NEWS FROM:
National Jug Band Jubilee
www.jugbandjubilee.org
For Immediate Relief *
* Jug band music relieves tension
Contact:
Heather Leoncini
(502) 417-1107
juggernautpr@yahoo.com
The Louisville Folk School and National Jug Band Jubilee present the Summer Swing
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LOUISVILLE, KY, (June 3, 2024) – The National Jug Band Jubilee is back! The nonprofit is partnering with the Louisville Folk School to put on the “Summer Swing,” a free, family-friendly outdoor festival taking place in Douglass Park, outside the Douglass Community Center, from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Saturday, June 22.
The “Summer Swing” will feature music, kids’ activities from the Jubilee and the Steam Exchange, and food and drinks, including a beer booth from West Sixth Brewing Co. The festival will feature performances from Hubby Jenkins (former member of the Grammy Award winning Carolina Chocolate Drops), The Piedmont Blūz Acoustic Duo, the Juggernaut Jug Band, and Tin Can Caravan featuring Thomas Deakin and Stephanie Nilles.
The National Jug Band Jubilee was founded in 2005 to preserve the legacy of a pre-World War II jazz style that thrived in Louisville between 1890 and 1930. For about 15 years, the organization held a free, all-day festivals every September in Louisville’s Waterfront Park. But the event was canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Jubilee board decided to push pause on the festival after the 2022 National Jug Band Jubilee because of increased costs and competition from a spate of other September festivals for sponsors and vendors.
“We took the time to discern the best, most sustainable path forward for the organization,” explained Heather Leoncini, president of the National Jug Band Jubilee board. “In order to keep jug band music on stages in Louisville, we started partnering with other organizations on events. This helped us to broaden our focus beyond one weekend to promoting jug bands year-round.”
The Jubilee sponsored a show featuring the Birmingham, Alabama-based Steel City Jug Slammers and Louisville bluesman Tyrone Cotton at the 2023 World Fest. The organization also took part in the city’s Fourth of July celebration on Waterfront Park, which featured the Derby City Dandies.
Leoncini said the collaboration with the Louisville Folk School is another step in the Jubilee’s evolution because of the folk school’s mission to preserve the state’s music traditions through education and performance.
The Summer Swing festival received additional support from Louisville Metro Government, the Fund for the Arts, and HeARTS: Healing Through the Arts, an initiative that supports arts programs in community centers across the county. HeARTS has been instrumental in bringing arts programming to diverse communities, but it is currently facing an 80% reduction in funding in the mayor’s budget proposal. Maintaining this support is crucial for the continuation of impactful community arts programs that enrich our city.
Dave Howard, executive director of the Louisville Folk School, said the collaboration with the Jubilee on Summer Swing is a natural extension of his organization’s mission.
“The Louisville Folk School has long admired the National Jug Band Jubilee’s dedication to this vibrant musical tradition, a tradition we proudly celebrate through our adult group class program, which regularly features jug band ensemble classes,” Howard added. “We are honored to collaborate with them on the upcoming Summer Swing festival. This festival not only promises an afternoon of captivating jug band music but also serves as the culminating celebration for our successful participation in the HeArts program, which has enabled us to offer a variety of engaging classes.”
In addition to the Summer Swing, the Jubilee is partnering with Hill House, a private venue in South Louisville, to bring Grammy nominated folk artist Dom Flemons to Louisville on July 6. Tickets for the Flemons concert will be raffled off during the Summer Swing concert.
For more information on the Summer Swing, contact Heather Leoncini at juggernautpr@yahoo.com.