2022 Lineup

The Saratoga Jazz Festival will return to the Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) on its traditional weekend, Saturday June 25th and Sunday June 26th, 2022!

Performances will begin each day on the Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage at 11 AM and on the Amphitheater Stage at noon.

Here are some resources to help you get ready for the festival:

Saturday June 25 Lineup

Amphitheater
  • 8:45 – 10:15 ~ Booker T. Presents: A Stax Revue
  • 7:05 – 8:15 ~ Con Tumbao featuring Issac Delgado, Robby Ameen, Oscar Hernandez, Conrad Herwig, Pedrito Martinez, Juan Munguia, Alain Pérez, Mike Rodriguez, Tony Succar & Miguel Zenon
  • 5:25 – 6:35 ~ Robert Glasper
  • 4:00 – 5:00 ~ Galactic featuring Anjelika Jelly Joseph
  • 2:40 – 3:40 ~ Ozmosys Band featuring Omar Hakim & Rachel Z
  • 1:20 – 2:20 ~ Amina Figarova Sextet plus Strings
  • noon – 1:00 ~ Hot Club of Saratoga
Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage
  • 5:40 – 6:50 ~ Red Baraat
  • 4:20 – 5:20 ~ Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt with Dawn Thomson, Nadje Noordhuis, Jeff Lederer & Martin Wind
  • 3:00 – 4:00 ~ Emmaline
  • 1:40 – 2:40 ~ Craig Handy & 2nd Line Smith
  • 12:20 – 1:20 ~ Connie Han Trio
  • 11am – noon ~ Dan Wilson Trio

Sunday, June 26 Lineup

Amphitheater
  • 7:05 – 8:35 ~ Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis
  • 5:35 – 6:35 ~ Ledisi
  • 4:05 – 5:05 ~ SuperBlue: Kurt Elling featuring Charlie Hunter
  • 2:45 – 3:45 ~ Eliane Elias
  • 1:25 – 2:25 ~ Matthew Whitaker
  • noon – 1:00 ~ Garland Nelson’s Joyful Noise
Charles R. Wood “Jazz Discovery” Stage
  • 4:30 – 5:40 ~ Cha Wa
  • 3:05 – 4:05 ~ Dara Starr Tucker
  • 1:45 – 2:45 ~ Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars celebrate George Wein featuring Mike Rodriguez, Steve Davis, Jimmy Greene, Bill Cunliffe, Dave Stryker, Todd Coolman & Dennis Mackrel
  • 12:25 – 1:25 ~ Tiempo Libre
  • 11am – noon ~ Ryan Keberle & Catharsis
  • Carolyn Wonderland (Canceled due to emergency back surgery)

Tickets

Tickets for the festival start at $65 and are available online to the general public. Before May 1st two-day passes were also available for a savings of $10 per ticket.

Lawn seating is free for children ages 12 and under.

$20 amphitheater tickets are available for children ages 12 and under and students with a school-issued ID.

50 replies on “2022 Lineup”

First saw Robert Glasper at Jazz Standard in 2006 and thought he was brilliant. I bought one of his early discs and loved it. What would make such a talented artist put on that horrible sound effects show this year? I went back over all the past schedules since 1984 looking for a worst featured act and nothing came close save for the 1995 Little Richard horror show. What a waste of talent. Possible worst performance ever at Jazz Fest.

With each modernization SPAC has lost some of its park and pastoral nature. These last changes leave us with more buildings and more macadam. It is ironic that pines and other trees were cut down to build THE PINES. I’m told that The Pines is exclusively for the use of high donation level SPAC members, leaving us with both irony and elitism.

New sound system inside the amphitheater was awesome, upgrades to concessions and bathrooms were needed and are a lot nicer now. The Saratoga Spa State Park is a 2,379-acre park with plenty of pines, trails, creeks, mineral springs and a geyser. With the re-entry policy plenty of time to explore the beauty. Great to hear Freihofers committed to 5 more years of sponsorship.

