Jacksonville Jazz Festival is just a few days away! As one of the largest jazz festivals in the country, Jacksonville Jazz Festival will feature more than 30 artists on 4 stages in the heart of Downtown Jacksonville. As we gear up and prepare for the party Downtown, it’s time for you to start planning your weekend at the festival!
About the festival
When: MAY 25-28, 2017
Thursday, May 25th: 7 p.m.
Friday, May 26th: 4 p.m. – MidnightSaturday, May 27th: 1 p.m. – Midnight
Sunday, May 28th: 1 p.m. – 11 p.m. Festival Schedule Where: Downtown Jacksonville – festival map
Every Memorial Day weekend, dozens of jazz artists and thousands of fans and spectators from our hometown and from around the world travel to Jacksonville for the Jacksonville Jazz Festival. The festival is a celebration of epic proportions to honor of the music, art and culture of America’s music. The festival is unique because of its proximity to water, historically being centered around the St. John’s River, and its affordability… it’s one of few FREE large festivals! In 2017, the festival makes its way back to the core, returning to #DTJax like never before with great food, drinks, good fun and a TON of free live entertainment. The festival boasts three outdoor stages with state of the art light and sound spread across a walkable, open container footprint covering 15 city blocks! Expect exciting new additions to this year’s festival program like the Jazz Marketplace where artists and makers showcase their original wares in a unique shopping experience and Jazz Eats and Drinks, a consolidated strip full of the city’s best al fresco dining options, along with ever popular signature events such as the Piano Competition, Jazz Jam, Omni Sacred Jazz Brunch and more.
Experience
Jacksonville Jazz Festival is free and open to the public, all you have to do is show up! The festival experience is enjoyable with plenty of food and drink options within 15 blocks of open container footprint, allowing you to sip and walk from one end of the festival to the other without hassle, plenty of restrooms, and the option to stand and dance or bring a lawn chair to relax in. The festival is totally yours to enjoy however you like!
Feeling fancy? Upgrade! 3-Day and single-day VIP passes are available for purchase online. These VIP passes give you some pretty sought-after luxuries that are not available to all festival goers: up-front exclusive seating, reserved parking, complimentary Coca-Cola products and snacks, air-conditioned restrooms, dedicated VIP bars, official merchandise and admission to the Jacksonville Jazz Piano Competition. VIP passes are a hot commodity and are almost gone. If you’re interested in purchasing one, you can get ’em here.
Transportation & Parking
Make an entrance by car, Skyway, taxi or water taxi! If you are making the drive in, parking is a non-issue. There are over 43,000 public parking spaces downtown! Check out the parking database here.
Can’t decide on a designated driver? Don’t want to deal with parking? Catch a ride in! There are several convenient taxi and car service options that serve the Downtown area. You can find a list of them here.
Make it an adventure – arrive by water! The River Taxi will run a continuous loop downtown from Jacksonville Landing, to Friendship Fountain, Doubletree Hotel, Lexington Hotel, Metro Park, and back to the Jax Landing. Boats will arrive at each dock every 30 to 45 minutes. Special event pricing will be in place for $10 per day for an all day/all night pass. Children under 3 are free. Tickets can be purchased on board the boats, cash only, at any of our listed stops. If you would like a 4-day (Thurs – Sun) or 3-day (Fri-Sun) unlimited pass, purchase them at the link below and save $5! There are no one-way tickets. You can purchase Multi-Day tickets here.
Special River Taxi Operating Hours this weekend are:
Thursday, May 25th: 11a.m. – 11 p.m. Friday, May 26th: 11a.m. – Midnight. Saturday, May 27th: 11a.m. – Midnight. Sunday, May 28th: 11a.m. – 10 p.m.Get the city-goer experience. The Skyway is always FREE and will run on an extended schedule this weekend!
Friday, May 26th: 6 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. Saturday, May 27th: 11 a.m. – 1:30 a.m. Sunday, May 28th:11 a.m. – 12:30 a.m.
Discover #DTJax Before and After the Festival
Make a day or weekend out of it! There is so much to see, do and explore in #DTJax. We have an entire directory of restaurants, bars, venues, museums, parks, shops and so much more! Plan out your weekend, find everything you need here.
Jazz Fest After Dark
Did someone say afterparty? The fun doesn’t end when the festival does! Returning for its 5th year, keep the party going at Jazz Fest After Dark with 13 stages, 40+ acts and more on Friday and Saturday night. More details can be found at Jazzfestafterdark.com