18th ANNUAL SUMMER SOLSTICE JAZZ FESTIVAL Features Neil Gordon Quartet, Benny Benack III and More This Weekend

The 18th Annual Summer Solstice Jazz Festival (SSJF) will make its way to downtown East Lansing this weekend, June 20-21, featuring a high-caliber ensemble of local, regional and national jazz performers.

The festival is presented by the City of East Lansing, Wharton Center for Performing Arts and the MSU College of Music, with artistic direction by Rodney Whitaker.

This free-to-the-community festival is centered around a large tent located in the heart of downtown East Lansing in Parking Lot 1, 230 Albert Ave., and Ann Street Plaza, located on the northwest corner of the Albert-M.A.C. intersection.

New this year to the SSJF is the Kozmic Picnik, an opportunity for concert goers to pack a picnic lunch and appreciate avant-garde jazz in the Broad Art Museum Sculpture Garden. Immediately following will be a New Orleans-style Second Line Parade where everyone is invited to participate in a brass band processional to the Ann Street Plaza. The SSJF also features main stage performances, the Jazz Kids children's activity area, onsite food, jazz cafes, the MSU Outreach and Engagement Education Stage, and AfterGlow performances.

Visit www.eljazzfest.com for more information. The full lineup of performances follows.

TODAY, JUNE 20

Main Stage (Lot 1, 230 Albert Ave.)

4:30 p.m. Neil Gordon Quartet
6:00 p.m. Benny Benack III
7:30 p.m. Cecile McLorin Salvant
9:15 p.m. Orquesta Ritmo

MSU Educational Stage (Ann Street Plaza)

5:30-8:00 p.m. MSU Community Music School Jazz Orchestra
8:00 p.m. Thornetta Davis

AfterGlow (Peppino's, 213 Ann St.)

10:45 p.m. Layers: LCC Jazz Faculty Quartet

SATURDAY, JUNE 21

Kozmic Picnik (Broad Art Museum Sculpture Garden, 547 East Circle Drive)

Bring a picnic basket and enjoy a tribute to avante garde jazz artist Sun Ra
1:00 p.m. Planet D Nonet

Second Line Parade (Procession from Sculpture Garden to Ann Street Plaza)

The second-line parade is a New Orleans tradition where participants follow the grand marshal and brass band while dancing, handing out beads and twirling parasols. The entire community is invited! Costumes are encouraged!
2:30 pm Lowdown Brass Band

MSU Educational Stage (Ann Street Plaza)

3:30 p.m. JAMM Scholarship Quartet with James Heinlein
5:00 p.m. LCC Jazz Band
6:30 p.m. East Lansing High School Jazz Band
8:00 p.m. Root Doctor

Main Stage (Lot 1, 230 Albert Ave.)

4:30 p.m. Sunny Wilkinson
6:00 p.m. Diego Rivera Quartet
7:30 p.m. U.S. Air Force Airmen of Note
9:15 p.m. Aguanko

AfterGlow (Peppino's, 213 Ann St.)

10:45 p.m. Michael Dease Big Band

Photo Credit: Summer Solstice Jazz Festival