TORONTO, May 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Film star and The Blues Brothers co-founder Dan Aykroyd, Late Night with David Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer and blues-rock great David Wilcox will be among the special guests who will take the TD Mainstage on Bloor St. on June 22 to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the renowned Downchild Blues Band. The performance will headline the TD Toronto Jazz Festival’s FREE opening weekend celebrations as Bloor Street closes down for two days of non-stop music. The weekend performances are among 175 FREE concerts featured during the Festival’s ten-day run June 21-30.
Opening weekend kicks off June 21 on Cumberland St., which will be closed the entire Festival, as we pay tribute to New Orleans along with a vibrant Mardi Gras themed edition of the Royal Ontario Museum’s Friday Night Live. Bring the family as Cirque du Soleil provides entertainment with hula hoop workshops and other child-friendly programming. On June 23, the Festival goes to church as 12-time GRAMMY award-winner Shirley Caesar, headlines the TD Mainstage on Bloor St. The Festival changes gears in the evening with Shad, host of the Netflix series Hip-Hop Evolution, curating a showcase highlighting rising talent that merges jazz and hip-hop.
In partnership with CBC Music, the JUNOS 365 stage celebrates Canadian musicians this summer at the Gatsby bar in the Windsor Arms Hotel from June 21 to 25. Emerging artists will be put in the spotlight this year as the Festival promotes nine of the very best emerging artists from across Canada and the United States selected by the Festival’s Artistic Director, Josh Grossman and the New Deal’s Dan Kurtz. From Hazelton Ave., to Cumberland St., to Bloor St., over 175 free shows will be presented, featuring the very best in jazz from Toronto, across the country and around the world.
Visit www.torontojazz.com for more info.