Samantha Fish, photo by Love Imagery

(MORRISTOWN, NJ) -- Morristown Mayor Tim Dougherty has announced the line-up for this year's free annual Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival. It will be held on Saturday, August 16; on the Green. The music begins at noon and runs until 10:00pm. As it has for the past three years, the Festival will honor two of its founders, Linda Smith and Michael Fabrizio, who both sadly passed away in June 2021.

The Festival begins at noon with the swinging jazz of Dani G and Friends, featuring Grammy Award-nominated saxophonist John Michalak, who has collaborated with music greats including Julio Iglesias, Gloria Estefan, David Lee Roth and Engelbert Humperdinck. The band is led by vocalist Dani G who brings her brand of swinging jazz to the sounds of the Great American Songbook and popular classics.

At two o’clock, the jazz continues with the U.S. Army’s premier jazz ensemble, The Jazz Ambassadors. This 19-piece ensemble draws on big band charts from the Swing Era with an emphasis on Duke Ellington, Count Basie and Benny Goodman.

Then at four it is the sensational Blues People, whose quartet blends funk, soul, jazz, rock, and blues into what they call “the New Sound of NYC/North Jersey Blues.” Their debut album, The Skin I’m In earned a Blues Blast 2024 Music Awards Nomination for “Best New Artist Debut Album.” In 2023 and 2024, they won the North Jersey Blues Society International Blues Challenge.

At six, the Festival brings the young guitar prodigy to the stage, King Solomon Hicks. His newest release, Harlem, won the Blues Music Award’s “Best Emerging Artist” and he is featured at blues festivals around the world. He has performed with a long list of legendary artists including Tony Bennett, George Thorogood, Marcus King and Jeff Beck.

The festival comes to a close with guitarist and singer-songwriter Samantha Fish who has won multiple Blues Blast Awards, Blues Music Awards, 22 Independent Blues Awards, Living Blues Awards, and 13 Offbeat’s Best of the Beat Awards. She has been nominated for Grammy Awards and is featured regularly on Sirius Bluesville Radio.

“We are excited to be back in August,” said Mayor Dougherty who initiated the festival in 2011. “From vibrant jazz to soulful blues, there is something for every music lover. It’s no wonder that we attract fans from far beyond the metro area -- people come from all over the country and even internationally. We are deeply thankful to our generous sponsors for making this amazing Festival a reality!”

Some of the sponsors for this summer’s Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival include the Morristown Municipal Airport, Bijou Properties, Hampshire Co LLC, Inglesino Webster, M-Station Urban Renewal Associates, Deloitte, Headquarters Plaza/Second Roc Jersey Associates, Jeff Rawding AIA, Uma Flowers, Morristown Parking Authority, Trustees of the Morristown Green, and the Best Western Plus/Morristown Inn. Many more sponsors will be announced in the coming weeks.

The Morristown Jazz & Blues Festival will take place on Saturday, August 16, in Morristown, starting at noon. Admission is free and many local restaurants will be offering specials for festival attendees. Bring your lawn chairs and blankets.