Salem Jazz and Soul Festival 2025

SALEM JAZZ AND SOUL FESTIVAL RETURNS TO SALEM WILLOWS FOR ITS 18TH SEASON ON AUGUST 16, 2025

FREE FESTIVAL CELEBRATES SALEM’S RICH HISTORIC CONNECTION TO JAZZ AND SOUL MUSIC AND BENEFITS LOCAL MUSIC EDUCATION

[SALEM, Mass.] – Dig into Salem’s rich and diverse past in a way the textbooks won’t tell you at our free celebration of the town’s history of jazz and soul music legends performing at the ballrooms where arcades stand today! Join us for more musical history in the making at the return of the nonprofit Salem Jazz and Soul Festival for their 18th season event on August 16, 2025 from 11 a.m to 7 p.m. at Salem Willows Park at 165 Fort Avenue in Salem, Mass.

Plan for a beautiful oceanfront day at the Willows Bandshell, getting down to a showcase of fantastic bands providing soulful melodies and jazz rhythms, enjoying music education clinics for the community, craft booths, artisan vendors, merchandise tents and an expanded, 21-plus Mercy Tavern Lawn. Funds raised go toward producing free concerts and supporting music education initiatives throughout Boston's North Shore. Free and metered parking is available in the Willows lots and surrounding areas, as well as roundtrip shuttle service provided by Salem Trolley Company free to Salem residents with proper ID, $10 without. Great music for a greater cause!

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE

11 a.m. – Noon - Salem High School Jazz Band

12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. - Zayra Pola Sessions

2 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. - Albino Mbie

3:45 p.m. – 5 p.m. - Los Sugar Kings

5:30 p.m. – 7 p.m. - Heavy Metal Horns

Between All Live Music Sets - DJ Skot Void

-----

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is recreating and renewing the vibrant jazz scene that began at the Salem Willows in the early 20th century, when the leaders of the Big Band era played at the seaside park’s ballroom. The festival builds on this rich jazz history — adding soul, blues, and funk to the mix — by offering a series of annual free concerts to the public, concluding with our annual main festival.

"It’s an opportunity to bring our community together over a shared love of jazz and soul entertainment and appreciation of art and education at a historic place where you can still hear echoes of Duke Ellington resonating from his first stint here almost 100 years ago,” said Festival president Larry Claflin Jr. “We aim to amplify those good vibes with the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival and with our giving initiatives in the community, as well as a lot more evenings of entertainment throughout the year.”

The Salem Willows of the 1920’s featured the Charleshurst Ballroom at the location that now houses the Willows Casino. Due in part to the convenience of its location on the east coast circuit’s coastline pathway, the nightspot attracted big bands from around the country. Owner Charlie Shribman facilitated appearances of many of the greats in the Salem area: Count Basie; Guy Lombardo; Glen Miller; and perhaps most notably Duke Ellington for a run of shows in the summer of 1927, shortly after Bostonians Johnny Hodges and Harry Carney joined Ellington’s line up on alto and baritone sax, respectively. Reviews of the day confirmed that Ellington's appearances “...set New England ‘dance crazy’,” and the Jazz and Soul Festival is here to keep it that way!