Crews are working nearly round the clock to get the stage set for The Black Academy of Arts and Letters 7th Annual Riverfront Jazz Festival this weekend.
"The last four days are 18-hour days. You just keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing," Production Director Milton Tatum said. "No sleep. You don't even worry about the sleep part!"
The TBAAL Riverfront Jazz Festival is 3-days of music on three stages.
"Let me tell you, it's gonna be live and in living color," TBAAL Founder and President Curtis King said. "Opening night Ceelo Green!"
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Green Will and the Dallas Second Line Jazz Band will open the festival on Friday. Performers this year include Sheila E., Jeffrey Osborne, Ginuwine, Tower of Power, Take 6, Fantastic Negrito, and Ruben Studdard with the Dallas Symphony. There will also be tribute performances for jazz greats.
The TBAAL Riverfront Jazz Festival helps support arts and education programs at the nonprofit Academy.
"So I think our institution is important because it fills in so many gaps. It addresses race issues. It addresses issues with cultural divide. It deals with issues where you have young people who are looking for opportunities," King said. "We really need this kind of festival for a lot of reasons."
The Scene
NBC 5 and Telemundo 39 are sponsors of the TBAAL Riverfront Jazz Festival. It starts Friday night and runs through Sunday night.
For the lineup of artists, click here. For tickets, click here.
