Tickets are on sale for the 2021 Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival Sept. 17-19, bringing some of Ohio’s most noted blues and jazz musicians to three stages in Gahanna.
Presented by the Gahanna Convention & Visitors Bureau, aka Visit Gahanna, advanced festival tickets may be purchased online for $15 or $40 for a weekend pass.
Lori Kappes, Visit Gahanna executive director, said a decision to hold the event in September, as opposed to its traditional third weekend in June, was made to allow more time for vaccinations and to ensure safety protocols are in place.
The Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival’s steering committee is implementing several changes to this year’s event, including a modified footprint to best manage crowd capacity and three live music stages, according to Kappes.
“We are thrilled to bring this tradition back to Gahanna’s beautiful Creekside district in 2021,” she said.
Scheduled entertainment for the stages include the following:
Blues Stage at Town and High streets
Friday, Sept. 17
5 p.m., The Lenny Paul Band.
6:20 p.m., The Drifter Kings.
7:40 p.m., Shaun Booker
9:30 p.m., John Del Torro Richardson
Saturday, Sept. 18
2:15 p.m., TBA
4:05 p.m., Orion and The Constellations
5:55 p.m., Harper and Midwest Kind
7:45 p.m., Vanessa Collier
9:35 p.m., Sean Carney & Friends
Sunday, Sept. 19
12:20 p.m., Harold Stewart & The Blueshounds
1:55 p.m., Ralph & The Rhythm Hounds
3:30 p.m., Nikki D & The Browns
Jazz Stage at Mill and Walnut streets
Friday, Sept. 17
5 p.m., The Tony Hagood Trio
7 p.m., Honey and Blue
9 p.m., The Urban Jazz Coalition
Saturday, Sept. 18
2 p.m., Swings the Thing Big Band
3:30 p.m., Paisha Thomas
5:30 p.m., James Gaiters’ SOUL REVIVAL
7:30 p.m., Waves de Aché
9:30 p.m., The Tony Monaco Trio
Sunday, Sept. 19
12 p.m., The Dave Powers Trio
1:30 p.m., The Robert Mason Trio
3:30 p.m., FLIPPO plays Steely Dan
Kappes announced June 29 that a third stage would be made available at Creekside on the existing round stage.
She said the only bands currently confirmed are the closers on the stage for Sept 17 (Soul Kitch’n) and Sept. 18 (Hurricane Jerry and the Surge).
Kappes said bands and performers will be added to the festival's website as they're confirmed.
Louis Tsamous of the Jazz Arts Group of Columbus and the festival’s entertainment committee, said the Urban Jazz Coalition, Tony Monaco, FLIPPO and Dave Powers all have strong followings in the area, as well as nationally and, in Monaco’s case, internationally.
The 2020 Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival was canceled due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.
"After a year in which beloved events and gatherings were missing from our daily lives, it will be wonderful to again hear music throughout the Creekside district, with the return of the Creekside Blues & Jazz Festival," Mayor Laurie Jadwin said. "Visit Gahanna executive director Lori Kappes, her team and the festival committee have been working diligently for many months to put together a fantastic weekend of music, food and fun. I am looking forward to attending and to enjoying a weekend of great music."
This year’s festival will offer reserved tables at the Toyota Direct Blues and Heartland Bank Jazz stages that seat two to six people.
To purchase admission tickets, go to creeksidebluesandjazz.com.
Festival hours are 5 to 11 p.m. Sept. 17, 2 to 11 p.m. Sept. 18; and noon to 5 p.m. Sept. 19.
The festival can be followed on Facebook and Instagram: @creeksidebluesandjazz.
mkuhlman@thisweeknews.com
@ThisWeekMarla
