We are excited to be a part of Richmond, Virginia’s inaugural I Heart Balboa, a mini-workshop weekend occurring September 4-5, 2015. The weekend features Balboa instructors Kate Hedin, David Rehm, Chelsea Lee, and David Lee, and the Mint Julep Jazz Band is performing at the Saturday night dance at The Dance Space in Richmond. We hear they are close to selling out, so get your weekend pass or your dance pass soon!
We are excited to be returning to All Balboa Weekend for our third year at the grandaddy of all Balboa events and home to the American Classic Balboa Championships! Join us in Independence, Ohio on Saturday, June 13, 2015 from 9:00 p.m. to midnight for a grand evening of shuffling, competitions, and classic swing era tunes. For more information on this event, including an entire weekend of classes taught by some of the best Balboa dancers in the world, please visit the All Balboa Weekend website.
On May 27, 2015, we will return to Koka Booth Amphitheater‘s Crescent Deck to perform as part of the Hob Nob Jazz Concert Series! We’ll be performing three sets of music from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Bring a picnic and join us on the deck or bring a blanket and recline in the grass.
Admission is $5 for adults; Kids 12 and under free – you can purchase advance tickets at Koka Booth Amphitheater’s website. Pets on leashes are allowed and also get in free. 🙂 See you soon, Cary!
We are so happy to be returning to Common 414, Raleigh’s 1920’s-themed cocktail bar, for another double header in May. We’ll be performing May 3 and May 17, 2015 (both are Sunday nights) from 7:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Come relax and drink a cocktail on one of Common 414’s many comfy couches or bring your dance shoes and cut a rug in front of the band. There’s plenty of room for everyone!
We are excited to be joining forces with Taste for the Grand Taste Experience at the Durham Armory, April 23, 2015, for an evening of live music and enough delicious food from the best chefs and beverage makers in the region to leave you “Thanksgiving full.” Pack your appetite and your listening ears (maybe even your dance shoes, if you aren’t too full) for this smorgasbord at a fantastic historic venue.
This is the first time the Mint Julep Jazz Band has performed at the Durham Armory and we are excited to grace the same stage as jazz greats, such as Ella Fitzgerald, The Ink Spots, and Cootie Williams, who performed there in the 1940’s.
The Mint Julep Jazz Band is spending a day at the races! We will be performing at a bourbon festival and steeplechase on April 4 – Frontstretch Fest at the 64th running of the Stoneybrook Steeplechase at the Carolina Horse Park in Raeford, North Carolina, to be exact! There will be bourbon and races, of course, but also local chefs, food trucks, local artists, horseshoes, cornhole, croquet, and even some hammocks for relaxing. We’ll be performing periodically from 10:00 a.m. until 3:00 p.m. Don your Derby best and come out! For more information and tickets, visit the Frontstretch Fest website.
We had such a great time performing for the 8th annual Orlando Lindy Exchange, and we’re excited to see that Jamie Lynn Photography was able to capture the fun and energy of this event, including some great shots of the band in action. Check out her photographs at the Jamie Lynn Photography Facebook page – here are two of our favorites:
Our next traveling adventure will be roadtripping to Orlando, Florida for ORLX – the Orlando Lindy Exchange! We’ll be performing at the main dances on March 6 and 7, two nights of live music for your Lindy Hopping feet. Looking forward to warmer climates and we hear Orlando has some great venues. Maybe some pool time? Whatever happens, it’s going to be awesome. 🙂
The Mint Julep Jazz Band will be performing at Austin, Texas’ unique and awesome event, Hot Rhythm Holiday, a weekend of dances, workshops, and live music focusing on the dances Balboa and Collegiate Shag. This is the band’s first fly-out gig and we’re excited, but hope everything goes well at the airport. Cross your fingers for no delays! Once we get there on January 17, we hope we’ll have the afternoon to explore a Austin a bit before we perform at The Fed that night. We’ll be sharing the stage with Austin’s own Thrift Set Orchestra for four sets of live music at the Saturday night dance!
We have been working diligently to get everything in place to launch a Kickstarter for our second album on January 11, 2015 – we’ll be having our Kickstarter launch party at Common 414 in Raleigh, with the full 8 piece Mint Julep Jazz Band playing from 7:00 to 10:00 p.m. Come join us to celebrate!
The title of the album, “Battle Axe,” is taken from a great Jimmie Lunceford tune in our book, and we anticipate that this will be a really fun album to put together, based on that title. Alexandrea Thomsen of Dtownperspective is putting together an awesome Kickstarter video for us and we have lots of new and interesting rewards in the works, as well as bringing back some old favorites (cupcakes, anyone?). Looking forward to January 11!
Mint Julep Jazz Band 