ColaJazz is moving to a bigger stage this spring. The ninth annual ColaJazz Jazz & Roots Festival will take over the newly renovated Finlay Park for the first time on Friday, May 15 and Saturday, May 16, marking a new chapter for the homegrown festival.
What started as a grassroots jazz gathering on Main Street has evolved into a staple spring event in the Soda City, bringing in nationally recognized artists and pairing them with local and regional talent. This year’s “Jazz & Roots” branding shows the fest expanding, leaning into blues, soul, folk, and other genres shaped by jazz tradition.
As always, admission is free, with food vendors and art woven into the weekend.
Meet the performers
Friday, May 15
Soda City Brass Band | 5:30 p.m. | Your host band for the event kick of the weekend of jazz and beyond.
Martin Bejerano | A Miami-based jazz pianist and composer who has performed and recorded with Roy Haynes and Russell Malone and teaches at the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.
SYR | 8 p.m. | This Celtic folk-rock band blends traditional Irish instrumentation with modern rock arrangements and high-energy live performances.
Saturday, May 16
Brittany Turnipseed | 1 p.m. | Locals are familiar with Turnipseed’s soulful sound from concerts around, like the Meeting Street Music Festival and the concerts under the stars at the State Museum.
Willie Bradley | 2:45 p.m. | Bradley is a contemporary jazz trumpeter whose recordings have charted on Billboard’s smooth jazz rankings.
Folderol | 4:30 p.m. | The ensemble reworks jazz standards alongside pop, rock, and hip-hop material through a 1920s-inspired, theatrical performance style that blends tight arrangements with improvisation.
Lucia | 6:15 p.m. | The Veracruz-born vocalist won the 2022 Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Vocal Competition and blends jazz standards with traditional Mexican styles including son jarocho and bolero.
Endea Owens | 8 p.m. | A Detroit-born bassist and composer who performs with The Late Show with Stephen Colbert house band and leads The Cookout, a project blending jazz with community-centered performance and outreach.
