Chicago Jazz Festival -- Friday

The Chicago Jazz Festival is a Labor Day weekend tradition that promotes all forms of jazz through free, high-quality music programming. The festival showcases Chicago's local talent alongside national and international artists to raise awareness and appreciation for one of the city’s most beloved art forms.

PROGRAM

Jay Pritzker Pavilion

3:15pm - 3:45pm - Windy City Ramblers

3:45pm - 4:00pm - Emcee Intro Remarks + National Anthem + Lift Every Voice

4:00pm - 4:45pm - Sarah Marie Young

5:05pm - 5:50pm - Silvia Manrique and Marcel Bonfirm

6:10pm - 7:25pm - Patricia Barber

7:45pm - 9:00pm - Monty Alexander

Millennium Park, WDCB Jazz Lounge (South Promenade)

Noon - 1:45pm - Alyssa Allgood Quintet

2:15pm - 4:00pm - Jo Ann Daugherty

4:30pm - 6:15pm - Dakarai Barclay Sextet

6:45pm - 7:45pm - Isaiah Spencer Quintet

Millennium Park, Von Freeman Pavilion (North Promenade)

11:30am - 12:25pm - Elaine Dame 

12:40pm - 1:35pm - The Regulators

1:50pm - 2:45pm - La Cantera featuring Daniel Díaz and Alexander López

3:00pm - 4:00pm - Marques Carroll Trumpet Summit

Celebrate Labor Day weekend at the Chicago Jazz Festival, a beloved tradition that showcases the richness and diversity of jazz through free, world-class performances. This iconic event brings together Chicago’s top local talent with acclaimed national and international artists, offering audiences a deep and varied experience of one of the city’s most treasured art forms.

In the Jay Pritzker Pavilion, the program begins with a warm welcome and inspiring renditions of the National Anthem and Lift Every Voice and Sing, setting the tone for a powerful afternoon and evening of music.

The lineup features the soulful vocals of Sarah Marie Young, the vibrant Brazilian jazz of Silvia Manrique and Marcel Bonfirm, and the introspective, genre-defying artistry of pianist and vocalist Patricia Barber. The night culminates with a performance by jazz legend Monty Alexander, whose energetic fusion of jazz and Caribbean styles brings the festival to a joyful close.

Free, festive, and uniquely Chicago—jazz lives here.

Organizer: Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events

Programmer: Jazz Institute of Chicago