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DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260513T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260513T233000
DTSTAMP:20260611T150654
CREATED:20260509T132038Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260509T132041Z
UID:89548-1778702400-1778715000@explorenewjersey.org
SUMMARY:Django à Gogo presents Django New Orleans
DESCRIPTION:Django à Gogo 2026 Brings the Spirit of New Orleans and the Soul of Gypsy Jazz to Maplewood \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nFor more than two decades\, Django à Gogo has occupied a singular place in the American music landscape. What began as a highly focused celebration of Django Reinhardt’s revolutionary guitar legacy has evolved into one of the most respected international gatherings of gypsy jazz musicians\, improvisers\, composers\, and adventurous listeners anywhere in North America. Each spring\, the festival transforms parts of New Jersey and New York into a temporary world capital for jazz manouche\, where elite musicians from multiple continents gather not merely to perform repertoire\, but to reinterpret\, expand\, and reimagine an entire musical language in real time. \n\n\n\nIn 2026\, that tradition returns once again to Maplewood with a centerpiece performance that may also be one of the festival’s most ambitious artistic statements yet. \n\n\n\nOn Wednesday\, May 13 at 8 PM\, Django à Gogo presents Django New Orleans at The Woodland in Maplewood\, New Jersey\, bringing together an extraordinary ensemble led by Grammy Award-winning guitarist Stephane Wrembel for an evening designed to blur borders between gypsy jazz virtuosity\, New Orleans rhythm traditions\, brass band energy\, and modern improvisational interplay. More than a standard concert\, the performance represents a living conversation between musical cultures that were never as far apart as history sometimes suggests. \n\n\n\nThat connection sits at the center of the Django New Orleans concept itself. \n\n\n\nDjango Reinhardt’s music has always carried rhythmic urgency\, swing propulsion\, melodic freedom\, and emotional spontaneity at its core. New Orleans music\, meanwhile\, thrives on collective rhythm\, improvisation\, communal performance\, and deeply physical groove. What Django New Orleans does so effectively is reveal how naturally those traditions can coexist when placed in the hands of musicians capable of navigating both worlds authentically. \n\n\n\nThe result is not a novelty crossover project. It is a full-scale musical expansion of Reinhardt’s legacy into another foundational branch of global improvisational music. \n\n\n\nStephane Wrembel anchors the performance alongside guitarist Josh Kaye\, violinist Adrien Chevalier\, tuba player Steven Duffy\, drummer Scott Kettner\, washboard specialist David Langlois\, saxophonist and clarinetist Nick Driscoll\, trumpeter Joe Boga\, and vocalist Sarah King. Together\, the ensemble creates a sound built equally around virtuosity and atmosphere\, where intricate guitar runs coexist with second-line rhythms\, brass textures\, clarinet improvisations\, and deeply layered rhythmic movement. \n\n\n\nThe instrumentation alone immediately signals that this is not traditional gypsy jazz revivalism. \n\n\n\nThe inclusion of tuba\, washboard\, horns\, and New Orleans percussion structures introduces an entirely different physicality into the music. Songs breathe differently. Rhythms move differently. The performances lean less toward formal recreation and more toward collective celebration\, where improvisation becomes the connective tissue binding together multiple jazz traditions simultaneously. \n\n\n\nThat openness has become one of Django à Gogo’s defining artistic strengths over the years. \n\n\n\nUnlike many genre festivals that treat musical tradition as something frozen in time\, Django à Gogo consistently approaches Reinhardt’s influence as living material capable of evolving across generations and cultures. The festival’s best performances are rarely museum pieces. They are conversations between musicians who understand the tradition deeply enough to expand it without losing its soul. \n\n\n\nThis year’s Maplewood performance becomes even more significant through the addition of several internationally respected special guests. \n\n\n\nLegendary pianist Jean-Michel Pilc joins the lineup alongside guitar virtuosos Gismo Graf\, Sébastien Felix\, and Angelo Debarre\, each of whom brings a distinct interpretive voice rooted in the gypsy jazz tradition while pushing its vocabulary forward in different ways. Debarre\, in particular\, remains one of the most revered living guitarists associated with the Django lineage\, known for a playing style that balances breathtaking technical precision with explosive rhythmic energy and emotional immediacy. \n\n\n\nThe presence of musicians of that caliber inside an intimate New Jersey venue reinforces what has made Django à Gogo such an important event internationally. \n\n\n\nThis is not a scaled-down regional festival attempting to imitate larger jazz institutions elsewhere. It is one of the genuine centers of the international gypsy jazz world\, drawing musicians and audiences from across the globe into Maplewood each spring because the artistic level consistently justifies that reputation. \n\n\n\nThe Woodland itself has increasingly become central to the festival’s identity. \n\n\n\nLocated