Musicians hold jam session to mark countdown to Rochester International Jazz Festival

ROCHESTER, N.Y. – The countdown is on until the streets of downtown are filled with music for the 22nd annual Rochester International Jazz Festival.

A group of local musicians performing at this year’s festival hosted a preview jam session at the Hyatt Regency Rochester Downtown. Musician Ryan Johnson says the Hyatt is the perfect place to take in some jazz music.

“The layout here, structurally, is perfect to jam,” Johnson said. “It’s easy to get to, it’s not far from, it’s on the main drag, you only have to go a few hundred feet. You’ve got this cool little stage setup, it’s almost like a backdrop, and you have all this accessible seating.”

The festival kicks off on Friday, June 20, and runs through Saturday, June 28. This year’s festival will include over 285 shows across 18 different venues, including plenty of free shows. You can see the complete list of performances across the nine days and get tickets here.

The free headliner series will kick off on Saturday, June 21 with a performance from Chris Lane at 9 p.m. at the East and Alexander Stage. The rest of the free headliners perform at the Parcel 5 Stage at 9 p.m. Here is the schedule:

• Jesus Molina on Wednesday on Wednesday, June 25
• Los Lonely Boys on Thursday, June 26
• Lettuce on Friday, June 27
• Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue on Saturday, June 28

AI assisted with the formatting of this story. Click here to see how WHEC News10NBC uses AI