canadian farewell tour, and happens on the eve of his 82nd birthday.

Oliver Jones

Sunday afternoon opens with the return of the romping musical gumbo of Red Hot Ramble (12:30 p.m.), followed by sassy siren singer Tia Brazda (1:45 p.m.), then gifted pianist/composer Marianne Trudel with her Quartet featuring leading Canadian trumpeter Kevin Turcotte (3 p.m.), and ends with crowd favourites John MacLeod & the Rex Hotel Orchestra (4:15 p.m.).

Tia Brazda

Marianne Trudel

John MacLeod & the Rex Hotel Orchestra

Seating is available in the main performance tent, with picnic and patio tables set up throughout the park (seating is first-come, first-served). The performers in the main tent are visible with an unobstructed view from the area around the tent, so you can also bring your own lawn chairs. Pets are welcome, but smoking is not permitted.

But there’s more than just great jazz at the festival — there’s also great food and drink and prizes.

The festival has partnered with Cultivate Northumberland (which takes place from September 23rd to 25th in Port Hope) to offer festival patrons New Orleans style “jazz cookin'” — Jambalaya, Po Boys, and Gumbo — using ingredients grown close to home.

Snacks and lunch choices will also be available in the park, including gluten free and vegetarian options. Or you can get food and drink at one of the many nearby restaurants and cafes in downtown Port Hope (with your festival wristband, you can leave and re-enter Memorial Park as needed).

Reasonably priced drink tickets can be purchased at the park kiosk, or at the Beer and Wine Tent. The beverage selection will include wine recommended by “Billy’s Best Bottles”, Codrington’s Empire Cider, and Cobourg’s William Street Beer. Non-alcoholic beverages are available from the food vendors on the park.

There are also a couple of prize opportunities at the festival.

When you tweet or Instagram a photo of the festival with the hashtag #PoHoJazz (you can also tag @JazzPoHo on Twitter), it will appear on the live social media walls set up at the festival. If you post the best photo from the festival on Twitter or Instagram, you’ll win a portable electric piano.

You can also enter a lottery called Port Hope’s Community Chest and win one of two prize baskets filled with gift certificates from Port Hope’s local stores, restaurants, hotel and theatre. The “Eat/Play/Stay” basked is valued at $1,650, and the “Shop ‘Till You Drop” basket is valued at $2,000. Tickets are $5 each or $20 for five. Only 1,500 tickets are available, and the draw will be held just before the final performance on Sunday afternoon.

All photos courtesy of All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope.

A taste of the 2015 All-Canadian Jazz Festival Port Hope