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Past Event

Alex City Jazz Fest – Downtown Alex City


August 7, 2020 | 6:00 pm - 10:30 pm

30 years ago it started as a birthday celebration! I don’t know if the early organizers had any idea that the Alex City Jazz Fest would still be around today as one of the few non-ticketed festivals left, but it is! You, that follow the Alex City Jazz Fest, know that it is always held the second weekend in June, and you also know that a lot has changed this year.

We are super excited that, at this point, the Alexander City Jazz Fest will be from 6pm until around 10:30pm on Friday, August 7 downtown in Strand Park and Saturday August 8 at The AMP on Lake Martin! Things are a little different this year, but the lineup of talent is awesome. Friday night we are kicking things off with a local Jazz Band.

We have heard these impressive young musicians play at several events around the area and were excited when they agreed to play this year’s Jazz Fest – first up Friday night, under the direction of Dale Bloodworth is the Benjamin Russell Jazz Band! You really will be wowed by what these band members can do! The BRHS Jazz Band will play from 6-7.

At 7:30, from Birmingham, is Tragic City a young group who has been tearing it up with their modern take on jazz-funk fusion led by a stellar horn section and the ripping guitar of Will Cash. The band originally started as a quartet in 2014 and has slowly transformed into their present seven-piece group. As an all-instrumental group digging everything from hints of rock and hip-hop, to New Orleans-style dance grooves, the septet has been making a name for themselves as some of the most accomplished young musicians on the scene in recent years.

Tragic City Snippet

 

Closing the night at 9 on Friday is the Sweet Lizzy Project (SLP)! One of the most culturally significant bands to emerge from Cuba in recent years, they have a distinctive sound with overtones of classic American indie pop-rock touched with a Latino flair. Lead singer Lisset Diaz’s incomparable voice captures listeners’ imaginations leaving them enthralled. Sweet Lizzy’s songs, all original and penned in English, are reflective of the members’ wide range of ages, from their 20´s to 40´s. In 2017, they were showcased on PBS’s “Havana Time Machine,” alongside Grammy award-winning group, The Mavericks. It was a great pairing and gave them an opportunity to forge a relationship with Raul Malo, the Mavericks lead singer, who invited them to Nashville. SLP has performed coast-to-coast. The group, which was featured on PBS’s Emmy award-winning series, “Bluegrass Underground,” and has been touring the nation with The Mavericks.

Sweet Lizzy Project Snippet

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