I was discussing SPAC, the Saratoga Performing Arts Center not the park. Further, I find no time available during the two festival days to use on exploring.

Im blown away that we can see the screens and that they are so clear even in direct sunlight! So happy to be back.

Great day so far, so many amazing acts!

Thank you Danny!

My Saratoga Jazz Fest muscles have atrophied since 2019, but I’ve finally started getting them back into shape over the past few days. The lineup looks great this year. 24 different acts! It’s been a long time since we had so many to enjoy. Saturday looks especially strong. I’m not as familiar with the artists on Sunday, but I’m looking forward to the Jazz @ Lincoln Center Orchestra as an outstanding way to close the weekend!

ARTIST CHANGE FOR SUNDAY, 6/26 – Carolyn Wonderland is having emergency back surgery today in TX.
We are sending our love to Carolyn for a quick recovery and look forward to seeing her again in the future.
We have booked an incredible emerging artist and supreme vocalist, Dara Starr Tucker, for that Sunday set on the Discovery Stage (3:05-4:05pm). Here’s a bit about Dara:
Dara Starr Tucker’s original music blends the melodic and lyrical richness of the central plains with the soulful strains of the Black American musical experience.
Dara co-wrote the title track to, “Oklahoma,” the 2020 GRAMMY-winning “Best Americana Album” for singer-songwriter, Keb’ Mo’.
Her six studio albums contain an array of unique stories and melodies that evoke a wide range of experiences and musical expressions including standards, spirituals & soul. Her most recent album, Dreams of Waking: Music for A Better World, highlights the call for change that has swept across The United States in recent years while The Seven Colors (2019) captures her personal journey to healing through songwriting.
Dara’s eclecticism is guided by the diversity of her narrative. Born in Tulsa, Oklahoma to a family of singers and ministers, Dara Tucker and her siblings traveled across the United States as young children singing with their parents.
After moving to Interlaken, Switzerland to further study the German language after graduating college, she was reunited with her passion for music and began writing the first of many original songs. That passion for songwriting and singing led her back across the Atlantic to Nashville, Tennessee as a band leader, songwriter and featured vocalist for many years, and eventually to NYC.
Dara has toured with her own bands and as a featured vocalist with hybrid guitarist Charlie Hunter’s group. She’s opened for Grammy-winning vocalist Gregory Porter, appeared on NPR’s Jazz Night in America and made her national television debut on The Tavis Smiley Show on PBS.

The new entry plan was excellent. It prevented the need to run and permitted those who had arrived first to enter first. However, the sound bleeding between the stages is way worse. It appears that nothing was done to replace the old bathrooms and as a result a small problem is now huge. Sitting at the top of the lawn in the shade the sound from the gazebo interferes with the enjoyment of the amphitheater sound. At the back of the gazebo you can still hear the amphitheater. If something was done to address this problem it was not only inadequate but aggravated a small problem to a very annoying problem. This needs to be addressed. Thank you.

Not sure you are cancelling my reply or simply did not get the question.
My question is simply this – are garden mesh tarps such those that are found in Tarplus – acceptable ? If so is there a size limitation.

Yes those mesh tarps are OK. No size limit but we’d like everyone to be respectful and not take up a football field of space! DM

As the old song goes it’s been a long time coming. Thanks for the info on the tarps. , see you next weekend

2022 JAZZ FEST SET TIMES SCHEDULE
SATURDAY
Amphitheatre

Hot Club of Saratoga 12-1pm
Amina Figarova Sextet plus Strings 1:20-2:20pm
Ozmosys Band 2:40-3:40pm
Galactic 4-5pm
Robert Glasper 5:25-6:35pm
Con Tumbao 7:05-8:15pm
Booker T. Presents: A Stax Revue 8:45-10:15pm

Discovery Stage

Dan Wilson Trio 11am-12 noon
Connie Han 12:20-1:20pm
Craig Handy 1:40-2:40pm
Emmaline 3-4pm
Matt Wilson’s Honey & Salt 4:20-5:20pm
Red Baraat 5:40-6:50pm

