Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue and Rhiannon Giddens Let the Good Times Roll at the Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Jazz Festival®
Friday Night Concert
Sharing the evening will be singer and TV’s Nashville star Rhiannon Giddens. Just one week after appearing at the sold-out Newport Folk Festival®, she will return to perform on the Fort Stage on Saturday.
Born Troy Andrews, Shorty, now 31, grew up in the Tremé section of New Orleans in a musical family that he jokingly says pushed him to play the trombone at age four because the family didn’t need another trumpet player. He mastered the unwieldy horn despite being half its size, and by age six became the bandleader of his own group. After finishing school, Shorty began building an impressive musical resume with highlights as diverse as the horn on the 2016 Peanuts Movie (that “wah-wah” is his), gigs at the White House, opening tours for the Red Hot Chili Peppers and closing the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, an honor saved for local stars. He wrote an award-winning book for children, a self-titled tome about his life. And, he runs a New Orleans foundation to preserve the local music scene and get children playing instruments.
Trombone Shorty is no stranger to Newport, and he has entertained fans at the Newport Jazz Festival and Newport Folk Festival. During a memorable appearance at Newport Jazz, in 2014, a conga line of revelers twirled umbrellas and danced to “On Your Way Down,” while rain poured from above. The crowd stayed until the end, delighted to see the latest talent from New Orleans making music for everyone.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue features: Troy "Trombone Shorty" Andrews, trombone, trumpet, vocals; Dan Oestreicher, baritone saxophone; BK Jackson, tenor saxophone; Pete Murano, guitar; Mike Bass-Bailey, bass; and Joey Peebles, drums.
Tickets for the Friday Evening Concert and Cocktail Party are available on the Festival website at http://newportjazzfest.org/ithof or directly at www.eventbrite.com. The concert is a reserved seating event and tickets are close to being sold out. There is an eight-ticket limit per household.
The 2017 Newport Jazz Festival presented by Natixis Global Asset Management takes place August 4 - 6 at Fort Adams State Park and the International Tennis Hall of Fame at the Newport Casino. Artists include The Roots; Béla Fleck & The Flecktones; Snarky Puppy; Andra Day; Leslie Odom, Jr.; Branford Marsalis Quartet; Christian McBride Big Band with Special Guests; Cécile McLorin Salvant; Maria Schneider Orchestra; Hudson: Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski & John Scofield; Maceo Parker; Vijay Iyer & Wadada Leo Smith and many more. Stay tuned for additional information on other festival artists in the coming weeks.
For the complete line-up, tickets and more information, visit www.newportjazz.org, call the Newport Festivals Foundation hotline at (401) 848-5055 or e-mail jazztickets@newportfestivals.org.
Natixis Global Asset Management is the Presenting Sponsor of the 2017 Newport Jazz Festival and sponsors programs that help enrich the lives of individuals and preserve the cultural experience for future generations through music.
In addition to Natixis Global Asset Management, the Newport Jazz Festival also receives generous support from Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, North Coast Brewing Company and Eventbrite. The festival’s official travel partner is WBGO Jazz 88.3. Lodging partners are Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina, Newport Marriott and The Newport Harbor Hotel and Marina.
Newport Festivals Foundation was founded by George Wein in 2010 to build and continue the legacies of the famed Newport Jazz Festival® and Newport Folk Festival®. Under the auspices of the Foundation, the Festivals present performers who respect and honor jazz and folk music traditions, and at the same time reflect the changes in today's musical trends. The Educational Initiatives of the Foundation aim to foster opportunity, inspire through exposure and facilitate the collection of resources needed for musicians, emerging and established, to celebrate and innovate. For more information, please visit www.newportfestivalsfoundation.org.