The Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival features internationally acclaimed jazz, blues, gospel and pop musicians, northwest wines, fine art, food, exhibits, fun and sun!

Schedule of Events:

Gates open at 3:30 pm

4:00 - 5:00 pm: Best of the Northwest Band - Taylor Newville and The Riders

Rising young artist and guitarist Taylor Newville is a native of Portland, Oregon.  She started playing music at age six, and was a student of Ethos, School of Rock, and Rock and Roll Camp for Girls. Her band Taylor Newville and the Riders were finalists for The Journey to Memphis Blues competition at the 2023 Waterfront Blues Festival in Portland.  She was nominated for the Cascade Blues Association 2023 and 2024 Muddy Awards, and Best New Artist 2023-2024, Contemporary Blues Act.  She was awarded Performance of the Year - Sail on Sisters at the 2024 Waterfront Blues Festival.  Her third album is being released in the summer of 2025, just in time for the Vancouver Wine and Jazz Festival.  Taylor can be heard on Spotify, Apple music, Pandora, and Amazon Music.

5:30 - 6:30 pm: National Act - Ben Rice and The PDX Hustle

Ben Rice might be described as quiet and unassuming - until he picks up a guitar. That stealthy quality has earned him the moniker "blues ninja," evidenced in his vocal chops and songcraft as well as his guitar playing. While Ben started in traditional blues, over the years he's built upon that foundation with soul, RandB, folk, and country to fashion a welcoming front porch where everybody wants to hang out into the wee hours. Since his large-stage debut at the International Blues Challenge in 2014, Ben has made the leap from Northwest act to national and international touring artist, featuring at festivals and stages far and wide.

7:00 - 8:00 pm: National Act - Northwest Blues Legend - Norman Sylvester

Oregon Music Hall of Fame bluesman Norman Sylvester is a guitarist, singer, and composer beloved by fans and fellow musicians alike.  For the past 40 years, the Norman Sylvester Band has performed throughout the Pacific Northwest and US, sharing the stage with BB King, Buddy Guy, James Cotton, Junior Wells, Otis Clay, Tower of Power, Blind Boys of Alabama, Peter Frampton, and others.  Influenced by his Southern Baptist early years and the Gospel Quartet led by his father, Norman was born in 1945 in Bonita Louisiana.  In addition to his thousands of performances, Norman has mentored many young musicians in Northwest - including Taylor Newville who appears at the Festival this year. He teaches "A History of American Music" in local schools.  Norman has released 12 critically acclaimed recordings including his most recent - "Blues Stains on my Hands" - which features 10 original songs and is a tribute to all the Pioneers of early Blues.

8:30 - 9:45 pm: Headline Artist - Rick Estrin and The Nightcats

San Francisco Bay-area blues band Rick Estrin and The Nightcats have been nominated for The Blues Foundation for Contemporary Blues Album of the Year, 2024 Living Blues Award, Band of the Year, and Best Harmonica Player.  Their dynamic concerts and stage shows have endeared them with fans at festivals and clubs throughout the United States.  With Estrin's harmonica virtuosity and sly soulful vocals, Christoffer Kid Andersen's wildly inventive guitar, Lorenzo Farrell's masterful keyboards and Derrick "D'Mar" Martin's funky, creative drumming, the band takes Estrin's ingenious, original songs to new and unexpected places, as they continue to reinvent traditional blues styles.