More than
73,000 attended the recent Jazz in the Gardens (JITG) music festival as
the City of Miami Gardens celebrated the festival's 10th anniversary March 21
and 22. Approximately 42,000 festival-goers attended Saturday's show, the first
sold-out day in the history of the event. A-list musical talent continues to
attract more and more attendees every year. Once a festival of roughly 1,800
patrons in a corner of Sun Life Stadium's parking lot, JITG is now the fastest
growing jazz and R&B music festival in the nation.
This
year's lineup featured Maxwell, Erykah Badu, R. Kelly, Toni Braxton, Run
D.M.C., Brian Culbertson, Sheila E., Men of Soul's Jeffrey Osborne, Peabo
Bryson, and Freddie Jackson, and Jazz in the Gardens All Stars Ronnie Laws, Roy
Ayers, Lonnie Liston Smith, and Tom Browne. Comedians and nationally-syndicated
radio personalities D.L. Hughley and Rickey Smiley co-hosted the festival.
"This
year's attendance was unprecedented, and our lineup of musical talent was
second to none, a fitting tribute to our 10th year of producing an incredible
festival experience," said City of Miami Gardens Mayor Oliver Gilbert.
"This is our signature event and we are so proud that people from all over
the world look forward to attending every year."
The event
also drew celebrities including actors Bryshere Y. Gray and Jussie Smollett,
who star as Hakeem and Jamal, respectively, on the new, red-hot, Fox television
series "Empire." They were among several notables who made on-stage
cameo appearances, including reality TV star Angela Simmons, J. Anthony Brown,
co-host of "The Tom Joyner Morning Show," and Sybrina Fulton, founder
of the Trayvon Martin Foundation and mother of Trayvon Martin.
JITG also
featured local artists, soul singer Valerie Tyson, saxophonist John Erinosho
and Karina Iglesias of NBC's "The Voice," along with more than 40
exotic food vendors, a Vendor Marketplace, and the most anticipated lineup for
the City's milestone 10th year celebration.
The City
of Miami Gardens was born in 2003 and the then City Council sought to create a
signature event for the largest predominantly African-American municipality in
Florida, which is also the third largest in the United States. In 2006, the
City of Miami Gardens presented the inaugural Jazz in the Gardens, an intimate
jazz-only festival featuring food and music, setting the foundation for the
decade-long, signature experience that followed, adding R&B to the lineup.
In
response to the popularity of the festival, the City of Miami Gardens has added
two events to the JITG Weekend: The
Women's Impact Conference & Luncheon (WICL) which kicked off the Weekend
Friday morning and included an Author's Lounge and keynote address by Omarosa
Manigault; On Friday night, the Opening Night Party gave a preview of the
city's two-day fest and featured the D.M.C. Band and a comedy show hosted by
"The Rickey Smiley Morning Show" crew.
JITG is
unlike any other festival in the nation. From the lineup, to the food, to the
weather, the JITG weekend is an unparalleled experience. By its explosive
growth in just 10 years, it is certain that JITG is an experience that has
earned its stripes, while its guests have earned their tan lines and enjoyed
the camaraderie and first class performances year after glorious year.
[Photos top to bottom: Toni Braxton, Jeffrey Osborne, Sheila E & Howard Hewett, Peabo Bryson, Maxwell, Erykah Badu, Brian Culberton, Freddie Jackson, D.L. Hughley)
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