in the heart of Maplewood\, the venue offers precisely the kind of atmosphere that suits Django à Gogo best: intimate enough for audiences to feel immersed in the interaction between players\, yet large enough to generate the collective energy that improvisational music thrives upon. Performances there rarely feel distant or overly formal. Audiences experience the music almost inside the ensemble rather than separated from it. \n\n\n\nThat intimacy becomes especially important with a project like Django New Orleans\, where interplay and rhythmic communication drive the entire performance. \n\n\n\nThe evening also reflects Stephane Wrembel’s broader influence on New Jersey’s cultural identity. Though internationally known through recordings\, film work\, and global touring\, Wrembel has spent years quietly helping establish New Jersey as an unexpected but deeply respected hub for world-class gypsy jazz performance and education. Through Django à Gogo\, he has built a bridge connecting local audiences to an international network of musicians whose work rarely appears within conventional American concert circuits. \n\n\n\nIn doing so\, he has created something increasingly rare in modern music culture: an event built around artistry first. \n\n\n\nThere is no sense of disposable festival branding surrounding Django à Gogo. The audience arrives because of the music itself\, because of the musicianship\, and because of the opportunity to witness elite improvisers operating at an unusually high creative level inside an environment designed for listening rather than distraction. \n\n\n\nThat authenticity is precisely why the festival continues growing artistically after more than twenty years. \n\n\n\nAt a time when many music festivals increasingly prioritize spectacle\, social media optics\, and commercial branding over musical substance\, Django à Gogo remains rooted in the idea that virtuosity\, collaboration\, improvisation\, and cultural exchange still matter deeply to audiences searching for something more lasting than temporary entertainment. \n\n\n\nAnd on May 13 in Maplewood\, Django New Orleans appears poised to deliver exactly that kind of experience. \n\n\n\nFor one evening\, New Jersey once again becomes the meeting point between European gypsy jazz tradition\, New Orleans rhythmic spirit\, international improvisation\, and the timeless musical vocabulary first unleashed by Django Reinhardt nearly a century ago.
URL:https://explorenewjersey.org/event/django-a-gogo-presents-django-new-orleans/
LOCATION:The Woodland\, 60 Woodland R\, Maplewood\, New Jersey\, 07040\, United States
CATEGORIES:Concerts,Festivals,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://explorenewjersey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T200000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260514T233000
DTSTAMP:20260611T150654
CREATED:20260509T132359Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260509T132403Z
UID:89551-1778788800-1778801400@explorenewjersey.org
SUMMARY:Django à Gogo presents Night of the Gypsies
DESCRIPTION:Django à Gogo 2026 Continues in Maplewood With “Night of the Gypsies\,” an International Gathering of Modern Gypsy Jazz Masters\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThere are certain live music performances that function as concerts\, and then there are performances that feel more like encounters with an entire musical tradition unfolding in real time. Django à Gogo has long operated within that second category. For more than twenty years\, the internationally respected festival created by Grammy Award-winning guitarist Stephane Wrembel has transformed parts of New Jersey and New York into one of the world’s most important annual celebrations of Django Reinhardt’s legacy\, attracting elite improvisers\, virtuoso guitarists\, and devoted audiences from across the globe. \n\n\n\nBut even within a festival already defined by extraordinary musicianship\, some evenings carry a different level of anticipation. \n\n\n\nOn Thursday\, May 14 at 8 PM\, Django à Gogo presents Night of the Gypsies at The Woodland in Maplewood\, New Jersey\, bringing together an exceptional international lineup for what promises to be one of the defining performances of the 2026 festival. Built around improvisation\, rhythmic interplay\, virtuoso guitar work\, and deeply emotional musical conversation\, the evening represents the essence of what has made Django à Gogo such an enduring and respected force within the global gypsy jazz community. \n\n\n\nAt its center stands Stephane Wrembel\, whose work over the past two decades has elevated not only the Django Reinhardt tradition itself\, but also New Jersey’s role within the international jazz landscape. \n\n\n\nThough globally recognized for his Grammy Award-winning composition “Bistro Fada” from Midnight in Paris\, Wrembel’s deeper artistic legacy may ultimately rest in the community and cultural infrastructure he has built through Django à Gogo. The festival has become far more than a performance series. It operates as a living ecosystem of musicians\, educators\, composers\, students\, and improvisers dedicated to exploring and expanding the musical vocabulary Reinhardt introduced nearly a century ago. \n\n\n\nNight of the Gypsies represents perhaps the purest expression of that mission. \n\n\n\nThe evening’s core ensemble features Wrembel on guitar alongside David Gastine on guitar and oud\, Frank Anastasio