Antigonish Jazz Festival set to be an ‘immersive experience’
The city’s first Jazz Festival will have you up and dancing this November
If Louis Armstrong and Nat King Cole is on your playlist, the Antigonish Jazz Festival might be right up your alley.
The event will be Antigonish’s first Jazz Festival, filling the streets with smooth beats and hits from Nov. 17 to Nov. 19, and featuring artists like The Dixie Rovers, Adrian Farrugia, Sam Wilson Trio and more. Paul Tynan, the artistic director and program coordinator of the
Antigonish Jazz Festival, says the Antigonish Tourism Association wanted to have a festival in the fall; and with St. Francis Xavier University offering Canada’s first jazz degree program, it made sense to have the festival in the same city.
“The Association met and thought it was a good idea,” says Tynan. “They needed somebody to help with programming and direction, so they asked me to come on board, and I was honoured to.”
He says the festival will feature local, regional and national musicians, and Grammy Award-winning international group, Pacific Mambo Orchestra.
“The ensemble has beat out musicians like Marc Anthony, they’re absolute stars in the Latin world,” he explains with excitement. “And they’re one of the best salsa bands in the world. So, we were very happy to be able to welcome them to the festival.”
Students from ST.FX’S jazz program will also play an integral role in the festival, with many performing at the busker series in the afternoon. Then on the evening of Nov. 17th and 18th, there will be a late-night jam session where local artists can come up on stage and play.
“We have two really great house trios that are playing each night, so that’s pretty exciting,” says Tynan. “Then there’s some alumni and faculty involvement playing in the festival as well.”
Tynan says the festival will help boost the tourism industry in Antigonish, and that this festival isn’t just for Antigonish but for Nova Scotia as a whole.
“It’s going to have a whole bunch of music and it’s just going to be a real immersive experience,” he says. “And the fact that it’s not a summer festival, that it’s a fall festival, is quite different because typically jazz festivals are big summertime events.”
Jake Hanlon, ST.FX music faculty member and performer at the Antigonish Jazz Festival, grew up in Antigonish and says bringing back a culture of live music to
the city is essential.
“Post-pandemic Antigonish has always had a lot of music and a strong musical culture,” he says. “And part of that has always been jazz music, thanks to the music department at ST.FX. Hopefully, people will come out and support music again.”
Hanlon says the jazz program at ST.FX just celebrated its 40th anniversary, highlighting its tradition and culture for young people around the world to travel to the city and study jazz music. He is excited to partake in the festival and looks forward to the quality of music coming through the city in November.
“Familiar faces are playing with not-so-familiar faces, and I think that that’s a really great collaboration. The festival is its own entity, with a mixed eclectic series of concerts,” he explains.
Hanlon says having artists like Adrian Ferrugia, the newest facility member, and alumni Sam Wilson play at the festival is very special to him.
“I’m most excited to go see Sam because she was my student,” he says with excitement. “And now I get to see her with her own band, playing her own music.”
Hanlon adds it’s important for the town and the
program to have this festival because there is not a lot of opportunity to hear jazz music in Antigonish.
“I think the students are excited for the opportunity to get to see more of this music that they’re studying,” he says. “They now have something to do outside of their weekto-week classes and their own practice. It’s really good to see them immersed in the world that they want to be part of one day.”