Celebrating its 27th year, the Isthmus Jazz Festival is a two-day celebration of America’s homegrown art form (that would be jazz). The free festival kicks off the summer season in one of Madison’s most beautiful outdoor settings, the Memorial Union Terrace, with Lake Mendota as a glittering backdrop.

A diverse crowd of students, jazz aficionados and casual fans fill the tables to hear a lineup that reflects a century’s worth of jazz styles. Dixieland, big-band swing, bebop, Latin jazz and free jazz are all part of the mix, along with contemporary derivations like funk and hip-hop. The festival is committed to honoring jazz’s glorious tradition while keeping one eye fixed on the future.

The festival runs Friday and Saturday, June 19th and 20th and is free, except for the headliner performance, Freddy Cole (4:30pm on Saturday.)

U.S. 151/Washington Street brings you closest in, while U.S. 12, 14, 18 and Highways 30 and 113 all bring you into Madison!

Get more details on the Isthmus Jazz Fest website here.