Road closures will begin June 13 to prepare for Rochester jazz festival

ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival is weeks away. Some roads will be closed in the East End, Main Street, and Midtown area from Tuesday, June 13 through Tuesday, July 4 to prepare for the festival.

The festival runs from Friday, June 23 to Saturday, July 1 and the full lineup has been announced. Here are the lists of road closures:

• Gibbs Street (from East Avenue to E. Main Street): Closed from 7 a.m., June 13 to midnight, July 4.
• East Avenue (from Scio Street to E. Main Street): Closed from 4 p.m. to midnight each night from June 23 to July 1
• East Main Street (from Chestnut Street to Gibbs Street): Closed from 4 p.m. to midnight each night from June 23 to July 1
• Chestnut Street (from East Main Street to East Avenue): Closed from 6 a.m. to midnight on June 24
• Chestnut Street (from East Avenue to Broad Street): Closed from 4 p.m. to midnight on June 24
• Elm Street (from South Clinton Avenue to Chestnut Street): Closed from 10 a.m. to midnight each night from June 28 to July 1
• Cortland Street (from East Main Street to Elm Street): Closed from 2 p.m. to midnight each night from June 28 to July 1
• Andrew Langston Way (from Elm Street to East Main Street): Closed from 2 p.m. to midnight each night from June 28 to July 1
• Euclid Street (from Chestnut Street to Andrew Langston Way): Closed from 2 p.m. to midnight each night from June 28 to July 1
• Atlas Street (from Euclid Street to Elm Street): Closed from 2 p.m. to midnight each night from June 28 to July 1

It’s a star-studded lineup for the 20th anniversary of the jazz fest. Multi-instrumentalist Trombone Shorty is returning for another free show and jazz vocalist Samara Joy is performing at the Club Pass venue in Kilbourn Hall after her recent Grammy win.

The lineup includes 300 acts across 19 venues. Executive Director and producer Marc Iacona said the 20th anniversary is something to celebrate.

“We are also dedicated to working with dozens of local businesses, creating an economic impact of almost over 200 million dollars in the past 20 years,” he said.

Producer and Artistic Director John Nugent said the milestone didn’t come without some challenges.

“Due to COVID, we came back after two years off and did nine nights. That was federally supported, but the government wasn’t able to support again this year,” he said.

He said there was a moment when nine days schedule didn’t seem possible. But thankfully, some local sponsors stepped up to help.

“Wegmans stepped up to allow us to continue that process,” said Nugent.

“Because of the support that we’ve had, from our family members to our teams behind the scene making everything happen, we couldn’t have done it without you and this is a very unique event that’s happening in this town,” said Iacona.

Mayor Malik Evans said it’s also an opportunity to celebrate diversity, drawing residents and musicians from near and far. “One of the ways you drive out darkness, is by having light, and the jazz fest is a great light for this city,” he said. “It’s a great light because it allows us to showcase what many of us already know about Rochester.”

More than 100 of the shows are free, including the headliners who will take the stage at Parcel 5 behind the view of downtown. There will also be plenty of free all-star performances at the Chestnut Street Stage, near the Eastman School of Music.

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, who will close out the festival, most recently performed at the festival in 2019 and drew thousands.

You can download the free app as a guide to the jazz festival for iPhone and Android here.