on bass\, and Scott Kettner on drums. That lineup alone would already constitute a formidable performance unit\, balancing rhythmic sophistication\, melodic improvisation\, and a broad understanding of both traditional and contemporary gypsy jazz language. But Django à Gogo rarely stops at simple excellence. \n\n\n\nJoining the ensemble are several internationally revered special guests whose combined reputations place the performance among the most musically significant jazz events taking place anywhere in the region this spring. \n\n\n\nJean-Michel Pilc brings his adventurous and deeply expressive piano work to the evening\, while saxophonist Nick Driscoll expands the harmonic and textural possibilities of the ensemble beyond traditional gypsy jazz instrumentation. Most notably\, the night also features guitar appearances from Gismo Graf\, Sébastien Felix\, and the legendary Angelo Debarre\, one of the most respected living figures in the entire Django Reinhardt lineage. \n\n\n\nDebarre’s presence alone changes the scale of the event. \n\n\n\nFor decades\, Angelo Debarre has been viewed internationally as one of the defining interpreters of Django Reinhardt’s style\, known for combining explosive technical precision with remarkable rhythmic aggression and emotional immediacy. His performances rarely feel academic or restrained. They feel alive\, urgent\, and deeply physical in the way the best improvisational music always does. Watching Debarre perform within an intimate venue like The Woodland creates the kind of musical access that larger festivals and institutional jazz presentations often cannot replicate. \n\n\n\nThat intimacy is one of the reasons Django à Gogo continues standing apart from nearly every other festival operating within the jazz world. \n\n\n\nThe Woodland’s atmosphere allows audiences to experience the interaction between musicians up close\, where every improvisational exchange\, rhythmic adjustment\, and spontaneous musical turn becomes visible in real time. The room itself encourages listening. It encourages immersion. Unlike larger venues built around spectacle and distance\, The Woodland places the audience directly inside the energy of the performance. \n\n\n\nAnd Night of the Gypsies is designed entirely around that kind of interaction. \n\n\n\nThis is not a rigidly choreographed production built around exact reproductions of historic recordings. The concert thrives on improvisation\, communication\, and risk. Songs evolve differently each night depending on the chemistry between players\, the momentum of the room\, and the spontaneous decisions unfolding onstage. One performance may lean heavily into blistering guitar exchanges while another may drift toward moodier harmonic exploration or rhythmically dense ensemble interplay. \n\n\n\nThat unpredictability is central to the tradition itself. \n\n\n\nGypsy jazz has always existed as a deeply communal music form where listening matters as much as playing. Musicians react to one another constantly\, shaping phrases\, dynamics\, and structures together in real time. The greatest performances often emerge not from perfection\, but from tension\, surprise\, and instinctive communication between elite improvisers operating without safety nets. \n\n\n\nNight of the Gypsies embraces exactly that spirit. \n\n\n\nThe inclusion of David Gastine’s oud work also subtly broadens the evening’s musical vocabulary beyond conventional gypsy jazz expectations. The oud’s tonality introduces Middle Eastern textures and phrasing into the ensemble\, reinforcing Django à Gogo’s larger philosophy that Reinhardt’s influence should remain expansive rather than confined to strict stylistic preservation. \n\n\n\nThat openness has helped the festival maintain artistic relevance long after many niche genre events lose creative momentum. \n\n\n\nRather than treating Django Reinhardt’s work as untouchable museum material\, Django à Gogo approaches it as a living language still capable of growth\, reinterpretation\, and cross-cultural evolution. The musicians participating each year are not merely preserving history. They are actively extending it. \n\n\n\nMaplewood’s role in that process has become increasingly remarkable. \n\n\n\nFor one week every spring\, the Essex County community becomes an international destination for musicians and listeners connected through a shared reverence for improvisation\, virtuosity\, and musical conversation. Students carrying guitars move between workshops. Visiting artists gather in cafés and rehearsal spaces. Informal jam sessions emerge organically after performances. The atmosphere feels less like a commercial festival and more like a temporary musical village built entirely around creativity and collaboration. \n\n\n\nThat authenticity may ultimately explain why Django à Gogo continues resonating so strongly after more than two decades. \n\n\n\nIn a live entertainment landscape increasingly dominated by branding\, spectacle\, algorithms\, and disposable festival culture\, Django à Gogo remains rooted in artistry first. Audiences attend because the musicianship matters. Because the improvisation matters. Because the experience cannot be replicated through streaming clips or social media fragments. \n\n\n\nAnd on May 14 in Maplewood\, Night of the Gypsies appears poised to deliver exactly the kind of unforgettable\, deeply human musical encounter that has defined the festival from the beginning.
