Planning for Jazz & Beyond 2024 is in Progress
Posted: Nov. 13, 2023

Plans for Jazz & Beyond 2024 are being worked on. We are evaluating dates in July or in late August, due to other scheduling concerns. We hope to be back with a great 21st season!

*** Please ignore information posted below this line. It is from the 2023 festival. ***

Aug. 21 Events Moved Due to Rain
Monday, Aug. 21, 2023

Because of rain, Tim Goldsmith's performance at 11:00 a.m. will be moved inside Comma Coffee.

The 5:00 performance by Impromptu and the Mile High Jazz Band's performance at 7:00 p.m. will be at the Brewery Arts Center's Performance Hall, 511 W. King Street.

Aug. 14 Evening Events Moved to BAC Performance
Hall Due to Rain
Monday, Aug. 14, 2023

Because of rain, tonight's 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. performances have been moved to the Brewery Arts Center's Performance Hall at 511 W. King St.

Reno Video Game Symphony Jazz Band - Monday 8/14/2023 - 5:00 to 6:45 p.m. - Originally scheduled for Comma Courtyard, it is now at the Performance Hall. The Reno Video Game Symphony is a nonprofit, educational band program that uses video game soundtracks to promote the arts in Northern Nevada.

RoseBud's Dance Band - Monday 8/14/2023 - 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. - Originally scheduled for McFadden Plaza Stage, now at the Performance Hall. RoseBud's Dance Band formed as an affiliate of the Carson Valley Pops Orchestra. The band rehearses in Rich Sheldrew's "Man Garage" with RoseBud, the Sheldrews' rescue burro, looking on. Some of the approximately 20 musicians are members of the Carson Valley Pops Orchestra. The band plays mostly Big Band-era dance, jazz, and swing, with some modern pieces.

Our "Postcard" Calendar is Available for Download
Posted: June 10, 2023

We are in the process of updating this website with some great events for this August. In the meantime, you may download a PDF version of our scheduled events. We will update it as we progress.

Click HERE for latest version of the postcard schedule. Version number and date of update are displayed in the lower right corner.

Jazz & Beyond - Carson City Music Festival
24 Free Concerts - August 11-21, 2023
Media Release: Aug. 7, 2023

Carson City's 20th annual Jazz & Beyond Music Festival, presented by the Mile High Jazz Band Association, offers 11 days of free entertainment and more than two dozen performances. Two or more concerts will be held each day in multiple venues around the city, beginning with the festival opener on Friday, August 11, from 4:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Governor's Mansion, on the corner of W. Robinson and Mountain Streets. It features the Andean music of Kantu Inka followed by the 17-piece big band, the Reno Jazz Orchestra, with special guest entertainer, David Hayes. Gates open at 4:00 p.m. Food and beverages will be available for purchase. Seating is limited; attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs.

A favorite of Jazz & Beyond concertgoers is The Red Tango string quintet performance at the Brewery Arts Center Grand Ballroom on Saturday, August 12, from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. This year, tango dancers Victoria Randlett and T.S. "Zak" Brown (VZ Tango) will also be there to teach, demonstrate dance steps, and perform.

Visitors can spend an afternoon at the historic Silver Saddle Ranch, 2648 Carson River Road, along the Carson River, on Sunday, August 13, from 2:00 to 6:00 p.m. They can wear their boots and hats and enjoy the music of Doug Sandall and Dale Poune, Cowboy Poetry by Larry Marinel and Johanna Foster, and then more music by the Sagebrush Rebels country band. Mule-drawn wagon rides by Hee Haw Haven Mules will provide tours through the ranchland. Food, ice cream, and beverages will be available for purchase. Some hay-bale seating is available; audience may bring lawn chairs. This annual event is sponsored in part by the Carson City Parks, Recreation & Open Space Department; Friends of Silver Saddle Ranch; and the Great Basin Consulting Group.

Jazz & Beyond Music FestivalÕs final performances will be on Monday, August 21. This date is the 119th anniversary of the birth of the great band-leader, William "Count" Basie. The audience is invited to listen to the music of Tom Stryker's Impromptu at 5:00 p.m. in Comma Courtyard, followed by a Basie tribute concert at 7:00 p.m., just around the corner on the Bob McFadden Plaza Stage, by the Mile High Jazz Band with vocalists Jakki Ford and June Joplin. The audience is asked to bring lawn chairs to the latter performance.

Other performances Ð all of them free - include Niall McGuinness and the New World Jazz Project, Cherie ShipleyÕs "Take This" band, the Reno Video Game Symphony Jazz Ensemble, RoseBud's Dance Band, CeCe Gable Quintet, Cruz Control featuring Whitney Myer, and lots more. For a complete schedule of events, visit jazzcarsoncity.com. For additional information, call 775-883-4154 or email info@jazzcarsoncity.com.

Mile High Jazz Band AssociationÕs Jazz & Beyond Festival is funded in part by grants from the Nevada Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, the Carson City Cultural Commission, Travel Nevada, and the Carson City Downtown Business Association, and by private donations.

Sagebrush Rebels country band will perform on Sunday, August 13, at Silver Saddle Ranch.

