Season Kick-Off Festival: Get Jazzed

Help us celebrate a new season! Mesa Arts Center’s Season Kick-off Festival: Get Jazzed features live music on three stages with performances by hip hop, jazz, funk ensemble Sidewalk Chalk, the Dennis Rowland Band with Jesse McGuire, Blaise Lantana, and Let Freedom Swing All Stars and more.

Bring the family for live artists demos and hands-on art activities!

Also, don’t miss the five new jazz-themed exhibitions in the Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum, KJZZ’s Soundbite Food Truck plus other tasty eats and treats, live artist demonstrations and hands-on arts activities.

Performance Schedule
Wells Fargo stage:

7-9PM, Let Freedom Swing Allstars

9-11PM, Jazz Jam Session

Alliance Pavilion stage:

6-7:30PM, Ioannis Goudelis, Jazz Pianist

9-11PM, Sidewalk Chalk

Mesa Contemporary Arts Museum Courtyard:

6-7PM, Blaise Lantana

7-9PM, Dennis Rowland Band with Jesse McGuire

Sidewalk Chalk

Chicago-based ensemble Sidewalk Chalk transcends genre with a wholly original sound that blends elements of jazz, funk, hip-hop, and R&B. As The Chicago Tribune says, “While many bands strive hard for originality, it’s unlikely that any of them could best Sidewalk Chalk.” Comprised of an MC, vocalist, drummer, bassist, keys player, trombonist and trumpeter, Sidewalk Chalk is driven by an internalized, emphatic statement of purpose, evident in the music from their 2017 release, An Orchid Is Born (Ropeadope Records). This powerhouse group has audiences and critics alike abuzz with excitement, “pushing beyond musical convention to create art that will know no shelf life” (last.fm).