Northampton Jazz Festival Postpones 2020 Season

 ​Dear Friends of the Northampton Jazz Festival,

The Board and Advisors of the Northampton Jazz Festival have assessed the present environment and outlook for staging live jazz performances this fall. We have come to the unfortunate conclusion that holding the 2020 Northampton Jazz Festival at various venues throughout downtown Northampton on October 2 and 3 is not a wise, safe or prudent decision. 

We are truly saddened by the reality that this coronavirus has forced on us, but our most important goal is to provide a pleasurable, meaningful and safe experience for our jazz fans, jazz musicians and our community partners. Unfortunately, we recognize that we just won’t be able to achieve that in this pandemic environment. 

Looking to a more positive future, we very much hope to be able to support the vitality of downtown Northampton by hosting small jazz ensembles at various outdoor locations this summer/early fall. We will be working with our trusted board, advisors and the City of Northampton in the weeks ahead to see what we may be able to do. We sincerely hope that the Northampton Jazz Festival can fulfill its mission to support the vitality and economy of Northampton through live jazz in some way in the weeks ahead.

Thank you for your dedication and support of the Northampton Jazz Festival! As an audience member, past patron or sponsor, and a jazz fan, you have helped us achieve our mission of bringing live jazz back to downtown Northampton in the spirit of true community, and we look forward to returning to some normalcy in 2021. In fact, we are inviting all the 2020 jazz musicians back to perform at the 2021 jazz festival on October 1 and 2. 

In the meantime, stay safe, be well and let’s keep the music alive.

Sincerely,
​Ruth Griggs
President

PS: We will continue to promote virtual jazz performances this summer and fall on our social media channels, so tune in to those on our Facebook and Instagram pages.