"Kentucky Starts Here!" with a Friday night “Mardi Gras” kickoff on Main, and two full days of live jazz, artisans, food, fun, and more on Saturday and Sunday at historic Old Fort Harrod. The Jazz Festival and the Kentucky Artisan Expo will also join the “Scarecrows at the Fort” and some new partners.

Schedule of Events:

Friday night on Main:

6:00 PM: Circle City Sidewalk Stompers

The Circle City Sidewalk Stompers Clown Band has been performing fast-moving, choreographed routines to upbeat music since 1976. The musicians, including trumpets, trombones, saxophones, bass and snare drums, and sousaphone are dressed in colorful clown costumes and entertain the crowd with comic interaction and fancy footwork.  The 15-minute choreographed show, followed by musical strolling through the crowd, includes familiar tunes like Zoot Suit Riot, It Don’t Mean a Thing if It Ain’t Got That Swing, Pick up the Pieces, Gimme’ Some Lovin’, Birdland, Jump Jive an’ Wail, Your Mama Don’t Dance, and many more of your popular favorites.  Based in Indianapolis, IN, the Circle City Sidewalk Stompers routinely entertain crowds at Indiana Pacers basketball and Indianapolis Colts football games and State Fairs across the nation. The band has also performed at Carnival in Nice, France,  the European version of Mardi Gras and the Shanghai International Music Festival.

The popular Circle City Sidewalk Stompers believe that today’s audiences are eager for the positive family entertainment the group provides.  You won’t want to miss this fun and crowd interactive kickoff of the Jazz Fest with The Circle City Sidewalk Stompers on Main! You can also catch the “Stompers” at Old Fort Harrod on Saturday performing at the Festival at 5:30 pm.

7:00 PM: Hot Sauce Brass Band

Hot Sauce Brass Band is a second-line party band from Louisville Kentucky. While rooted in the traditional and contemporary repertoire of New Orleans, they distill their own spirit of original brass band music steeped in jazz, funk, the blues, pop and improvisation. HSBB has the traditional brass band instrumentation of Sousaphone, trombones, trumpet, saxophone and drums. The portability of the band allows them to flourish from the streets to the concert hall and everywhere in between. Upbeat, dynamic, and FUN music for all occasions! The band was founded in 2018 by saxophonist Drew Miller and trumpeter Joey Thieman when Louisville impresario Dennie Humphrey asked them to organize for a St Patrick’s Day parade to promote his jazz venue “Jimmy Can’t Dance”. With a mutual love and admiration for jazz and brass band music, Drew and Joe decided to parlay the gig into a working band! Joe has since moved to Boston, but Drew has kept the flame alive with the help of some very talented and special people/musicians!

The band currently features Drew on sax, Craig Tweddell on Trumpet, Ivo Ferigra and Ethan Evans on Trombone, Brandon Johnson on Sousaphone and Zack Kennedy on Drum Set. You won’t want to miss the authentic NOLA jazz from Hot Sauce Brass Friday night on Main!