Jazz & Beyond 2023 Ð Poster Art Contest Winner Announced
Media release: June 4, 2003

The Jazz & Beyond festival committee announces that the winner of the 2023 poster and program cover art contest is Carol Foldvary-Anderson. Her design, "Digital Collage Improv," was selected from eight entries to highlight the 20th annual Carson City music festival.

Carol Foldvary-Anderson, a mixed media, multi award-winning, Nevada State Roster artist best known for her Oil Pastel Smudge technique and Calligraphy, has recently been experimenting with digital images. She said "My goal in life is to create art and to bring beauty into the world. I am very proud to have my art represent the 2023 Jazz & Beyond festival!"

Jazz & Beyond will feature more than twenty free concerts at many Carson City venues. It opens with the Reno Jazz Orchestra on Friday, August 11, outdoors at the Governor's Mansion. The country-themed Day at the Silver Saddle Ranch will be on Sunday, August 13. The festival will close with the Mile High Jazz Band on Count BasieÕs birthday, August 21, at McFadden Plaza Stage.

The full schedule of events on the websites JazzCarsonCity.com and Milehighjazz.com will be updated frequently. Annual Jazz & Beyond Festivals are presented by the Mile High Jazz Band Association and are supported by grants from the Carson City Cultural Commission, the Nevada Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts, and by private donations.

Photo: Jazz & Beyond Festival Committee member Elinor Bugli and art contest winner Carol Foldvary-Anderson with design for the 2023 Jazz & Beyond Festival poster

Welcome to the Jazz & Beyond Music Festival
2023 Website

We want to welcome you to our website for the 2023 Jazz & Beyond Music Festival. We plan for the festival to begin on Friday, Aug. 11, 2023, and end on the 119th birthday of William "Count" Basie, Monday, Aug. 21, 2023. The majority of events are free.

A Little History About the Festival
Mile High Jazz Band Association began this multi-day music festival in August 2004 as "Basie@100," a one-time event on the Brewery Arts Center campus, to honor the 100th anniversary of the birth of jazz legend William "Count" Basie, Aug. 21, 1904. The original idea was to have a single concert on his birthday, but then it grew into the idea of having several bands perform that day, and then eventually it turned into a three-day event featuring 14 performances. In response to its success that first year and subsequent years, the festival became an annual event. The following year, it was called "Basically Basie." In 2006, the presenters - Brewery Arts Center and Mile High Jazz Band Association - renamed the festival "Jazz & Beyond." In 2009, Mile High Jazz Band Assoc. took it to downtown Carson City with numerous venues and more performing groups than ever. With support of the community, the festival has continued to grow, and in recent years we have featured events over a 17-day period featuring 50-60 performances and over 100 performers, many of them local talent.

We feature events at the Bob McFadden Plaza (Third Street) stage, at Comma Courtyard, at the Brewery Arts Center, and at other fun locations. Since 2017 we have had a special event involving several performances at Silver Saddle Ranch on Carson River Road, a real working hay ranch on the east side of town.

Are You Interested in Advertising With Us?
Posted March 30, 2023

Business owners, are you interested in advertising with us? We offer you the opportunity of advertising your business to an up-scale, community-involved audience over an eleven-day period. We put together an attractive printed program each year, and you ads could reach hundreds of audience members. In addition, if you are interested, we can also post your ads on our website. If you are interested in advertising with us, please contact Alex at 408-264-4423 or Ellie at 775-883-4154. The deadline for ads submission is July 13, 2023.

Click HERE to download our ad rate sheet.

Media Release: March 4, 2023
Jazz & Beyond Committee Announces 2023 Art Contest

Mile High Band Association's 2023 Jazz & Beyond Festival Committee is sponsoring an art contest for northern Nevada artists, including teachers and students. Selected entries in the competition may be used to promote the festival, and the winning entry will be featured on the festival's advertising poster and program cover. Festival T-shirts this year may also feature the winning design. The entry deadline is April 30, 2023. Participation is free.

The artwork will be judged by the Jazz & Beyond committee. The winner of the competition will receive a certificate of appreciation from the Jazz & Beyond - Carson City Music Festival and a cash award of $100. Alexander Cassimus, art project chair, said, "The artist's work will be front and center, viewed by thousands of festival patrons."

Entry forms are available for download from jazzcarsoncity.com/artcontest2023.pdf. Click HERE to download now.

Artists may submit more than one entry. Artwork must be 11"x14" and may be in any two-dimensional medium (photography, digital collage and photography, watercolor, acrylic, oil, etc.). Artwork must be matted, backed, and submitted in a protective sleeve. The design must be related to music. Each submission must include a separate entry form.

Artists are to deliver their entries to the NAA Gallery, 449 W. King Street, Carson City, Tuesday through Sunday, noon to 4:00 p.m.

The entry form and a digital image of the artwork (not to exceed 20 MB) must also be sent as an email attachment to info@jazzcarsoncity.com.

For more information about the contest and entry forms, contact Alexander Cassimus at 408-264-4423 or away4@earthlink.net.

Photo: Artist Mike Bond shows his winning artwork, "Listen to the Music," used for the 2022 Jazz & Beyond flyer, program, and T-shirt.