Telluride and Real Estate Blog

48th Telluride Jazz Festival tickets on sale as lineup of artists revealed

Article by Owen Perkins, Telluride Daily Planet Contributor - February 11, 2025

Trombone Shorty returns to headline the 48th Telluride Jazz Festival, Aug. 8-10, bringing his New Orleans vibe to Town Park, where he'll close the festival Sunday night. (Photo courtesy of Telluride Jazz Festival)

Summer is calling. With every lineup announcement from Telluride’s big music festivals, the allure of sun-soaked days in Town Park with notes floating throughout the box canyon cuts through the single-digit lows of February. When SBG Productions dropped the daily schedule for the 48th Telluride Jazz Festival Tuesday and put single-day tickets on sale Wednesday, the roster of A-list musicians was sizzling with soul, flaunting the funk, expanding and enriching our sense of all that jazz.

As with most things Telluride, the Jazz Festival, taking place Aug. 8-10, has its own unique slant on the genre, and this year, the producers are strengthening their commitment to the diversity of music on stage by putting it in writing, adding “Jazz, Funk, & Soul” as a tag to their promotional materials.

“Maybe we can stand out to some people who've never heard of us, or who say Jazz Festival is not their cup of tea,” said SBG Productions Director of Operations Courtney McClary, speaking to the Daily Planet last Thursday along with Partnership Director Patrick Shehan. “Hopefully, it broadens our audience and attracts more people, so they know we do have more things than just Telluride Jazz. It's a 48-year-old institution, so we're just hoping to add to it and make it better,” McClary said.

For all their distinctions, they’ve got a lot in common with another marquee event, the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival: namely the three headliners.

“There’s no bigger name in contemporary jazz than Kamasi Washington,” said Festival Director Steve Gumble, highlighting the headliners. “Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue is the modern-day torchbearer of New Orleans music, and Karl Denson's Tiny Universe are funk luminaries. Between these legends and many other exciting bands, it’s guaranteed to be a special weekend.”

Each of the headlining artists hits a different stop on the spectrum of music showcased for three days in Town Park, and Trombone Shorty, fresh off of playing “America the Beautiful” to open the Super Bowl in his hometown of New Orleans, may be the most recognizable name to the average jazz-adjacent music fan.

He comes from a family of musicians — his great uncle played with Fats Domino — and he was “discovered” at age four by Bo Diddley at Jazz and Heritage. He’s played with Lenny Kravitz, U2, Green Day, Foo Fighters, Madonna, and Queen Latifah, for a quick sampling, and everyone from Jeff Beck to Warren Haynes, from Kid Rock to the Rebirth Brass Band, have played on his albums. His 2010 album “Backatown” earned a nomination for Best Contemporary Jazz Album, and he won his first Grammy in 2022 for his work with fellow New Orleans native Jon Batiste.

While Trombone Shorty closes the festival Sunday night, saxophonist Kamasi Washington is the opening night headliner on Friday night, setting the standard right from the start.

Saxophonist Karl Denson and Tiny Universe headline the Saturday night lineup at Telluride Jazz Fest. (Photo courtesy of Telluride Jazz Festival)

“Kamasi has been on our want list for many years,” McClary said. “So this was awesome to see this one come to fruition, because there's a lot of work and love going into that one for sure.”

The L.A.-based musician has been compared to John Coltrane, and GQ magazine once called him “the high priest of sax.” He’s played with musicians from Ryan Adams to Kendrick Lamar, even earning a shout-out on the latter’s five-time 2025 Grammy winner, “Not Like Us.” And while he seems at home in any genre, he found his sweet spot playing with luminaries like Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Lauryn Hill, Nas, Snoop Dogg, Chaka Khan, and St. Vincent.

“He's a generational talent,” Shehan said. “He's the leader of the West Coast jazz movement, and he's an icon, so to be able to land him was huge.”

Denson offers a second night with a sax-blowing headliner, and one of the most eclectic and far-reaching musicians on the bill. He actively tours and records with both Tiny Universe and The Greyboy All-Stars, as well as regular road work with the Rolling Stones, and his past credits include years in Lenny Kravitz’s band, The Blind Boys of Alabama, and Stevie Winwood.

Another special Telluride treat on the schedule is a rare appearance by BTTRFLY Quintet, a collaboration of electronic musicians featuring Adam Deitch and Benny Bloom of Lettuce, Borham Lee of Pretty Lights and Break Science, Hunter Roberts of Break Science, and Dominic Lalli of Big Gigantic.

“It's kind of a super group of these guys that have gone on to do more electronic music projects that younger people listen to, but they all grew up as jazz students, and they're all rooted in jazz,” Shehan said.

“That will be a pretty amazing set,” McClary added. “That kind of collaboration is a little bit something different. SBG always strives to bring together things you may not see in another lineup together.”

Shehan puts Parlor Greens in the category of “a supergroup that's here to stay,” echoing the Booker T sound.

Getting into more worldly influences, Shehan describes Cimafunk as “mixing hip hop and funk with that Afro Caribbean and Cuban sound,” and praises BALTHVS as a guitar trio mixing “psychedelic vibes, Middle Eastern music and funk.”

Brass Queens, a New York City band featuring 11 women, all playing brass instruments, fits this year’s traditional brass band slot.

“Pretty impressive — big sound, a lot of fun,” McClary said.

Another staple of the festival is its educational component, and the 48th Jazz Fest features three high school bands, two college bands and the Telluride Student All-Stars Jazz Ensemble, with students ranging in age from 15-22.

The “Jazz After Dark” late-night shows at intimate venues in town continue at the Sheridan Opera House and the Fly Me to the Moon Saloon, and this year The Alibi is replacing the Elks Club for the “NYC jazz club vibe” venue. The Alibi enables the streamlining of the festival, moving all the Jazz After Dark sets to Main St. within five minutes of each other, utilizing a pass that lets you hop in and out of all three shows each night.

All tickets are on sale as of Wed., Feb. 12, and are available online at www.telluridejazz.org. Jazz Fest attendees love the smaller crowds, capped at 2,999, 1/3 the capacity of Blues and Brews and 1/4 the size of the Bluegrass crowd, ensuring you’ve always got wiggle room when the music moves you.

To read the full Telluride Daily Planet article please click this link.