URL:https://explorenewjersey.org/event/night-of-the-gypsies/
LOCATION:The Woodland\, 60 Woodland R\, Maplewood\, New Jersey\, 07040\, United States
CATEGORIES:Concerts,Festivals,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://explorenewjersey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Ajouteruntitre2160x1080px1.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260517T235959
DTSTAMP:20260611T150654
CREATED:20260514T134349Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260514T134510Z
UID:90187-1778803200-1779062399@explorenewjersey.org
SUMMARY:Exit Zero Jazz Festival 2026
DESCRIPTION:Exit Zero Jazz Festival 2026 Returns to Cape May as New Jersey’s Most Immersive Seaside Music Experience Blends Jazz Legends\, Cultural History\, and Shore Town Energy \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEvery spring and fall\, something extraordinary happens at the southernmost edge of New Jersey. \n\n\n\nThe Victorian streets of Cape May begin transforming into something entirely different from a traditional beach destination. The town becomes a living music village. Jazz drifts through ocean air. Brass bands move through downtown corridors. Historic ballrooms pulse with improvisation. Outdoor decks fill with late-night jam sessions. Grammy-winning performers walk the same streets as student musicians and first-time festivalgoers. Restaurants\, bars\, theaters\, beachfront venues\, and sidewalks all merge into a single immersive cultural experience unlike anything else happening anywhere along the East Coast. \n\n\n\nThat transformation officially returns May 15 through May 17 as the Exit Zero Jazz Festival once again takes over Cape May for what has evolved into one of the most important and respected live music festivals in New Jersey. \n\n\n\nFor Explore New Jersey readers tracking the state’s rapidly expanding arts and entertainment landscape\, the Exit Zero Jazz Festival now stands as far more than another seasonal music gathering. \n\n\n\nIt has become one of the defining cultural institutions of the Jersey Shore itself. \n\n\n\nHosted throughout Cape May with Festival Central anchored at the Cape May Convention Hall on Beach Avenue\, the 2026 spring edition arrives with one of the strongest and most historically significant lineups the festival has assembled in years. The weekend combines internationally recognized jazz legends\, modern innovators\, rising stars\, brass ensembles\, Latin jazz\, soul fusion\, educational outreach\, second-line performances\, and deeply rooted American music traditions into a three-day experience that feels simultaneously sophisticated\, communal\, historic\, and unmistakably New Jersey. \n\n\n\nUnlike many large-scale festivals that isolate audiences inside fenced entertainment grounds disconnected from surrounding communities\, Exit Zero has built its identity around total integration with Cape May itself. \n\n\n\nThat distinction matters enormously. \n\n\n\nThe festival does not merely take place in Cape May. It transforms Cape May. \n\n\n\nCoffee shops become jazz corridors. Restaurants evolve into late-night gathering points. Historic hotels fill with musicians and fans. Beachfront venues pulse with music from morning into night. Crowds move between stages carrying drinks\, stories\, recommendations\, and spontaneous conversations. The entire town becomes part of the experience. \n\n\n\nThat atmosphere is precisely why Exit Zero continues expanding its reputation nationally. \n\n\n\nThe festival’s ability to merge world-class jazz programming with the relaxed intimacy of a historic seaside town creates something increasingly rare in modern live entertainment — authenticity. \n\n\n\nThe 2026 edition may ultimately become one of the most artistically ambitious spring lineups in festival history. \n\n\n\nHeadlining the opening Friday evening inside Cape May Convention Hall is one of the weekend’s most anticipated performances: The Miles Davis Centennial Celebration featuring The Miles Electric Band. Scheduled for May 15 from 8:30 PM to 10:00 PM\, the performance honors one of the most transformative musicians in modern music history while simultaneously celebrating the continuing evolution of jazz fusion itself. \n\n\n\nMiles Davis remains foundational not only to jazz\, but to virtually every modern genre touched by improvisation\, experimentation\, and musical reinvention. Bringing a centennial celebration of his work to