“I moved here in 1980 from the East side of the state and thought, ‘Oh my, what have I done?'” said GRandJazzFest creator Audrey Sundstrom, whose thoughts are not unlike those that many of us were thinking as well when we reflect now on what Grand Rapids looked like in that period of time.
Grand Rapids was a blank canvas in so many ways. To some, it was maybe even a slightly damaged one, as many would choose to avoid our downtown, leaving it for other urban centers where vibrant festivals happened on a regular basis.
And now, how the times have changed since. Our events calendar fills up nightly with a host of choices we could only dream of then. The debt the city owes to the artists and arts is huge, because I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that the arts has and continues to solidify that reputation we own today.
Sundstrom’s love was jazz music. While we have had plenty of opportunities -- from bars, clubs and even programming like St. Cecelia’s annual jazz concert series -- to hear this style of music for a fee, finding an open-air, free, center city festival devoted to jazz was nonexistent.
So, like many in our region, Sundstrom set out in 2011 to produce her dream of a jazz festival for the people of our city.
The result of her vision and persistence is that the premiere of the GRandJazzFest on Saturday, August 18 at Rosa Parks Circle. The festival is a 501c3 created by a team of music lovers under the guidance of the West Michigan Jazz Society, with Sundstrom as the festival chair.
And unbeknownst to Sundstrom, the lineup organically evolved to be all Michigan-based musicians taking to the Maya Lin-designed stage for this one-day event.
“It was not a conscious decision to just program Michigan-based artists only, but I think our festival understands the importance of giving back to our local artists of our state by taking care of them as we have for our event,” said Sundstrom. “And for year two, you can expect us to not only look to expanding it, but also keeping a place for the Michigan up-and-comer as a part of our programming.”
Performing will be Grand Rapids Jazz Orchestra with Edye Evans Hyde?, Walt Gutowski & The Bridge Street Band with Michelle Covington, Grupo Ayé?, The Steve Hilger Jazz Quintet?, saxophonist Phil Denny? and Detroit jazz guitarist Tim Bowman. WZZM’s Eddie Rucker, a huge fan of the jazz scene of West Michigan, emcees the night.
Admission: Free
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