First-Ever 'Jazz And Art On Main' Event At Cedar Park Set For This Weekend

CEDAR PARK, TX — The first-ever Jazz and Art on Main event is scheduled this weekend in Cedar Park, with the breadth of festival entertainment: An array of jazz performers, original works of art offered for sale, food and all manner of family fun.

Beginning on Friday (April 28), the sultry sounds of jazz music will fill the Cedar Park air through Saturday. Eight jazz bands will be on hand providing live music, joined by 28 artists offering art and handmade crafts.

The event is scheduled Friday from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Cedar Park Recreation Center located at 1435 Main St. Admission is free, with food available for purchase.

Participating artists include painters Barry Eigen and Diane Whooley, stained glass artist Rodger Ericson and photographer Karen Welty.

So what's the music lineup, you ask? For Friday evening, it is as follows:

• 6-6:45 p.m. The Jazz Daddies
• 7-7:45 p.m. Trio Verde
• 8-8:45 p.m. Scott Simon

Music starts earlier on Saturday, starting at 10 am. ushering in an afternoon affair. The Saturday lineup is:

• 10-10:45 a.m. The Glenn Rexach Trio
• 11-11:45 a.m. Scott Simon
• 12-12:45 p.m. Musikatz
• 1-1:45 p.m. Gabriel Santiago Trio
• 2-2:45 p.m. The New Orleans Jazz Band of Austin
• 3-3:45 p.m. Silver Creek Jazz Band

Jazz and Art on Main is a production of the city's Parks, Arts and Community Enrichment (PACE) board, comprising citizen volunteers Virginia Hernandez, Carl Abseck, Julie Hastings, Dimitri Nichols, Mary McCarthy, Kathleen Harman and Andy deBruyn.

The PACE board is tasked with administering the City Council-created Public Art Program, which utilizes a portion of revenues generated by the Hotel Occupancy Tax and by donations to the Public Art Fund made by water customers through their water utility bills. The Public Art Program’s goals are to promote and encourage public art programs, further the development, awareness and interest in the visual arts, create an enhanced visual environment and promote tourism and economic vitality in Cedar Park. Program projects over the years have included the Cedar Park Sculpture Garden as well as the display of original art by Central Texas artists in public buildings such as the Cedar Park Public Library and Cedar Park City Hall.

So get out there this weekend and enjoy the festivities! Weather-wise, Friday is being forecast as a day that could've been ordered by the chamber of commerce itself, with a low of 73 degrees expected. The humidity will be at 69 percent, according to the Weather Channel.

Saturday should be nice as well, albeit with a slight chance of rain. The high temp is being forecast at 87 degrees, with the low expected to dip down to 56 degrees. There is a 50 percent chance of scattered thunderstorms for the region, Weather Channel forecasters predict.

But likely all that will be raining in Cedar Park are the musical notes of jazz.

So what kind of soothing music might one expect? Here's a sampling of the Gabriel Santiago Trio:

And here's the The Glenn Rexach Trio with their jazz-infused pin on "Drive My Car" by Lennon-McCartney from a 2013 performance at Strange Brew:

Do you know what it means to miss New Orleans? Well, worry not for the New Orleans Jazz Band of Austin will be bringing the sounds of the Big Easy for the masses to enjoy:

The Jazz Daddies will bring their brand of energy to the scene with sounds that will make it impossible for spectators to stand still with their infectious grooves. Here's their take on Mr. Magic by Grover Washington Jr.:

It's jazz, babies. So get hip to it, and go and have yourselves a groovy time. You dig?

>>> Image via City of Cedar Park