2026 South Haven Jazz Festival
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Foundry Hall presents the 9th annual South Haven Jazz Festival on September 18th and 19th in beautiful downtown South Haven. The free, two-day festival showcases a variety of regional musicians from small ensembles to the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band performing traditional and original music.
Friday night's highlight will be Brazilian jazz night with the Rufus Ferguson Quartet featuring Kenny Watson. On Saturday, saxophonist Lafayette Gunter, Jr. kicks off the evening with John Stites award winning pianist, Lisas Sung, Dale Bales and drummer Yuriana Sobrino Garcia.
Later Saturday evening, Creative Capital State of the Art Prize recipient, Brandon Meeks, shares his Unsung Giants program of Midwest jazz legacy stories. Closing out the night the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band will celebrate Miles Davis's 100th birthday.
The festival also showcases vocalist Yolonda Lavender's soul-based jazz and the WMU jazz vocal duo, Daunt & King.
For more information about the artists check out our website:
foundryhall.org/south-haven-jazz-festival/
2026 South Haven Jazz Festival lineup
FRIDAY 9/18 in Dyckman Park
6pm Daunt & King ~ WMU vocal jazz duo
7pm Rufus Ferguson Quartet featuring Kenny Watson ~ Brazilian Jazz
SATURDAY 9/19 in Dyckman Park and the Huron Street Pavilion
5pm Lafayette Gunter Jr. Band
6pm Yolonda Lavender
7pm Brandon Meeks Trio ~ Unsung Giants
8pm Lake Effect Jazz Big Band ~ celebrating Miles Davis’s 100th birthday
**This year's festival is made possible by grant funding, sponsorships and these generous donors:
MILES DAVIS CIRCLE
South Haven Community Foundation
Visit South Haven
Hotel Nichols
Mary Hosley and Jay Campbell
Louis Armstong CIRCLE
JoAnn and David Putman
Woodhams Ford
MyTown Ace Hardware South Haven
Ella Fitzgerald Circle
Town & Country Appraisal Co. of Paw Paw
If you would like to support the effort to keep South Haven swinging and grooving, send us an email at [email protected]!
Friday night's highlight will be Brazilian jazz night with the Rufus Ferguson Quartet featuring Kenny Watson. On Saturday, saxophonist Lafayette Gunter, Jr. kicks off the evening with John Stites award winning pianist, Lisas Sung, Dale Bales and drummer Yuriana Sobrino Garcia.
Later Saturday evening, Creative Capital State of the Art Prize recipient, Brandon Meeks, shares his Unsung Giants program of Midwest jazz legacy stories. Closing out the night the Lake Effect Jazz Big Band will celebrate Miles Davis's 100th birthday.
The festival also showcases vocalist Yolonda Lavender's soul-based jazz and the WMU jazz vocal duo, Daunt & King.
For more information about the artists check out our website:
foundryhall.org/south-haven-jazz-festival/
2026 South Haven Jazz Festival lineup
FRIDAY 9/18 in Dyckman Park
6pm Daunt & King ~ WMU vocal jazz duo
7pm Rufus Ferguson Quartet featuring Kenny Watson ~ Brazilian Jazz
SATURDAY 9/19 in Dyckman Park and the Huron Street Pavilion
5pm Lafayette Gunter Jr. Band
6pm Yolonda Lavender
7pm Brandon Meeks Trio ~ Unsung Giants
8pm Lake Effect Jazz Big Band ~ celebrating Miles Davis’s 100th birthday
**This year's festival is made possible by grant funding, sponsorships and these generous donors:
MILES DAVIS CIRCLE
South Haven Community Foundation
Visit South Haven
Hotel Nichols
Mary Hosley and Jay Campbell
Louis Armstong CIRCLE
JoAnn and David Putman
Woodhams Ford
MyTown Ace Hardware South Haven
Ella Fitzgerald Circle
Town & Country Appraisal Co. of Paw Paw
If you would like to support the effort to keep South Haven swinging and grooving, send us an email at [email protected]!
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Where is it happening?
Dyckman Park, 536 Phoenix Street, South Haven, MI, United States
Event Location & Nearby Stays:
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Host or PublisherFoundry Hall