Cape May reinforces the festival’s broader mission of balancing reverence for jazz history with contemporary reinterpretation and forward movement. \n\n\n\nThat philosophy continues throughout the weekend lineup. \n\n\n\nOn Saturday night\, acclaimed vocalist and composer José James presents “Facing East: The Music of John Coltrane\,” another performance carrying enormous historical and emotional weight for jazz audiences. Scheduled for May 16 at Cape May Convention Hall\, the concert promises one of the weekend’s deepest artistic moments as James reinterprets Coltrane’s towering catalog through his own genre-blending contemporary perspective. \n\n\n\nColtrane’s influence on jazz — and American music broadly — remains immeasurable. Few artists carry the same spiritual\, experimental\, and emotional legacy inside the genre. José James’ involvement immediately elevates the performance into something far more significant than a standard tribute concert. \n\n\n\nThe Coltrane connection deepens even further Sunday when Ravi Coltrane takes the stage at Convention Hall. \n\n\n\nThe appearance of Ravi Coltrane creates one of the weekend’s most symbolically powerful bookings because it links multiple generations of jazz evolution directly inside one festival schedule. As both an acclaimed saxophonist and the son of John and Alice Coltrane\, Ravi occupies a uniquely important space in contemporary jazz culture where legacy and innovation continuously intersect. \n\n\n\nThat multi-generational continuity reflects the broader identity of Exit Zero itself. \n\n\n\nThe festival consistently succeeds because it treats jazz not as museum preservation\, but as a living\, evolving\, culturally active art form still capable of reinvention and expansion. \n\n\n\nThe supporting lineup reinforces that approach everywhere. \n\n\n\nWalter Smith III opens Friday evening with one of the most respected contemporary saxophone performances currently touring the jazz world. Jeremy Pelt Quintet brings modern hard-bop sophistication to Sunday afternoon programming. Carmen Lundy continues representing one of jazz vocal performance’s most enduring and influential voices. Sarah Hanahan\, Ekep Nkwelle\, and Will Calhoun’s Mali Project further expand the festival’s range into younger-generation innovation\, Afro-fusion exploration\, and globally influenced improvisation. \n\n\n\nThe legendary Gary Bartz joining the Orrin Evans Trio for a Monk-focused performance may become one of the weekend’s most critically celebrated sets among serious jazz followers. The combination of Evans\, Robert Hurst\, Jeff “Tain” Watts\, and Bartz effectively assembles an all-star ensemble rooted deeply within modern jazz excellence. \n\n\n\nAt the same time\, Exit Zero deliberately avoids becoming inaccessible or academically rigid. \n\n\n\nThat balance remains one of the festival’s greatest strengths. \n\n\n\nThe event understands that jazz culture thrives most powerfully when it remains socially alive rather than institutionally isolated. Throughout the weekend\, brass bands\, dance-oriented performances\, Latin jazz sets\, second-line processions\, and high-energy crossover acts keep the atmosphere communal\, celebratory\, and welcoming even for casual audiences unfamiliar with deeper jazz traditions. \n\n\n\nEdgardo Cintron’s Tito Puente celebration exemplifies that energy perfectly. \n\n\n\nBy incorporating Latin jazz traditions directly into the core programming\, the festival acknowledges the enormous cultural interconnectedness that has always existed throughout jazz history itself. Tito Puente’s rhythmic influence continues shaping countless genres today\, and performances like this reinforce the festival’s broad musical inclusivity. \n\n\n\nThe same applies to the High & Mighty Brass Band\, Bloco Funk\, Davina & The Vagabonds\, Black Buttafly\, and Hoppin’ John Orchestra performances spread across Carney’s venues and secondary stages throughout the weekend. \n\n\n\nThese acts inject movement\, celebration\, improvisation\, and nightlife energy directly into the fabric of the festival experience. \n\n\n\nImportantly\, Exit Zero also continues positioning itself as one of New Jersey’s strongest year-round music education and arts advocacy organizations. \n\n\n\nThat component deserves enormous attention. \n\n\n\nWhile the festival weekends receive the highest public visibility\, the Cape May Jazz Festival Foundation operates continuously