Salem Jazz and Soul Festival

Our Mission The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is a non- profit organization that produces free concerts for the public and raises money to support music education programs.Building on Salem’s Music History The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival is recreating and renewing the vibrant jazz scene that began at the Salem Willows in the 1920s, when Duke Ellington and other musicians from the Big Band era played at the seaside park in Massachusetts. The festival will build on this rich jazz history — adding soul, blues and funk to the mix — by offering a series of annual free concerts to the public, concluding with a festival each year at the Salem Willows. The festival will spotlight the wealth of talented musicians on Boston’s North Shore, and has already attracted thousands of music fans and media coverage during its first few years of operation.Supporting Music Education Programs In addition to allowing us to produce free music events for the public, proceeds from the festival benefit music education programs on the North Shore of Massachusetts. During our inaugural festival season in 2007, we donated $2,500 to music education programs at Salem High School. In 2008, we more than doubled that amount, donating $6,000 to the Salem Public Schools and the Plummer Home for Boys.