SUNDAY
Amphitheatre

Garland Nelson’s Joyful Noise 12-1pm
Matthew Whitaker 1:25-2:25pm
Eliane Elias 2:45-3:45pm
SuperBlue: Kurt Elling featuring Charlie Hunter 4:05-5:05pm
Ledisi 5:35-6:35pm
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra 7:05-8:35pm

Discovery Stage

Ryan Keberle & Catharsis 11am-12 noon
Tiempo Libre 12:25-1:25pm
Skidmore/George Wein Celebration 1:45-2:45pm
Carolyn Wonderland 3:05-4:05pm
Cha Wa 4:30-5:40pm

artist schedule subject to change

10am. No more running in. SPAC staff will pre-check everyone outside of the gates in small groups. DM

Mesh Tarps – is there a size limit
Been to Tarplus Website – mesh – is the mesh – garden – a product that is acceptable for the “sun” portion

Hello…purchased my tickets and have been coming for over 20 years.Question….how long will the fest last on Sunday night….in other words what time is the last performers on. Last yr it ended early with less performances.

Thank you. Kathy

Hi Kathy – On Sunday, June 26 – Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra with Wynton Marsalis will be closing and ending at around 8:45pm.

We have a full-festival schedule this year – 24 bands over the two days.

Looking forward to seeing you – Best Danny

Hi there. This will be my first time attending. How does the outdoor seating work? I got a little confused when I went to buy tickets. Thank you.

Hi Myiesha – We can’t wait for you to join the family! The reserved seat amphitheater is “open air.” So it’s outdoor, but under cover, and you get a reserved seat to see and hear the artists on the amphitheater stage. The lawn is completely general admission. You bring a beach chair or blanket, etc. and can find a spot. You can still hear the music from the amphitheater and see most of the groups on large video screens. We have a 2nd stage too. That’s open to everyone via general admission seating, standing and we have a large crafts tent, food, etc. If you need more assistance, call the Saratoga Performing Arts Center Box Office at 518.584.9330. They will assist you. Best DM

I noticed on the SPAC site that ‘plastic tarps” are not permitted on the lawn. Are cloth blankets permitted?

Yeah it’s weird.. I posted about this on the Facebook Festival Group page in April – We have been testing out a mesh tarp on the lawn for at least 3 weeks now to see if they would be good for Jazz Fest and other events at SPAC. We have had direct sun, 80 degree temps, heavy rain, frost, and everything else you can think of and there was no damage to the grass underneath the covering.

The tarps we tried at a website called tarpsplus.

The key aspect to “acceptable tarps” is that they allow 30% sunlight through, which leaves enough openness in the material for it to be breathable and not kill the grass.

Hi Friends – Happy May. I’m in New Orleans for the Jazz Festival, the club shows, food, friends, sights, scents and hopefully no Covid. We’ll see what happens…
My trip started off on Thursday in Fredericksburg, VA, where I produced an incredible “Cuban Night” at beautiful new 1200-acre ecotourism ranch call The Lodge at Moss Neck. The event featured Cuban food, drinks, desserts and an inspiring, fun, funky, dance party set by Tiempo Libre, who will play at the festival on Sunday, June 26. This band kicks ass and now features the explosive drummer, Yissy Garcia, who you may remember from Maqueque, the all-female Cuban band who played at the festival with Jane Bunnett in 2017 and 2018.
After a 3-year hiatus, I hit the holy land of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival runnin’ on Saturday and heard a ton of great music but seeing some the Galactic set, along with 25,000 people, just before the headlining set from The Who, gave me chills. Galactic, who will be at the festival on Saturday, June 25, is a New Orleans institution, combining jazz, funk, R&B and soul and features the dynamic and powerful vocalist Anjelika Joseph. Wowsie!
Some of you may know that I programmed a series of Sunday jazz concerts at Live at The Falcon, in Marlboro, NY, from late February through late June. This coming Saturday, May 7, apart from the Sunday series, the club is presenting Ozmosys featuring Omar Hakim & Rachel Z. Omar Hakim and Rachel Z Hakim presented their Trio of Oz band to roaring applause at the 2010 and 2012 festivals (they also sold the most CDs of any band at both festivals), are now coming back with their new band on Saturday, June 25.
I’m headed out to lunch at Brennan’s in the French Quarter today and meeting with my friend and colleague, Charles Driebe, who manages Jon Cleary, the Blind Boys of Alabama and numerous other groups including Cha Wa. You may remember them from their euphoric 2019 set. They return for an encore set to close the Discovery Stage on Sunday, June 26.
And as we all are, JazzFest is honoring the founder and my mentor George Wein. There are some events and sets dedicated to George, and we are curating a special one with the Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars on Sunday, June 26.
This is all to say that I am in New Orleans but my head and my heart are in Saratoga. The festival is NEXT MONTH, and I’m looking forward to seeing you all there to celebrate the really good things in life. For me, the festival is at the top of that list.
As they say here in the Big Easy, “Yeah You Right!”
Love – Danny

