Music to fill Hot Springs on Labor Day Weekend

HOT SPRINGS — Hot Springs will overflow with music on Labor Day Weekend as the 26th annual Hot Springs JazzFest and the 21st annual Hot Springs Blues Festival will take place.

JazzFest will run from Aug. 31 through Sept. 4, and the Blues Festival is scheduled for Sept. 2 and 3.

JazzFest, sponsored by the Hot Springs Jazz Society, will take place in venues spread throughout Hot Springs. Some events are free, and tickets range up to $35.

Including the traditional free outdoor concert in Hot Springs’ Entertainment District, artists will include the New Breed Brass Band, Allen Won, Mike Vax and Bob Dowell.

Also scheduled are an intimate concert in the historic New Ohio Club with the Clyde Pound Trio and the unique Classical and Jazz Blow Out, blending jazz by the Anything That Moves Combo with classical music by the Arkansas Brass Quintet.

The Blues Festival, sponsored by the Spa City Blues Society, will be held in Hill Wheatley Plaza at the southern end of world-famous Bathhouse Row. Tickets are $20 per day. A total of 14 acts will be presented, with headliners Leo “Bud” Welch, John Nemeth, Nikki Hill and Anthony Gomes.

A partial lineup includes the following performers:

• Anthony Gomes in the Hot Springs Blues Festival at 8:45 p.m. Sept. 3.

• John Nemeth and the Blue Dreamers in the Hot Springs Blues Festival at 8:45 p.m. Sept. 2.

• Leo “Bud” Welch in the Hot Springs Blues Festival at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 2.

• Nikki Hill in the Hot Springs Blues Festival at 7:15 p.m. Sept. 3.

• Allon Won in the Hot Springs JazzFest guest artists in concerts on Aug. 31 to Sept. 2.

• The New Breed Brass Band in the Hot Springs JazzFest from 4-6 p.m. Sept. 2.

• Bob Dowell in the Hot Springs JazzFest at 2 p.m. Sept. 2, with the University of Arkansas at Monticello Jazz Band

• Mike Vax in the Hot Springs JazzFest guest artist at 1 p.m. Sept. 2, with Anything That Moves, and at 2 p.m. with the University of Arkansas at Monticello Jazz Band.

Stroll through stores full of unique art and local crafts, experience the luxury of a hot-spring thermal bath, and relish dining in a selection of five-star restaurants while you enjoy music, sun and fun in the only city nestled in a national park.

For information on the Hot Springs JazzFest, visit www.HSJazzSociety.org, email HSJazzSociety@gmail.com or call (501) 627-2425. For Information on the Hot Springs Blues Festival, visit www.SpaCityBlues.org or call (501) 815-2939.