Women of Jazz Festival Returns to Celebrate Springfield’s Jazz Community
The second annual festival returns to Hold Fast Brewing with two stages, six hours of live music and a celebration of the women and community making Springfield’s jazz scene so special.
Laura French performing at Hold Fast Brewing, the same venue as the Women of Jazz Festival.
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to get to know Springfield’s jazz scene, this is a good one. The second annual Women of Jazz Festival takes over Hold Fast Brewing (235 N. Kimbrough Ave., Springfield) on Sunday, September 13, with two stages and six hours of live music from 3 to 9 p.m.
Tickets are $10, and attendees are encouraged to settle in, stay awhile and enjoy the music.
Emcee and jazz performer Laura French knows firsthand how important a welcoming space can be for someone finding their place in jazz. Hold Fast has given her a place to perform and build community, while the Brueggemann Gouge Jazz Band has helped guide her along the way as mentors and bandmates. “I’m just honored to be part of it as I continue to grow in my jazz journey,” French says.
The festival is also about creating more space for women in a genre where they have historically been underrepresented, especially as instrumentalists. French says the event gives women musicians a chance to be celebrated and supported as they continue growing in jazz.
A Place to Find Your People
The festival is, of course, all about the music, but French says there’s more to it than sitting back and watching a lineup of performances. She expects the day to feel more like a “family picnic,” with the same warm, welcoming atmosphere people have come to know at Hold Fast’s regular jazz sessions. “It’s vibrant and full of life and fun,” French says of Springfield’s jazz community.
The festival is also a chance to see what makes Springfield’s jazz community so special. Sarah Tweedle, owner of Hold Fast Brewing, says the scene is held together by the people who show up, support the musicians and keep coming back. “It’s the people, it’s the passion for the music, it’s the support,” she says. “You start seeing familiar faces; they really do become like family.”
And that community stretches across generations. Tweedle says one of her favorite things about the festival is seeing so many different generations in the same place, all there to listen to good music and spend time with each other.
Stay ‘Til The End
A lot of what people loved about last year’s festival is coming back, including two stages and music playing throughout the afternoon and evening. And this year, there’s an extra reason to stay until the very end—Bach and Patillo will wrap up the night as the festival’s headliner.
Here’s the full lineup:
3–3:30 Laura French and The Brueggemann Gouge Jazz Band (east/main stage)
3:40–4:10 Sarah Miller-Ross Trio (south stage)
4:20–4:50 Jenna English and BG (east stage)
5–5:30 Fresia & Jazzon Havana (south stage)
5:40–6:10 Sarah Tweedle and The Brueggemann Gouge Jazz Band (east stage)
6:20–6:50 Kristi Merideth & 83 Skidoo (south stage)
7–7:30 Angelia King and The Brueggemann Gouge Jazz Band (east stage)
7:40–8:10 Liz Carney & Ozarks Bella Donna (south stage)
8:20 Bach Pattillo (east stage)
For young women interested in pursuing jazz, French encourages them to immerse themselves in the music, attend live performances, listen to recordings and, most importantly, meet the people who make up the scene. “Join us,” she says. “Come have fun with us!”
Article by: Jordan Blomquist