One of the biggest music festivals in North Texas is gearing up for its seventh installment.
The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL)’s Riverfront Jazz Festival is bringing more than 30 musical acts to multiple stages over three days in and around the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in downtown Dallas.
The event kicks off Friday, Aug. 30 and continues through Sunday, Sept. 1. Tickets — either a weekend pass or single-day admissions — are on sale now, and all proceeds from the festival will benefit the TBAAL Youth arts and education programs as well as the institution itself, per press materials.
“We’re excited to present to festival goers some of the greatest music artists on today’s scene,” said festival creator and producer Curtis King in a statement. “Rarely do we see a plethora of this caliber of musical talent from the young to the legendary in one setting, on one weekend for an affordable price.”
For a complete listing of the scheduled artists performing over the festival’s three days, click here. Here are five can’t-miss acts appearing at this year’s festival.
CeeLo Green (9 p.m. Friday, Arena Stage)
Given the extraordinary impact of Gnarls Barkley, singer-songwriter-rapper-producer Green’s collaboration with producer Danger Mouse, it can be a little shocking to realize that duo’s debut — St. Elsewhere — and its inescapable hit, “Crazy,” is bearing down on 20 years old. (Green’s own monster solo hit, “Forget You,” will turn 15 next year.) He’s kept plenty busy in the interim, appearing on NBC’s The Voice, and releasing his sixth and latest solo album, CeeLo Green is Thomas Callaway, in 2020.
Fantastic Negrito (4:30 p.m. Saturday, Bruton Stage)
Singer-songwriter Xavier Amin Dphrepaulezz, better known by his stage name Fantastic Negrito, smashes together R&B, blues and Americana music with electrifying results. The Grammy-winning musician is touring behind his latest studio effort, Grandfather Courage, and will head to Europe in October, with a month-long slate of shows planned.
Ginuwine (9:05 p.m. Saturday, Arena Stage)
You’d be forgiven for thinking Ginuwine (born Elgin Lumpkin in Washington D.C.) has just one single to his name — that would be 1996’s raunchy, thumping “Pony” — but his catalog, which tapered off in the early 2010s, stretches beyond the sexy moodiness of that breakout hit. In 2013, he joined forces with Tank and Tyrese to release the collaborative project Three Kings. In the years since, he’s focused primarily on acting.
Cassandra Wilson (4:30 p.m. Sunday, Bruton Stage)
Singer, songwriter and producer Cassandra Wilson has spent nearly four decades building a career around a sound blending country, folk and blues into the jazz idiom, winning acclaim in the process, including Grammys and honorary doctorates. Wilson has also embraced collaboration, turning up on records with Wynton Marsalis, the Roots, Angelique Kidjo and Terence Blanchard, among others.
Ruben Studdard and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra (8:15 p.m. Sunday, Bruton Stage)
Alabama-raised singer Ruben Studdard is best known for winning the second season of American Idol way back in 2003, although he’s managed to sustain a fruitful career beyond the singing competition, including stints on Broadway, in television and feature films. His latest studio album, The Way I Remember It, dropped late last year.
Riverfront Jazz Festival at Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center, Dallas. 7 p.m. Aug. 30; 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 31-Sunday, Sept. 1. Tickets are $205 for a weekend pass, or $95 per day.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on X (@prestonjones). Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
