We are returning to Cleveland, Ohio, this time as the featured Saturday night band at All Balboa Weekend! Now in its 14th year, All Balboa Weekend is the longest running Balboa weekend in the world and we are excited and honored to be a part of this weekend, attended by people around the globe who love this dance called Balboa. Details about the weekend are available at http://www.allbalboa.com.
On June 7, 2014 the City of Raleigh Museum is featuring the Mint Julep Jazz Band at an event honoring Raleigh’s World War II veterans, with the launch of an exhibit called “Our War: Voices of Raleigh’s World War 2 Veterans” and and a 1940’s themed fundraiser event. The event, which coincides with the 70th Anniversary of D-Day on June 6, will highlight the new exhibit and feature swing dancing, European and Pacific theater-themed food and drinks, live and silent auctions, and costumed cigarette girls. Time Warp 2014 tickets are $60 for museum members and $70 for non-members (which include a museum membership — a $35 value).
Time: 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Location: City of Raleigh Museum, 220 Fayetteville Street, Raleigh, NC
Tickets: To purchase tickets, visit the event’s Eventbrite page
Our vocalist, Laura Windley, will be wearing the uniform of World War II Army Nurse Corps First Lieutenant Martha Way, who served in the 97th Evacuation Hospital Unit with her husband, Dr. John Way. First Lieutenant Way’s unit landed in Normandy, France just 11 days after D-Day and joined the field hospital there to provide care to wounded soldiers. Her unit then went on to sites in Belgium and Germany, directly supporting First US Army troops fighting in the Ardennes (Battle of the Bulge) and was one of the first units to assist the survivors of the Nazi concentration camps. The 97th Evacuation Hospital Unit served thousands of wounded soldiers and displaced persons until the unit was inactivated on November 23, 1945. Martha Way returned to Beaufort, North Carolina with her husband following the war. Laura is friends with the Way family and thanks to the family for allowing her to wear Martha Way’s uniform on this special occasion.
A year ago today, May 8, we released our first album “Durham on Saturday Night” – to celebrate one year of recorded bliss, we are doing a giveaway on Lindy Hop Problems – Click below to enter to win a free CD and other goodies! You have two weeks to get your entry in and then the winner will be chosen at random.
http://lindyhopproblems.tumblr.com/post/85117450654
And while you’re there you should look around – #lindyhopproblems is a great Tumblr blog and a pioneer of the lindy hop meme. You won’t be disappointed! 🙂
Deadline for submissions is May 21, 2014.
The Mint Julep Jazz Band is proud to be performing at Frankie 100 NC, North Carolina’s Frankie Manning Centennial Celebration, a once ever event celebrating the life and legacy of Lindy Hop pioneer, educator, and global ambassador Frankie Manning, who passed away shortly before his 95th birthday. This year Frankie would have been 100 years old and the global Lindy Hop community is set to celebrate, with a huge event in New York, Frankie’s hometown, and smaller celebrations worldwide.
The Mint Julep Jazz Band will be performing at the main dance on Saturday, May 24, 2014 at the Carrboro Century Center from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. Come join us for some Lindy Hop and be a part of this celebration for NC, which is drawing dancers from surrounding states and beyond!
We’ll be joining the stellar lineup of musicians for the spring 2014 Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival of Music & Dance, along with the Indigo Girls, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, the Del McCoury Band, and dozens of other great local, regional, and national acts. We’ll be performing Sunday, April 20 from 7:15 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. in the Dance Tent – they’ll have a wood floor in the tent so everyone can cut a rug and avoid the mud. 😉
For more information about the festival, the artists, the location, camping, tickets, schedule, and any questions you may have, visit Shakori Hills’ comprehensive website at http://shakorihillsgrassroots.org.
This is our first music festival, so we are really excited – see you there!
We are very excited to have some updated videos of the Mint Julep Jazz Band – thanks to Ashley Warren, our videographer, who got some great footage at our performance for the Triangle Swing Dance Society’s dance at the Murphey School in Durham on February 1! Six new videos posted below:
“Rockin’ in Rhythm” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
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“Betcha Nickel” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
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“Undecided” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
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“Sugarfoot Rag” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
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“Besame Mucho” performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
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“Darktown Strutters Ball” (encore) performed by the Mint Julep Jazz Band at the Triangle Swing Dance Society dance, February 1, 2014.
We had a photo shoot this past Saturday with two great photographers, Ashley Warren and Alexandrea Thomsen – we love the results! You can check out the full albums at Ashley N Warren Photography and Dtownperspective (scroll down to see MJJB). Here are some of our favorites:
The Mint Julep Jazz Band’s first gig was on February 23, 2012 at an RDU Rent Party swing dance, which we decided to live stream primarily because one of our friends was in the hospital and requested it. It was a great idea and, not only was our friend able to tune in, 79 other people did, as well!
We are excited that the band has seen success over the past two years and to commemorate our second anniversary we will live stream our February 1, 2014 show at the Triangle Swing Dance Society swing dance in Durham, NC!
To tune in, visit our UStream channel on February 1 any time from 8:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m.: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/mint-julep-jazz-band
Ashley Warren took some great photos of the band at our show at G2B Gastro Pub on January 10, 2014 – here are some of our favorites and you can check out the entire set at her website, Ashley N. Warren Photography.
The video from our performance and interview on WUNC’s The State of Things from November 22 is posted! Check out the NC Museum of Natural Sciences‘ YouTube channel to see how we all fit in the tiny studio:
Mint Julep Jazz Band 