FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/30/2025
A2 JAZZ FEST Celebrates 10th Anniversary with Two-Day Local Music Showcase

ANN ARBOR, MI — The A2 JAZZ FEST is proud to announce its 10th Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, Sept. 26, and Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026. This milestone event honors a decade of "lifting up A2 Jazz" by featuring two days of diverse, Michigan-centric music. All events are free and open to the public.
Event Schedule and Locations:
Saturday, Sept. 26 (4 PM – 10 PM): The festival kicks off at The Rabbit Hole (210 S. 1st St.), Ann Arbor’s premier indoor-outdoor arts venue. The evening begins with a Student Showcase and continues with alternating indoor and outdoor sets.
Sunday, Sept. 27 (6 PM – 10 PM): The celebration moves to The Raven’s Club (207 S. Main St.) for three featured jazz sets.
A Decade of Supporting Local Talent Founded in 2016 by local musician and teacher Dave Sharp, the A2 JAZZ FEST was designed to showcase emerging artists and provide professional opportunities for Washtenaw County musicians. Since its inception, and despite a brief hiatus during the pandemic, the festival has steadily grown its talent base and reached increasingly wider audiences.
"10 years is a major milestone," organizers noted, emphasizing the festival's role in maintaining a vibrant arts scene amidst broader funding cuts to the sector. This year’s festival will feature the Outreach Education Stage with Sean Dobbins, a highly regarded bandleader and Professor of Jazz Studies at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.
Mission and Community Impact The mission of the A2 JAZZ FEST extends beyond performance to include:
Employment: Creating sustainable work for local musicians.
Education: Providing accessibly priced entertainment and utilizing improvisational music as a "brain-building" tool for developing musicians.
Mentorship: Co-creating STEAM activities that facilitate intergenerational mentorship and bring diverse communities together.
For the full performance schedule and more information, please visit a2jazzfest.com