Blog Archives
Duck Jazz Festival Highlights
Back in October we performed at the Duck Jazz Festival, a fantastic two day jazz festival on the outer banks of North Carolina, and they’ve put together a highlight reel from the festival, including the Mint Julep Jazz Band’s performance at the swing dance lesson taught by Laura Windley and Keenan McKenzie – check it out and make plans to attend this wonderful festival by the sea.
Duck Jazz Festival – October 7, 2017
The Duck Jazz Festival is a special and unique event in North Carolina and we were excited to perform as part of the festival in 2015 – coastal North Carolina is not known for its bustling music scene (Laura writing here, as a native of Beaufort, can attest to this firsthand), so that the coastal town of Duck, along with sponsors such as the North Carolina Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts, puts their efforts into a well-curated, day-long jazz festival that is free and open to the public on a beautiful beach-side town commons is a feat, a wonder, and a blissful experience for those coastal natives who may not make it to larger metro areas very often to catch the latest in jazz performances.
This year the festival has expanded to include two days of music – the traditional day-long festival on Sunday and they have added a Saturday afternoon set on the town commons featuring the Mint Julep Jazz Band. We hope you will join us for this free show from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. with a swing dance lesson between sets taught by Laura and Keenan. Then, stay for Sunday’s concerts, with performances from Davina and the Vagabonds, the Marquis Hill Blacktet, the Rad Trads, the Robert Jospe Express Trio, the Second Marine Aircraft Wing Jazz Ensemble, and the First Flight High School Jazz Band.
To be asked back to perform at this festival is an honor and a joy – the jazz fans at this festival are gracious and responsive, the best audience an artist could ask for. See you soon, Duck!
Photos from Duck Jazz Festival
The Duck Jazz Festival is one of the best experiences we have had as a band – this community cares about jazz and puts on a thoughtful and perfectly executed event that draws jazz fans and music lovers from the outer banks of North Carolina and beyond. Thanks so much to the Town of Duck for creating such a fantastic music festival and inviting us to be a part of it!
Thanks to Alexandrea Lassiter of Dtownperspective for taking almost all of these photos and documenting our trip!
The jam session on Saturday night of the festival at The Blue Point.
There are wild horses statues throughout Duck, in honor of the wild horses that roam the dunes on the outer banks.
Duck Donuts across from our hotel!
Setting up at the Duck Jazz Festival main stage.
Performing Ducky Wucky at the Duck Jazz Festival!
A full band shot.
The crowded lawn at the Duck Jazz Festival.
Signing autographs at the merch table after our performance.
Our trumpeter Paul Rogers signs a Duck Jazz Festival poster, featuring the silhouette of Maceo Parker, the festival headliner.
That’s a wrap – love you, Duck!
Duck Jazz Festival – October 11, 2015
We love traveling around our home state of North Carolina to perform at cool and unique venues, so we are delighted to be included in the roster for this year’s Duck Jazz Festival on the outer banks of North Carolina! The Duck Jazz Festival, now in its 9th year, presents a free day-long festival of regional, national, and international jazz artists with two stages on the Duck Town Green.
This year’s festival artists include Maceo Parker, the Bria Skonberg Quintet, the Mint Julep Jazz Band, The Monitors, Joe Mapp and the Coordinates, and the First Flight High School Honors Jazz Band.
The music starts at 11:00 a.m. – join us on October 11, 2015 in Duck! For more information, visit the Duck Jazz Festival website.
