11 years in, True Blue Jazz Festival remains true to mission
With a weekend of entertainment slated across Rehoboth Beach and Lewes, the True Blue Jazz Festival returns for its 11th year Wednesday, Oct. 11, with its annual Youth Jazz Celebration Party at Bethany Blues.
“It’s a great way to start the whole weekend, because kids are the future,” said Peggy Raley, who co-founded the festival with husband Eddie Sherman. “It’s fun for them to get out there and perform.”
From the very beginning, Sherman said, the inspiration for the festival has been to continue providing an avenue for kids to become musicians. There’s a real effort to bring in great musicians who are also great teachers, he said.
These musicians aren’t just in it for the money or the ride; they’re also giving back constantly to music, said Sherman, using saxophonist and vocalist Camille Thurman as an example. She’ll be performing over the weekend, but she’ll also be leading a workshop.
For the first time in True Blue history, one of the main shows will be hosted at Nassau Valley Vineyards because musician Bobby Sanabria and his Multiverse Latin Jazz Orchestra needed the space. There will be a food truck set up and a full bar, said Raley.
Another first for the festival is adding Cooter Brown’s in downtown Rehoboth Beach as a location for the festival’s Local & Live Performances, which are non-ticketed shows at local venues.
“I’ve been trying to get these for a number of years,” said Sherman, who’s excited to have another location as an option.
One of the shows at Cooter Brown’s is the Dale Melton Trio at 7 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 14. He’s a Delaware Rock & Roll Hall of Fame musician and a legendary Delaware pianist.
The seventh annual Firehouse Jazz Marathon returns Saturday, Oct. 14. The six-hour ticketed event takes place at Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company on Rehoboth Avenue. This year, the Temple University Jazz Band will be among the groups performing. Raley said the director, Terell Stafford, is an amazing musician, and the band is one of the best in the country.
Singer Libby York, who co-founded the Back Porch Café in downtown Rehoboth Beach, performs twice Saturday at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel on Olive Avenue.
The festival closes out with Raley and Sherman’s True Blue Jazz Brunch Sunday, Oct. 15, at the Boardwalk Plaza Hotel. This year, they’ve got a couple of special guests – Stafford on trumpet and Jerry Weldon on tenor sax.
“Jerry plays with Harry Connick Jr.’s band. He’s amazing,” said Sherman.
For more information and a full schedule, go to truebluejazz.org.
Chris Flood has been working for the Cape Gazette since early 2014. He currently covers Rehoboth Beach and Henlopen Acres, but has also covered Dewey Beach and the state government. He covers environmental stories, business stories and random stories on subjects he finds interesting, and he also writes a column called Choppin’ Wood that runs every other week. He’s a graduate of the University of Maine and the Landing School of Boat Building & Design.
