Beyond JazzFest: Society in rebuilding mode hopes to lift up jazz locally, starting now

By John Hult, for Pigeon605

When Alex Gilbert-Schrag took the job at the helm of the Sioux Falls Jazz and Blues Society in early 2020, she quickly learned that some of her new city’s residents knew of the organization only through JazzFest.

The nonprofit’s efforts to connect youth to jazz and blues and educate on its influence, its jazz camps and outreach efforts, and the small-scale jazz nights it built on relationships with local and regional talent often flew under the radar.

For the sometime Sioux Falls music fan, SFJB was JazzFest, and JazzFest was SFJB. 

That was a problem. Not because it put mission-critical music education in the back seat in the public eye necessarily, but rather because JazzFest sucked up so many resources that there was little left for anything else.

The free three-day music festival was nothing like a cash cow. JazzFest had seen declining annual attendance before 2019, a year marked by artist cancellation, punishing heat and a damaging storm. It left SFJB in dire financial straits, even before the COVID-19 pandemic struck and put the future of live music in limbo across the country.

The twin challenges of debt and novel disease have forced the organization to refocus on its core mission, Gilbert-Schrag said: education and artist support. 

“I walked into an organization that was in debt because of JazzFest,” she said. “Walking into something like that, then also maybe having the expectation that we would do a festival of that size was so challenging … all of the educational activities that we typically do were put on hold after JazzFest.”

The brick-by-brick rebuilding of SFJB’s fundamentals began even before the pandemic. Fundraising picked up early to resume the Jazz Diversity Project, a program that ties the threads of jazz and blues history to cultural shifts such as the civil rights era. Plans began to swirl for Jazz Camp, which represents the first opportunity for younger musicians to learn how to improvise in group settings.

“To see programs like that get totally put on pause … for me as a lifelong musician myself, I would not be where I am today if I hadn’t started out playing on an instrument,” she said. “That was one of our first orders of business in 2020.”

When the pandemic first hit, the group hosted virtual shows on Facebook, taking donations for artists who were unsure when the next paid gig might appear. That theme continued with a video series for kids called “The Music Maker in Me,” featuring Phil Baker. The program recently began to incorporate in-person shows with children again. This year, the Jazz Camp for middle school musicians returned, although continued COVID safety protocols didn’t allow for overnight dorm stays.

Each of those steps helped lay the groundwork for Jazz and Blues Week, seven days of music across multiple venues, targeted to multiple age groups, all capped by the organization’s first fundraising gala.

There’s a jazz crawl through the haunts of downtown Sioux Falls, a marquee show at The District from JazzFest alum Tab Benoit, interactive performances for kids, an exhibit at the Washington Pavilion on the history of the homegrown SFJB and performances from Jazz Camp kids.

None of the events will have the splendor of a sprawling, once-a-year signature event like JazzFest, but the diversity of offerings is perhaps a more accurate representation of the group’s core missions. Preserving culture, supporting the arts and educating the next generation simply can’t rise or fall on the back of a single weather-dependent event in mid-July, Gilbert-Schrag said. It’s about offering a wealth of opportunities year-round, and the events put the spotlight on the musicians and students involved in making that happen.

But what of JazzFest? Will it return eventually? Sioux Falls has, after all, watched two other large music festivals peter out in recent years: RibFest, which sputtered to an end after short-lived attempts to revive it, and LifeLight, the Christian music gathering that splintered into smaller ministry events after 2017. 

The return of JazzFest is a possibility, Gilbert-Schrag said, but it falls farther down the list of goals than financial stability does. The homegrown organization didn’t start with a large-scale concert. It began with fans and musicians, performing in backyards and enjoying the communal experience of art forms whose influence shaped — and continues to shape — 20th century popular music.

“Getting to this stage, we’ve just really been in survival mode because we wanted to have a future,” she said. “A lot of performing arts organizations and venues around the country have shut down over the pandemic, and I’m so glad to say that we’re still here. At this point, we’re still really focused on rebuilding the organization, focused on our fundraising and saying ‘you know, we’re still here as an organization, but we do need the community’s help to keep us going forward.’”

Jazz and Blues Week Schedule

Saturday, July 10-18

Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society Exhibit at the Washington Pavilion: Follow this link for Pavilion hours and admission rates.

Saturday, July 10

Jazz Crawl (various locations): Watch the SFJB Facebook page for details.

Sunday, July 11

Tab Benoit at The District, 8 p.m.: Follow this link for details and tickets.

Monday, July 12

Music Maker Pop Up with Phil Baker and friends at EmBe Downtown.

Tuesday, July 13

Tuesday Tunes Blowout! with the Brian Hanegan Quintet at Severance Brewing Company, 7 p.m.

Wednesday, July 14

Pop Up Performance with the Hegg Brothers at McKennan Park, 6 p.m., free.

Thursday, July 15

Weekly Live Jazz Extravaganza with The Little Big Band at R Wine Bar + Kitchen, 6:30 p.m., free: 10 percent of food and drink sales will go to benefit SFJB. Call 605-271-0814 for reservations.

Friday, July 16

Jazz Camp Performance, O’Gorman High School, 7:30 p.m., free.

Saturday, July 17

Pop Up Concert at the Washington Pavilion, meet-and-greet with SFJB director, 2-4 p.m., free.

Sunday, July 18

Gourmet Wine & Jazz with Latin Quarter at R Wine Bar + Kitchen, $150: four-course meal from Chef Nicholas Skajewski, with wine pairings from R Wine Bar’s Riccardo Tarabelsi. Proceeds to benefit SFJB, and a portion of the ticket price is tax-deductible. Follow this link for tickets.