CGI Rochester International Jazz Fest returning to downtown Rochester in June 2022

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ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC) — It’s back, and it’s back downtown.

The CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival will be jamming on once again in 2022, organizers confirmed Friday. The week-long festival will take place from June 17 through June 25.

This year, the festival was postponed after it was initially announced it would be moved to the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology to allow for more space. Traditionally, the festival has been held in downtown Rochester in mid-June. Last year, like many festivals, organizers initially postponed the event with the hopes of holding it in the fall, but, eventually made the decision to cancel the event.

Organizers John Nugent and Marc Iacona referred to the two-year gap as leaving a "void."

As for the full lineup, and other details, Iacona and Nugent said to stay tuned to the festival’s spring news conference, which will be held on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. No specific COVID-related guidelines were shared.

Any performers who were booked for the canceled festival will be given the right of first refusal to come back. Likewise, anyone who bought a club pass for the festival in 2020 will be able to use it next year.

That might mean the passes will be in short supply for those wanting to get new ones.

One big unknown remains what the covid situation will be eight months from now.

Will there be capacity restrictions or mandates for vaccines or masks?

Organizers acknowledge there’s no way to know but they’re going to press ahead, make their plans, and adapt to the situation they find come next spring.

"You measure twice, cut once," Iacona said. "You plan as if we are going to go. We can’t plan is if we’re not going to go. We have to communicate and commit. Fortunately for us, the artist, the agencies, the organizations that we use here locally to help us produce this event all understand that that could happen. And they’re working with us."

In a statement to News10NBC, an RIT spokesperson said:

"The return of the CGI Rochester International Jazz Festival is great news for downtown and the entire Rochester community. When we were asked to serve as host venue last year at the height of the global pandemic, it was in the spirit of embodying community pride and engagement to keep the festival going during a difficult time. Jazz Fest aligns well with our mission as a university that works at the intersection of technology, the arts, and design. The entire RIT community looks forward to welcoming this world-class event back to Rochester next year."

Updates can also be tracked here.