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The Mint Julep Jazz Band hits the road this Saturday, September 6, 2014 for the DC metro area, to perform at the Jam Cellar‘s swing dance at Glen Echo Park, Glen Echo, MD! The gorgeous Spanish Ballroom at Glen Echo was built in 1933 in the Spanish Art Deco Style and played host to the great bands of the swing era and beyond – we are always excited to perform at this venue!

Dance runs 9:00 p.m. to midnight, $18.00 gets you a free beginner lesson at 8:00 p.m. and admission to the dance – see you soon, DC!

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The Mint Julep Jazz Band is the first runner up for best musical artist/band in the 2014 Best of Durham Awards, sponsored by Durham Magazine! We are so grateful to even be in the running for this, so thank you to everyone who voted – we were inched out of the first place spot (which we won in 2013) by Sylvan Esso, a nationally touring indie folk band who relocated to Durham in 2013. Check it out in Durham Magazine’s August 2014 issue or on their website!

Does this mean we are still Durham’s best jazz band? 😉

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We are featured in the August issue of Our State for our Music in the Library recordings!
We are featured in the August issue for our Music in the Library recordings!

The Mint Julep Jazz Band is excited to be invited to provide music for Our State Magazine‘s Music in the Library video series, which shares and highlights songs from North Carolina musical artists filmed at Our State Magazine’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. We filled up their cozy library space with eight musicians, swing, and hot jazz on a hot June afternoon and the results came out great, using just three microphones and three cameras.

We are also featured in the magazine’s August issue – pick one up from your local North Carolina newsstand!

The band recorded “Swingtime in Honolulu,” “Rock it for Me,” and our original tune (composed by alto/clarinet/soprano sax mad man, Keenan McKenzie) “Miami Boulevard” – visit the Our State YouTube channel for all the videos from this series!

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Army-Nurse-Corps

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

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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.

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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!

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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.

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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

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