Heather Bambrick, the Lou Pomonti Trio, John Finley, Charu Suri, and more are set to dazzle audiences from both in-person and the comfort of their homes for the 8th Annual South Coast Jazz & Blues Hybrid Festival this Oct. 15-17.
With artist interviews hosted by Canadian media icon Dini Petty, and heralded by the Wall Street Journal in 2020 for their swift pivot online due to COVID-19 restrictions, the South Coast Jazz & Blues Festival is set to roll-tape once again this Fall for another exclusive, live-off-the-floor production — this time, straight from Brantford, Ont.,’s Sanderson Centre.
Joining Heather Bambrick, the Lou Pomonti Trio, John Finley, and international artist Charu Suri for the three-day virtual event will be the Gene DiNovi Band, Dave Young, d’Tabora (Tabby) Johnson, David Restivo, Aaron Bell, the White Pine Dancers, Alison Young, the South Coast Jazzin’ Juniors Trio (Vania Lee, Devon Goping, and Daniel Bado), Gaitrie Persaud and more.
For the live shows, Ian Bell and Thom Adkins will perform at the Brant Hill Inn on Oct. 15 and 16, respectively, and Jesse Murphy will perform at David’s Restaurant on Oct. 17. There will also be a ‘local stage’ featuring Norfolk County artists, and the event is set to pay tribute to Michael Badaway and Aaron Bell, two of the festival’s long-time friends and talented performers who recently passed away.
“These are their last performances,” festival founder and director of operations Juliann Kuchocki shares. “We wanted to honour them, so we have compiled the footage together as best we can to showcase them one last time.”
In addition to roaring support from eager attendees and amazing artists alike, the South Coast Jazz & Blues Festival is honoured to receive funding and other resource support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Ontario Creates and Norfolk County. “This continues to be a challenging time for artists, and those in the arts industry,” Kuchocki says. “We are grateful to have the support of these organizations, as well as the fans at home.
“Our goal with the South Coast Jazz & Blues Festival is to delight audiences with the very best the scene has to offer,” Kuchocki continues. “This mission is even more important this time around, and we can’t wait to show fans a good time this fall!”
Tickets for the live shows are $75 per person at the Brant Hill Inn, plus an additional $275 for a two-person stay overnight, and $100 per person at David’s Restaurant; all tickets, as well as dinner menus and accommodation options, are available online at SouthCoastJazz.com.
For more information, visit the festival’s website, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
