Lineup revealed for Jazz Festival
The Five Points Jazz Festival will pay tribute to pioneering promoter Lu Vason, community activist Brother Jeff and others when it returns Five Points on May 19.
The annual festival, which takes place on Welton Street between 26th and 29th streets and celebrates the historic Denver neighborhood, features more than 45 bands on 10 stages each day, according to a press release from Denver Arts & Venues.
Hazel Miller Band, Paul Mullikin Trio with Strings, Gumbo le Funque, Jakarta, Crescent City Connection, Polarity, Bob Montgomery/Al Hermann/Josh Quinlan Sextet and dozens more will grace the free, family-friendly stages. A parade on Welton Street will kick things off at 11 a.m. on May 19, featuring grand marshals Wende Harston and Jim “Daddio” Walker.
Between the smooth jazz, bop, swing, funk and R&B, there will be an art and food marketplace, a musicians’ jam session, film screenings, and
a family zone featuring yoga, face painting, a giant slide, jumpy castle and more, organizers said.
Vason, who died in 2015, will be honored on the festival’s main stage at 4 p.m. He produced the first Denver Jazz Festival in 2013 after a long career of firsts — including creating the first African-American touring rodeo in the U.S. (The Bill Pickett Invitational, which continues today).
Jeff S. Fard (“Brother Jeff”) will be recognized on the Plaza Stage at 5 p.m. for his activism in health, violence prevention, mental health and youth work, and economic development, Arts & Venues said. Fard founded Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center in 1994 and is the publisher and editor of Five Points News.
Welton Street will be closed from 25th to 30th streets starting at 6 p.m. on May 18, and reopening at 11:59 p.m. on May 19. Festival attendees will be asked to undergo security checks at festival entrances. A list of prohibited items is available at artsandvenuesdenver.com.