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Celebrating 250 Years of America Through the Evolution of Jazz
The 2026 DC JazzFest will celebrate America's 250th with "The Future of Jazz: America’s Next 250 Years" celebrating jazz as both a reflection of American history and a forward-looking art form that continues to evolve. This theme offers a powerful way to tie jazz’s rich history to its limitless future, reinforcing that jazz—like America—is constantly growing, innovating, and redefining itself. We will celebrate renowned, emerging & new voices that are distinctly jazz with genre-crossing artists. DC JazzFest will 1) feature young and boundary-pushing artists who represent the next generation of jazz; 2) highlight artists blending jazz with global sounds, pop, hip-hop, Latin, gospel, country, the blues, and other genres to showcase its evolving nature; 3) commission new compositions inspired by America 250, reflecting on the past while imagining the future of jazz.
