Iowa City Jazz Festival brings music, food, and community to downtown Iowa city.
By Autumn Diesburg
Jazz rhythms reverberated off the downtown buildings and food sizzled underneath pop-up tents this past weekend during the Iowa City Jazz Festival.
The festival filled downtown from June 30 through Sunday. Revelers from across the district, state, and country came to enjoy live music, food, and artist vendors.
Produced by the Summer of the Arts, the festival has taken place since 1991 and draws in an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 people, said Summer of the Arts Executive Director Lisa Barnes.
“We have so many performers that love coming to Iowa City,” she said. “We have people contacting us year-round saying, ‘I really want to do the Iowa City Jazz Festival.’ The community itself is very supportive, as well as having people from throughout the country that actually come in for this festival.”
The Jazz Festival is free to all listeners and is funded through donations while being worked by volunteers, said Shanti Roundtree, a board member for the Summer of the Arts.
“It’s the members of this community that make the Summer of the Arts, specifically the Iowa City Jazz Festival, the success that it is,” Roundtree said.
Performers with a variety of skills — middle-school and high-school performers as well as professional musicians — graced the festival stage.
Johnny Hartleip, a member of the North Corridor Jazz All-Stars, played with the All-Stars on July 1 on the Main Stage. The group comprises high-school or recently graduated students who are nominated to the group by their directors.
“At the festival it’s really cool, because it’s just a bunch of jazz lovers here to hear our music,” he said.
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The festival brought not only a variety of musicians but also a range of attendees, such as Kusha Nezafti, a lecturer from Grinnell College who was attending the festival for the first time with a colleague.
“We’re looking forward to trying some of the restaurants that are set up, and the location is good,” Nezafati said. “I’m looking forward to hear[ing] some of the bands play.”
Kathy Dillon, who has been attending the festival since it began, said the positive atmosphere of the festival prompts her to return in future years.
“I like the sense of community; I like all the festivities,” Dillon said. “The music is wonderful. The whole atmosphere is very positive.”
With a fun zone dedicated to activities and vendors for children, the festival is a forum for people of all ages to participate. Haley Smith, an attendee from North Liberty, said she’s been coming to the festival since high school.
“It’s a lot of fun for families,” Smith said. “It’s a lot more fun now, especially with kids.”
Families, locals, and even those from out of town become regular attendees, returning to enjoy the sense of community the festival offers.
“When I first came to Iowa several years ago, I didn’t know anyone,” Roundtree said. “It was festivals like the Jazz Fest that was my first experience and my first introduction to Iowa City. It’s a great way to interact with the community, to meet people, and remember yourself, because even if you don’t have somebody to go with, just being in this crowd makes you feel like home.”
