Cathedral Park Jazz Festival Will Stream Online This Year

The longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi will continue this year, only without fans and out of view of the St. Johns Bridge.

2019's Cathedral Park Jazz Festival (Chris Lazarus)
By Shannon Gormley

For some time now, it seemed fair to assume that the Cathedral Park Jazz Festival wouldn't happen as planned this year. The annual free music festival usually fills up its namesake park in St. Johns with families and food trucks, leaving little room for social distancing.

But instead of just pulling the plug, organizers announced today that this year's festival will stream online.

The virtual festival will take place from July 17 to 19, and as usual, will feature local legends like soul singer Saeeda Wright and Portland-via-Louisiana group Steve Kerin and the Bayou Boyz.

Along with the in-person audience, another major part of the festival will be missing this year—the St. Johns Bridge. This year, the acts will all stream from a remote location that will not be open to the public.

The Cathedral Park Jazz Festival was founded in 1980 to commemorate construction of the public green space beneath the iconic bridge. Since then, it's become the longest-running free jazz festival west of the Mississippi.

The festival's first virtual edition will kick off Friday, July 17 at 5 pm on Twitch.

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