Thank you to everyone who came out to our debut performance at the Shalin Liu Performance Center last week!  It was a sold out performance, and who doesn’t love a standing ovation?

The facility and location are both absolutely gorgeous.  Our performance started just around sunset which made for a stunning backdrop for our music.  We wanted to share a few photos from the performance to give you a feel for it if you missed it.  It was just an amazing evening: unbelievable acoustics, a fabulous audience, and being part of the Rockport music community.

The absolutely stunning view behind the stage.

Playing during sunset.

Chatting with the audience as the sky behind us darkened.

A fabulous meet and greet after the show.

Summer is always a big music festival season, and the jazz festival giants (like Montreal and New Orleans) kick the season off in June.  Now that summer’s winding down a bit, it seems like there are jazz festivals going on in every region.  Here are just a few of the events going on in the next two weeks.

Rockport Jazz Festival: We’re opening for the sold out Grace Kelly Quintet on August 16.  The shows for Tierney Sutton (on the 15th) and the Roy Haynes Fountain of Youth Band (on the 17th) still have tickets available.

Merrimack Valley Jazz Festival: Another local event, this festival started just last year.  They have a free concert kickoff tomorrow and the main concerts are on Saturday featuring the UMass Faculty Jazz Ensemble, the Greg Hopkins Jazz Orchestra, and others.

Hudson Valley Jazz Festival: Didn’t get tickets to our performance and feeling like a road trip? The Hudson Valley Jazz Festival is going on next weekend as well.  All but two of the shows are free.  This is a young festival, in its third year, but it has been popular and growing each year.

Long Beach Jazz Festival: Are you a West Coast reader?  Then this 25 year-old festival might be a bit closer.  It’s going on this weekend, and features artists such as Kirk Whalum and Dianne Reeves.

We’ll be making our debut at the Shalin Liu Performance Center in Rockport, MA on August 16th!

As part of the Rockport Jazz Festival, we are opening for the Grace Kelly Quintet.  The performance is at 8 pm, so get there a little early to make sure you don’t miss our opening act.  Tickets can be purchased here.  We’re so excited to make our debut here.  The center is only a year old, the acoustics are state of the art, and the design is absolutely beautiful!  Other headliners for the festival are the Tierney Sutton Band, Roy Haynes, Ellis Marsalis, and Ann Hampton Callaway.

Grace Kelly, if you don’t know, is a female jazz instrumentalist and a Berklee grad.  She was also the winner of Top Jazz Act in Boston by the Boston Phoenix for the last four years.  She’s been retired from the category, and the Yoko Miwa Trio needs your votes to help us win.  Who better to take on the title than a Berklee alum (and current faculty member) who is also a powerful female jazz musician in her own right?  Vote for Yoko here.  The last day to vote is May 18th, and you can vote once per day..  Wouldn’t it be fantastic to have two winners of the Boston Phoenix’s Jazz Act playing on the same stage on the same night?