The Newport Jazz Festival just announced that tickets will go on sale and the lineup will drop for the 2024 festival (August 2-4) on April 9th at 1PM Eastern, which has this East Coast mama reminiscing of all my favorite moments from last year! After having finally experienced the longest-running jazz festival in the country last year, it quickly made its way to the top of my ever-expanding list of favorite summer fests.

On Friday, August 25th, the THING Festival returned to Port Townsend, WA, for its third season. The three-day event, curated by Adam Zacks of the Seattle Theatre Group, showcased an eclectic lineup on two main stages and three associated venues. One festival-goer described the experience as "a mostly chill-out menagerie." Of the two stages, the Jeremiah Green stage memorialized the Modest Mouse drummer who tragically succumbed to cancer in early 2023.

When Thundercat last played New York the show came on the heels of the release of his excellent album Drunk, saw guest appearances from comedians Dave Chappelle  and Hannibal Buress along with pianist and record producer Robert Glasper, and left just about everyone in the room scraping up their jaw from the floor by the end of things.