The annual Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival promises to be the best one yet, as it returns to Saunders Park Greene (39th & Powelton) on Saturday, July 15 from Noon to 7 p.m. The Festival celebrates West Philadelphia and jazz musicians with spectacular live performances, local vendors, fun children’s activities, and delectable treats from food trucks.

The all-day event is free and open to the public, organized by HopePHL (formerly People’s Emergency Center and Youth Service, Inc.), The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and a committee of community members, with technical assistance from Nu Millennium Media Productions. The Festival is a “rain or shine” event.

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Voted Metro Philly’s Best Annual Festival, the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival is kicking off Earth Day Weekend this Friday (April 21) with the first of six Community Pop-Ups. The festival organizer, HopePHL’s team will be at The Porch at 30th Street Station from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. with Dylan Band. All are invited to enjoy the food vendors, meet other jazz enthusiasts, and swing on the big swings!

Save the date for the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival, Saturday, July 15, from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Saunders Park Greene (39th St. and Powelton Ave.). Visit the HopePHL website for all of the upcoming events.

The Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival is returning Saturday, July 16 live and in-person! The 2022 Festival will be held at Saunders Park Greene (39th & Powelton) from Noon-7 p.m. and promises to be the best one yet.

The all-day event, which celebrates West Philadelphia and jazz musicians, is free and open to the public. It is organized by People’s Emergency Center (PEC), The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and a committee of community members, with technical assistance from Nu Millennium Media Productions.

The headliner this year is the Orrin Evans Quartet, performing from the TD Bank Main Stage. The Quartet is led by none other than pianist, composer, and independent recording artist Orrin Evans, gracing the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival stage for the first time. Continue Reading

People’s Emergency Center (PEC) brings jazz musicians and artists from the Lancaster Avenue Jazz and Arts Festival for a preview of their big event on July 16th! Stop by The Porch at 30th Street Station this Friday, April 22 between 12:30 and 1:30 p.m. to browse the art exhibitions (and meet the artists) and to hear a performance by the Mike Boone Quartet in conjunction with The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia.

Pitruco brick oven pizza will be set up and selling delicious pizzas. Last year’s event drew dozens of guests to The Porch to hear the Jazz stylings of Kenny Sykes and the Ivory Keys Band (pictured).

For updates on the free, live, in-person, Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival on Saturday July 16, visit: https://www.lancasteravephilly.com/jazzfest.html.

Photo courtesy of PEC.

The annual Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival will return virtually this year and will be streaming live at lancasteravephilly.com/jazzfest beginning at noon this Saturday, Sept. 18. The festival offers a tribute to Grover Washington, Jr.

This is the 15th season for the festival, organized by staff at People’s Emergency Center (PEC) and a planning committee of neighborhood residents.

Musicians in the lineup must perform at least one piece by the Philadelphia-based saxophonist, known for hits like “Magic Man” and “Just the Two of Us.” The Grover Washington Jr. Tribute Legacy Band headlines the event. Other performers include Glenn Bryan and Friends, The Lady Hoofers Tap Ensemble, Denise King and Friends, Chris Aschman and Trinidelphia, TC THE 3RD, and Greg Moore and Actual Proof. The line-up was curated by Leo Gadson of The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia. Continue Reading

This year’s free Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival offers a family-friendly Jazz showcase featuring the “Hometown Sound of Philadelphia Jazz.” Philadelphia Tenor saxophonists Bootsie Barnes and Sam Reed will headline the 2019 Festival on Saturday, July 20. The event takes place starting at noon in Penn Presbyterian Medical Center’s Saunders Park Greene, 39th and Powelton Avenue.

Hosted by People’s Emergency Center (PEC) and PEC Community Development Corporation (PECCDC), this marks the 13th year that this annual event has taken place, which has grown from a few hundred attendees to 4,000.

The Producer’s Guild of Philadelphia has curated an exceptional lineup of jazz musicians performing on the Lancaster Avenue Jazz & Arts Festival stage. In addition to Barnes and Reed, this year’s lineup includes jazz performers Jamal Jones & the Bureau of Sonic Wonderland Jazz Orchestra, Glenn Bryan & Friends, Geraldine Oliver, Chris Oatts, and Jonathan Michel. The Universal African Dance and Drum Ensemble will also be back by popular demand.  Continue Reading