The Syracuse International Jazz Fest announced its 40th anniversary lineup at Beak & Skiff Apple Orchards, revealing a four-day run July 9 through 12 that splits between the LaFayette orchard and the Syracuse University campus. All performances are free and open to the public.
Trombone Shorty and Orleans Avenue will headline Saturday night, July 11, on the main stage at Beak & Skiff. Tower of Power, fresh off a nearly three-month tour of Japan, Australia and Europe, will also perform Friday night, July 10, alongside Grammy-nominated zydeco accordionist Nathan Williams and Nathan and the Zydeco Cha Chas, Dumpstaphunk playing a tribute to Sly and the Family Stone, and UK seven-piece Hejira making their North American debut with a 50th anniversary celebration of the jazz songbook of Joni Mitchell.
Swedish swing and jazz vocalist Gunhild Carling returns to the festival Saturday night with the Carling Family Band, performing a tribute to Louis Armstrong featuring the Syracuse Horn.
The festival opens Thursday, July 9 on the Syracuse University campus with the United States Air Force Airmen of Note headlining. The SU student ensemble Orange Juice will also perform at the festival, continuing a years-long tradition.
The festival closes Sunday, July 12 with a gospel jazz service at Hendricks Chapel on the SU campus, presented by Hendricks Chapel and featuring the Salem State University Concert Choir, the Black Celestial Choir of Syracuse University and a community choir. A free welcome luncheon precedes the service.
Festival director Frank Malfitano, who has led Jazz Fest since its founding, noted that reaching the 40-year mark places Syracuse among a global group of festivals that have sustained that milestone, including Newport, Monterey, New Orleans Jazz and Heritage, Montreal, Chicago and Detroit.
“If Syracuse were a movie, we’d be Rocky, we’d be Rudy,” Malfitano said. “We’re the smallest market in this group. We’re the little engine that could. But we are now in the listing of the top 25 jazz festivals in the world that have reached a 40-year mark.”
This year marks the first time in the festival’s history that it moves to Beak & Skiff, a five-generation, 1,000-acre apple orchard in LaFayette known also for its 1911 Hard Cider and Heirloom cannabis brands. Owner Eddie Brennan described the partnership as a natural fit for the orchard’s longstanding commitment to live music.
“Every time people come up here and perform, they talk about how it feels like an off day,” Brennan said. “It’s different than playing at an amphitheater or an arena.”
Syracuse University serves as the presenting sponsor of the 2026 festival for the fourth consecutive year. Dean of the College of Visual and Performing Arts Michael Tick announced that the university held a student poster design competition for the 40th anniversary, with a $1,000 prize funded by Malfitano. The winning design was submitted by Flynn Ledoux, a junior illustration major in the School of Art.
Syracuse International Jazz Fest 2026 Schedule:
Thursday, July 9 —
USAF Airmen of Note
Orange Juice
Friday, July 10
Hejira (UK)
Dumpstaphunk plays Sly — Ivan and Ian Neville tribute to Sly and the Family Stone
Tower of Power
Saturday, July 11
Nathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas
Gunhild Carling & the Carling Family Band — tribute to Louis Armstrong featuring the Syracuse Horn
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Sunday, July 12 — Closing Day
Return to Community Gospel Jazz Service featuring the Salem State University Concert Choir, the Black Celestial Choir of Syracuse University and a community choir. Free welcome luncheon preceding the service.
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