Wilmington's 2024 Clifford Brown Jazz Festival Celebrates 37 Years with All-Star Lineup

Cityfest, Inc., announces the festival headliners
and full list of festival events

The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival returns to Rodney Square in downtown Wilmington, Delaware, to celebrate its 37^th year June 19 to 22, 2024. This year’s lineup includes Chief Adjuah (formerly known as Christian Scott), Jonathan Michel: Black Wonders Quintet, Linda May Han Oh, Joshua Redman Group featuring Gabrielle Cavassa, Dupont Brass, Incognito, Endea Owens & The Cookout, Grace Kelly, the Clifford Brown Festival Orchestra featuring Wycliffe Gordon, Adam Blackstone Legacy and Boysie Lowery Living Jazz Residency alums Matt Dwonszyk’s “Dwonztet” and the Sarah Hanahan Quartet. The 2024 jazz festival mainstage performances will take place Wednesday through Saturday beginning at 5:30 p.m. and running until 10:00 p.m. each night except on Saturday, June 22, when performances will start at 1:00 p.m.
 
Post-festival Jam Sessions will take place Wednesday through Saturday from 10:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. at local venues including Nomad Bar, Le Cavalier, The Queen, and the Wilmington Public Library. For a full festival line-up, jam session locations/dates, and more information please visit cliffordbrownjazzfest.org 

All pre-festival activities, mainstage performances, and jam sessions are FREE to attend and open to the public, making it the largest free jazz festival on the East Coast. All ages are welcomed to attend, and guests should be sure to bring lawn chairs or blankets for seating. Rodney Square will be lined with food trucks and vendors throughout the festival week, and guests should be sure to pick up this year’s festival t-shirt featuring the 37^th annual logo designed by Christopher Mack. All festival announcements and updates can be found on the festival website [cliffordbrownjazzfest.org] and on Facebook [facebook.com] or Instagram @Cliffordbrownjazzfest [instagram.com].

The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is an annual tribute to the late jazz trumpeter and Wilmingtonian Clifford Brown [bluenote.com], who was born in 1930 on the east side of the City. Also known as “Brownie,” he died in 1956 at the age of 25 in a car accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, leaving behind only a few years' worth of recordings. However, Brown's short life and limited work has had a considerable influence on later jazz trumpet players such as Arturo Sandoval, Donald Byrd, Lee Morgan, Booker Little, and Freddie Hubbard. Two of Brown's compositions, "Joy Spring" and "Daahoud," have become jazz standards.
 
The festival is FREE to enjoy, but donations to Cityfest, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit, are encouraged. Donations can be made on the Cityfest, Inc., website [cityfestwilm.com] or by check payable to Cityfest, Inc., 800 North French Street, Wilmington, DE 19801 Attn: Tina Betz, President.
 
The Clifford Brown Jazz Festival is presented by Cityfest, Inc. and the City of Wilmington, Mayor Mike Purzycki, with generous support from New Castle County, WRTI 90.1 FM, BPG, Downtown Visions, Gerald Chavis Music, Greater Wilmington Convention and Visitors Bureau, Westin Wilmington, Hyatt Place Wilmington Riverfront, Sheraton Suites Downtown Wilmington, Double Tree by Hilton Hotel Downtown Wilmington, Hotel DuPont, Nomad Bar, the Wilmington Public Library, The Queen, Le Cav and DETV.