throughout the year supporting music education initiatives\, artist residencies\, school performances\, student ensemble opportunities\, and youth outreach programming. More than 2\,000 students reportedly participated in educational initiatives during 2025 alone. \n\n\n\nThat commitment fundamentally changes the meaning of the festival itself. \n\n\n\nExit Zero is not simply selling tickets to concerts. \n\n\n\nIt is actively cultivating future musicians\, future audiences\, and future artistic communities across New Jersey. \n\n\n\nPrograms such as the David O. Clemans Music Connects Big Band and student performance opportunities ensure younger generations experience jazz as something alive\, accessible\, and relevant rather than distant historical material. \n\n\n\nThat investment matters enormously at a time when arts education nationwide continues facing financial pressure and declining institutional support. \n\n\n\nThe physical structure of the festival also remains central to its success. \n\n\n\nFestival Central inside Cape May Convention Hall serves as both operational headquarters and symbolic anchor for the entire weekend. Located directly on Beach Avenue overlooking the shoreline\, the venue creates a uniquely coastal atmosphere rarely associated with major jazz festivals elsewhere in America. \n\n\n\nVisitors arriving for pass pickup or performances immediately enter a setting where oceanfront scenery and live music culture merge seamlessly together. \n\n\n\nAround it\, Cape May itself becomes the perfect supporting environment. \n\n\n\nUnlike larger urban music festivals dominated by overwhelming scale and logistical exhaustion\, Exit Zero allows attendees to move comfortably between venues\, restaurants\, hotels\, bars\, and outdoor spaces while remaining fully immersed in the musical atmosphere. The intimacy creates stronger audience connection not only to the artists\, but to the town itself. \n\n\n\nThat emotional accessibility helps explain why so many attendees return year after year. \n\n\n\nThe festival increasingly feels less like a commercial event and more like a recurring cultural migration where audiences temporarily inhabit an alternate version of Cape May centered entirely around music\, conversation\, creativity\, and artistic discovery. \n\n\n\nFor New Jersey’s broader music ecosystem\, the continued growth of Exit Zero also carries major significance. \n\n\n\nThe state’s live music identity has historically been associated heavily with rock\, punk\, club culture\, arena tours\, and Shore bar circuits. Festivals like Exit Zero demonstrate how deeply sophisticated and globally respected New Jersey’s jazz and arts communities have become as well. \n\n\n\nCape May now stands alongside major national jazz destinations each spring and fall. \n\n\n\nAnd the 2026 edition may reinforce that standing more powerfully than ever. \n\n\n\nFrom Miles Davis centennial celebrations and Coltrane tributes to brass-band processions\, Latin jazz\, orchestral experimentation\, educational outreach\, beachside performances\, and late-night club energy\, Exit Zero Jazz Festival continues proving that some of the most culturally significant live music experiences in America are happening directly inside New Jersey’s coastal communities. \n\n\n\nFor Explore New Jersey readers planning the upcoming weekend\, Cape May is once again preparing to become far more than a beach town. \n\n\n\nFor three days\, it becomes one of the most vibrant music villages anywhere on the East Coast. \n\n\n\nArtists \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTHE MILES DAVIS CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION WITH THE MILES ELECTRIC BAND / FRIDAY\, MAY 15 / Cape May Convention Hall / 8:30-10:00 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJOSE´ JAMES PRESENTS: FACING EAST\, THE MUSIC OF JOHN COLTRANE / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Cape May Convention Hall / 9:00-10:30 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nRAVI COLTRANE / SUNDAY\, MAY 17 / Cape May Convention Hall / 2:45-4:00 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWALTER SMITH III / FRIDAY\, MAY 15 / Cape May Convention Hall / 6:00-7:15 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nORRIN EVANS TRIO PLAYS MONK\, feat. GARY BARTZ (EVANS\, ROBERT HURST\, JEFF “TAIN” WATTS / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Cape May Convention Hall / 7:00-8:15 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJEREMY PELT QUINTET / SUNDAY\, MAY 17 / Cape May Convention Hall / 12:30-1:45PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEDGARDO CINTRON PLAYS THE MUSIC OF TITO PUENTE / FRIDAY\, MAY 15 /CAPE MAY CONVENTION HALL\, 4:00-5:15 & CAPE MAY CONVENTION HALL DECK STAGE\, 7:15 -8:15 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCARMEN LUNDY / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Cape May Convention Hall / 3:30-4:45 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEKEP NKWELLE / SATURDAY\, MAY 16/ CLEMANS THEATER FOR THE ARTS\, 4:30 & 6:30 PM / CAPE MAY CONVENTION HALL DECK STAGE\, SUNDAY\, SUNDAY\, MAY 17\, 11:30 & 1:45 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHIGH & MIGHTY BRASS BAND / Carney’s\, May 15\, 7:10 & 9:30 PM / David Clemans Second Line\, Saturday\, May 16\, 11:00 AM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nWILL CALHOUN MALI PROJECT / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Cape May Convention Hall / 1:30-2:45 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nREV CHRIS & LES GARCONS CRASSEUX / Sunday\, May 17 / Carney’s Main Room\, 12:30 & 2:40 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSTEVE GREEN & the ELEVATORS / FRIDAY\, MAY 15 / Carney’s Other Room\, 6:00 & 8:20 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDAVINA & THE VAGABONDS / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / CARNEY’S MAIN ROOM\, 4:20 & 6:30 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHOPPIN’ JOHN ORCHESTRA / SUNDAY\, MAY 17 / Carney’s Main Room\, 4:30 & 6:20 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSARAH HANAHAN / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / CLEMANS THEATER\, 12:00 & 2:00 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nU.S. NAVY BAND COMMODORES /FREE SHOW SATURDAY\, May 16 / Cape May Convention Hall\, 11:30-12:40 \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nEDDIE MORGAN REK’D 4 JAZZ / Carney’s Other Room / Sunday\, May 17\, 11:30 AM & 1:40 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBLACK BUTTAFLY / Carney’s Other Room / Saturday\, May 16\, 5:30 & 8:00 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nJUICE / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Carney’s Main Room\, 8:40 & 10:20 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nBLOCO FUNK / SA TURDAY\, MAY 16 / Cape May Convention Hall Deck STAGE\, 12:30 & 2:40 PM \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDEBORAH SMITH QUARTET / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / Carney’s Other Room\, 12:30 & 2:30 \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSWIFT TECHNIQUE / SATURDAY\, MAY 16 / CARNEY’S MAIN ROOM\, 11:45AM & 1:30PM
URL:https://explorenewjersey.org/event/exit-zero-jazz-festival-2026/
LOCATION:Cape May Convention Hall\, 643 Washington Street\, Cape May\, New Jersey\, 08204
CATEGORIES:Concerts,Festivals,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://explorenewjersey.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/EXIT_ZERO_SPRING_2026_GRID_PROGRAM_030126_V1.webp
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/New_York:20260515T080000
DTEND;TZID=America/New_York:20260517T170000
DTSTAMP:20260611T150654
CREATED:20250724T150006Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T150010Z
UID:47919-1778832000-1779037200@explorenewjersey.org
SUMMARY:Cape May Exit Zero Jazz Festival
DESCRIPTION:Discover the Cape May Exit Zero Jazz Festival\, a premier musical event showcasing world-class jazz in the charming seaside town of Cape May\, New Jersey. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nGet ready for an unforgettable experience: \n\n\n\n\nFall 2025: November 7-9\n\n\n\nSpring 2026: May 15-17\n\n\n\nFall 2026: November 5-8\n\n\n\n\nImmerse yourself in captivating performances\, explore the vibrant local scene\, and create lasting memories at this highly anticipated festival. Plan your visit to Cape May and elevate your jazz experience!
URL:https://explorenewjersey.org/event/cape-may-exit-zero-jazz-festival-3/
LOCATION:Cape May Convention Hall\, 643 Washington Street\, Cape May\, New Jersey\, 08204
CATEGORIES:Concerts,Festivals,Music
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://explorenewjersey.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025FALLLineup_2160x1080_rev5.jpg
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