Hello friends – I hope everybody is healthy, warm and looking forward to spring and somewhat of a re-awakening. We’re so pleased with the initial response to the jazz festival announcement and it’s really impossible to put into words how excited we are to reunite with everyone and to share these wonderful festival moments with all of you again.

George Wein used to say that the most valuable part of the festival was the stage time. That every set should be considered a golden moment and we should book the artists we felt “deserved” or earned that time. But once that’s done, the stage is theirs and what they do with that time is their expression, their art, their “business” so to speak.

With that in mind, every few days I am going to write and post a short piece spotlighting each band on the Freihofer’s Saratoga Jazz Festival Fans page on Facebook.

I am calling my “column” Why We Booked Them.

I think it’s important for everyone to know a bit about all of the artists and understand why they belong on the line-up. You’ll quickly see a pattern – that they are talented, original, important creative people and are writing, interpreting and playing music at the highest level. They are artists, not “acts.”

I can’t wait to hear them at SPAC on June 25 & 26 and I hope you’ll be inspired too.

Stay tuned! 

When I saw the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra a few years back it had several vocalists performing including the wonderful Roberta Gambarini. Will there be vocalists with the orchestra this summer at Saratoga?

Hi Chuck – that’s up to Wynton Marsalis. I did tell them that I’d be happy if they were able to feature a vocalist. Let’s see what happens. Best DM

I am eager to buy two-day passes for five people tomorrow morning when the ticket sales begin, but I cannot figure out two things:
1) How to buy a two-day pass (the SPAC site only features options for a single day),
2) information on price ranges for tickets. I will be buying tickets for others, and I would like to tell them what they can expect to spend. Is there information somewhere as to the price range for a two-day pass?

I was able to purchase my tickets today. The discount for two-day pass is applied automatically when you purchase tickets for both days.

Unfortunately the pricing on SPAC’s ticketing website isn’t very clear, at least to me. The ticketing system lists 5 price points for single-day tickets:

$71 (lawn), $82, $92, $102, $113, and $134 (orchestra pit)

I bought inside tickets, and SPAC charged me an additional $6 “commission” for each ticket. I am not certain, but am wondering if the $71 lawn price already has this $6 fee included, which explains why it is more expensive than the $65 ticket that was advertised.

Hi Lynette – Most everything will be the same as it was in 2019 and prior to that. Full festival schedule, no seating or lawn capacity restrictions.

One new policy that we are being required to enforce by our insurance carrier is no running into the festival when the gates open. We can not allow that to happen anymore. We will have a new staggered entrance plan in place to ensure everyone’s safety.

Again, we are announcing the festival line-up on Sunday.

Best DM

The lawn will be fully open this year but there’s a beautiful new plaza and it’s shaped differently so some people won’t be able to hang where they’re used to being because that real estate doesn’t exist now. We will be posting a map at some point. Expecting to announce the line-up in early February. Looking forward to the 45th fest!

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