SaskTel Jazz Fest brings positive impacts beyond the stage
SaskTel Jazz Fest brings positive impacts beyond the stage
The SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival is back in full swing with an impressive lineup set to fill the warm summer air with the sounds of funky bass beats and smooth vocals.
The music festival that celebrates all things jazz is back for its 32nd year, and is already to providing Saskatchewan fans with their soundtrack for summer.
Time and again, the SaskTel Jazz Fest has shown how music has the power to bring people together. And, after three decades, that it’s one of Western Canada’s premier music festivals. It’s clear that the festival’s positive impact on the Saskatoon arts and culture scene extends long after the ten-day event.
Beyond the stage, increasing ticket sales and attendance numbers are helping the SaskTel Jazz Fest continue to grow the vibrancy of Saskatoon’s arts and culture scene by nurturing local talent and a diversity of musical styles and voices.
For Cara Cote, Business Director of the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival, she is pleased to have watched the festival grow along with the community.
“After more than thirty years in the community, it’s been very gratifying to witness the popularity of SaskTel Jazz Fest grow each year,” said Cara Cote, Business Director of the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival. “Equally, it’s great to know the contribution the festival is making to tourism and to bringing worldwide attention to this great city.”
Over the past few years, the festival has incorporated more activities, such as Yoga Jam, the Nutrien Free Stage, and earlier performance times that bring out more people and families to the concerts. Music fans can also take in one of more than 65 free shows that are being put on at venues across the city. And, there is also free face painting provided by Street Culture Kids, and an all-ages musical movie night in the park.
As a result, the festival is expected to attract over 80,000 music fans from across the province, Canada, and the U.S. to enjoy the sounds of jazz, blues, funk, pop and world music this year alone.
With the streets buzzing with music fans, it’s easy to see how the SaskTel Jazz Fest is also a boost to the local economy and tourism industry. Visitors to the Bridge City are bringing welcome business to many local shops, restaurants and hotels, as well as purchasing SaskTel Jazz Fest gear to remember the occasion. This year, festival goers will inject an estimated $8 million into the local economy!
The SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival’s work to support the next generation of local musicians is another indication of how the event is helping to transform the city’s cultural landscape. The TD Jazz Intensive brings high school and post-secondary students together for a six-day educational opportunity that culminates with a ‘final exam’ performance towards the end of the festival at The Bassment, Saskatoon’s unofficial home of jazz music.
“We couldn’t be happier about our involvement as a long-time sponsor of the Saskatchewan Jazz Festival,” said Deb Ottenbreit, Community Relations Specialist at SaskTel. “It’s an intrinsic part of Saskatchewan’s music scene and a great place for Canadian artists to showcase their creative talents.”
SaskTel’s involvement with the festival dates back almost right to the beginning – with this year marking SaskTel’s 24th as the festival’s title sponsor.
Over the decades, the SaskTel Jazz Fest has served as a launchpad for local artists and a place for veteran artists to broaden their fanbase on the main stage or through more intimate settings at clubs throughout the city. But, its most positive impact has always been its ability to make music more accessible for everyone in the community.
The SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival runs from June 22 to July 1, 2018. This year's lineup features City and Colour, The Flaming Lips, Bonobo, Jack Semple, Kellylee Evans, along with over 130 other acts spread out across multiple venues in the city. For full concert details, visit saskjazz.com/lineup.
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