The first annual Orangeville Blues & Jazz Festival had its beginnings in 2003. A small group of 5 volunteers managed to organize and operate a full-blown festival over 3 days. A free concert featuring 2003 Juno Award winning headliner Jack DeKeyzer and seven other highly talented blues & jazz artists was held in Alexandra Park. The park featured a beer garden, farmers market and food & craft vendors. Five restaurants & coffee shops highlighted live music over three evenings. Local businesses enabled us to present a free event through their generous sponsorships. With an overall attendance of 2000 people, we received excellent reviews from the public and the media and were awarded Best Downtown Initiative by the BIA.
Building on our success from year one, the festival started to grow in 2004. Thanks to the generous support of the town of Orangeville and the BIA as well as our sponsors, we expanded our free concert in the park to include Saturday and Sunday. We increased the number of venues presenting live music to 12 participants. The amount of support from the public was amazing as we quickly grew to have a team of 50 dedicated volunteers. The event was establishing a reputation of high quality performers, organization and a great vibe! The overall attendance in year two was over 5000 people.
The third annual Orangeville Blues & Jazz in 2005 was our best yet. We grew tremendously again. We showcased over 60 acts and 160 performers spread across four days. Our free concerts absolutely rocked with continuous all day entertainment on three stages for two days. Over 25 venues featured live music. These included restaurants, coffee shops, art galleries and even music aboard the Credit Valley Explorer train. The performers included Juno, Maple Blues and National Jazz award winners. There were several local musicians playing. Female performers were highlighted along with special children's entertainment and a 35 piece Gospel choir. We became a registered not-for- profit corporation in 2005 with a six member Board of Directors. We now have over one hundred and thirty enthusiastic volunteers who are very excited to put on a fantastic festival in 2010. Our overall attendance last year grew to more than 26,000 happy people. We were awarded Best Festival/Event by the Hills of Headwaters Tourism Association.
Our festival has gained tremendous awareness in Ontario and beyond. There are Bed & Breakfasts, motels and the Credit Explorer booked a year in advance by festival attendees. We receive submissions from across Canada and all over the world by artists who wish to play at the Orangeville Blues & Jazz Fest. The word is spreading that Orangeville is the place to be on the first weekend in June!
2009 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
2008 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Ryan Grist with Lorne Lofsky
2007 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Trouble & Strife with Layla Zoe
Sophie Berkal-Sarbit - Heather Katz - Heather Bambrick - Shakura S'Aida - June Garber
Ryan Grist with Joe Sealy
2006 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Ryan Grist with Kevin Turcotte
2005 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Ryan Grist with Alex Dean
2004 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Wayne Buttery & The Groove Project
Stormstruck
Hilario Duran with Roberto Occhipinti
Ryan Grist with Pat Labarbara
2003 MAIN STAGE PERFORMERS
Wayne Buttery & The Groove Project
Stormstruck
