PITTSBURGH, PA, April 09, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- August Wilson African American Cultural Center (AWAACC) presents the 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, featuring the city's own iconic history along with legendary and contemporary jazz artistry. The majority of performances are FREE on Liberty Avenue in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh with food trucks, a beer garden and Game Zone, plus ticketed concerts at AWAACC.

"The August Wilson Center is bringing you the best fest yet with the 15th edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield," said Janis Burley, President/CEO of AWAACC and the festival's Artistic Director and founder. "As I reflect on the last fifteen years, I am proud of what the PIJF has accomplished: introducing new artists at the beginning of their rise to stardom, jazz legends at the height of their careers, and incredible jam session memories that the musicians remember as a special night in Pittsburgh. Music is the main objective for us, and we are committed to preserving the history, integrity, and ushering the future of this music we love, JAZZ."

"The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival at The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a powerful testament to music's ability to connect us all," said Kenya T. Boswell, senior vice president of community affairs, Highmark Health. "Through our Highmark Bright Blue Futures program, we're honored to support events like this that not only showcase the vibrancy of our community and its well-being but also contribute significantly to our local economy."

The 2025 festival headliners are an eclectic mix of straight-ahead jazz, neo soul, Caribbean and urban folk music. Jazz stalwarts Branford Marsalis and Dee Dee Bridgewater headline the festival. If you have a taste for the infinite varieties of jazz vocalists, you can feast your tastebuds on one of the reigning queens, Jazzmeia Horn, and Keith David, the richly-voiced, acclaimed stage and screen actor whose jazz album drops later this year, and two young singers -- the Los Angeles-based crooner, Michael Mayo, and the Jazz at Lincoln Center-affiliated chanteuse, Ekep Nkwelle Howard. And if you have a craving for a soothing, keyboardist/vocalist in the vein of the late Roberta Flack, hear Kandace Springs. After you've ingested all those musical styles, and you're ready to dance, you'll enjoy the D.C. go-go rhythms of the all-woman group, Be'La, Dona, the trap-jazz of saxophonist Nathan-Paul Davis, the West Indian riddims of the Trinidadian trumpeter Etienne Charles and his Creole Soul Ensemble, and the propulsive polyrhythms from the Haitian-American drummer Obed Calvaire. And, if you feel like chasing the blues, then catch Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, the young award-winning guitarist/vocalist from Mississippi.

Homegrown guitarist and jazz club owner, John Shannon tours the globe but will shine a light on Pittsburgh-based talent. Ohio native Dan Wilson is heir-apparent to the legacy of Pittsburgh's living legend, George Benson. He is commissioned by PIJF to be the musical director of an all-star tribute to Benson to open the Festival on Friday night September 19. If you are in the mood for some post-bop, avant-garde, soul music, you'll dig pianist Theron Brown and Orrin Evans' TARBABY trio, featuring bassist Eric Revis and drummer Nasheet Waits. Showcasing all flavors and styles of jazz, PIJF embraces the diversity of the music.

For the third straight year, pianist/bandleader/composer Orrin Evans will host THE JAZZ TRAIN™, in partnership with AWAACC and Amtrak. The travel package includes round-trip train tickets from New York, Newark or Philadelphia, live jazz music during the trip, light refreshments and exciting jazz-related games and activities followed by four days of live music at the Festival. Passengers are responsible for securing the hotel and festival events of their choice.

Festival attendees can purchase single-day or full weekend VIP Passes separately or as a bundle with The Jazz Train tickets. VIP access includes priority seating for outdoor stages, access to a lounge area inside the AWAACC building, VIP-only bars and more. VIP Passes are limited, and advance booking is recommended. Tickets are available at www.pittsburghjazzfest.org.

After giving it serious thought and probably changing her mind a time or two, Burley named some of her favorite performances over the past 15 years – "Chaka Khan, the first artist we honored with a Luminary Award … 50,000 people singing War's classic song, "Cisco Kid" … Patti LaBelle inviting dance partners on stage to sing a duet…Chick Corea, Christian McBride and Brian Blade in one of Corea's last festival appearances, and Gregory Porter headlining the festival in 2011."

SPONSORS
The 2025 Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival is co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, with generous support from the Mellon Foundation. Additional sponsors include UPMC and UPMC Health Plan, BMW of Pittsburgh, Visit Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University. Presenting Sponsor for the Libation Station Tent is Bacardi.

August Wilson African American Cultural Center's presentation of the Jazzmeia Horn Quartet is supported through a Chamber Music America Presenter Consortium for Jazz grant in collaboration with Jazz House Kids and DC Jazz Festival. A component of the Doris Duke Jazz Ensembles Project, Presenter Consortium for Jazz is funded by the Doris Duke Foundation.

Major support for AWAACC's operations is provided by Richard King Mellon Foundation, Henry L. Hillman Foundation, Heinz Endowments, and the Allegheny Regional Asset District (RAD).

AWAACC's programming is made possible by generous support from its donors. For a complete list, visit https://awaacc.org.

ABOUT HIGHMARK INC.
An independent licensee of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Highmark Inc., together with its Blue-branded affiliates, collectively comprise the fifth largest overall Blue Cross Blue Shield-affiliated organization in the country with approximately 7 million members in Pennsylvania, Delaware, West Virginia and western and northeastern New York. Its diversified businesses serve group customer and individual needs across the United States through dental insurance and other related businesses. For more information, visit www.highmark.com.

The Highmark Bright Blue Futures program's goal is to ensure healthier, brighter, stronger futures for all, and it focuses on improving access to care, quality of life, and economic resilience in the communities the enterprise serves. For more information, visit Highmark Bright Blue Futures.

ABOUT AUGUST WILSON AFRICAN AMERICAN CULTURAL CENTER
The August Wilson African American Cultural Center is a nonprofit cultural organization located in Pittsburgh's cultural district that generates artistic, educational, and community initiatives that advance the legacy of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson. One of the largest cultural centers in the country focused exclusively on the African American experience and the celebration of Black culture and the African diaspora, the non-profit organization welcomes more than 100,000 visitors locally and nationally. Through year-round programming across multiple genres, such as the annual Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, Black Bottom Film Festival, AWCommunity Days, TRUTHSayers speaker series, and rotating art exhibits in its galleries, the Center provides a platform for established and emerging artists of color whose work reflects the universal issues of identity that Wilson tackled, and which still resonate today. https://awaacc.org

For more information on the 15th Anniversary edition of the Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival Co-presented by Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield, log on to https://pittsburghjazzfest.org.

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