Major changes are coming to one of Cleveland’s most beloved music festivals, Tri-C Jazz Fest. Changes include national artists on the outdoor stage for free, three distinct districts of entertainment, and a Greater Cleveland Food Bank grocery giveaway at Jazz Fest, which takes over Playhouse Square Thursday, June 25, through Saturday, June 27.
Nationally recognized jazz and world music artists Savion Glover, ft. PROjECt.9., and Tito Puente, Jr., with Nestor Torres, will headline Friday night’s outdoor line-up. Saturday night features Weedie Braimah and Hands of Time and Charles Haynes and the Tabernacle at the top of the bill.
Beyond the main stage, Tri-C Jazz Fest’s outdoor festival will have three separate districts of entertainment – the Family District, the Refresh District and the Spotlight District. The family area will feature kid-friendly activities like art and face-painting, and the Refresh District will be the food truck and dining area.
The Spotlight District, according to the festival’s executive director, Orlando Watson, is “an arts and culture-driven space to immerse, inspire and connect.” It will include a live DJ playing music from various decades, a mobile rage room, a showcase from the Tri-C School of Creative Arts, vendors, and some late-night jam sessions.
The Greater Cleveland Food Bank will be distributing free food to attendees. “The whole reason behind my method, behind the changes,” explained Watson, “it’s important to create a level of accessibility that the festival hasn’t experienced.” [Pro Tip: If you can afford a bus pass and a bottle of water, you can afford to come to Tri-C Jazz Fest.]
Also new to Tri-C Jazz Fest this year are the Cleveland Cavaliers. Mascots, Cavs Girls and drummers will join the festival along with former Cavs players like Jim Chones, who will be hosting autograph-signing events.
The outdoor part of the festival is free to attend.
Hear from artists performing at Tri-C Jazz Fest
Sheila E.
World-famous percussionist Sheila E. will be headlining Tri-C Jazz Fest’s indoor stage Thursday, June 25. She won her first Grammy in 2025 following the release of her first salsa album, “Bailar.”
Born Sheila Escovedo, Sheila E. grew up in a musical family. She is the daughter of percussionist Pete Escovedo; and two of her uncles, Javier and Alejandro Escovedo, were founders of early ‘70s punk-rock bands in California. “Music wasn’t just something we did,” she said, “it was part of who we were as a family.”
[Fun Fact: Sheila E.’s godfather is Latin jazz musician Tito Puente, whose son, Tito Puente, Jr., is also headlining Tri-C Jazz Fest this year.]
Sheila E. was a star track and field athlete with dreams of winning Olympic gold before shifting gears into a career in music at age 15. She said her focus has never been on achieving fame or winning awards. “The collaborations, the experiences, and the recognition have been incredible blessings,” she said, “but the music itself has always been the reward.”
In 2024, Sheila E. fulfilled a years-long dream of creating a salsa project that became the albums “Bailar” and “Bailar Deluxe.” To see the music resonate with audiences and ultimately earn a Grammy was “incredibly meaningful,” she said. “It reminded me that it’s never too late to pursue something you’ve always wanted to do.”
The Tri-C Jazz Fest audience can expect “a lot of energy” from Sheila E.’s performance. “We’ll definitely celebrate some of the music people know and love,” she added. “But we’re also going to bring elements of jazz, Latin rhythms, funk, R&B, and some of the newer music I’ve been creating.”
“I love creating moments that feel spontaneous and special, so you never know what might happen. Maybe there will be a surprise guest, maybe I’ll invite someone on stage, maybe we’ll go somewhere musically we didn’t expect. That’s the beauty of live music. No two shows are ever the same, and that’s what keeps me excited every time I walk on stage.”
Spyro Gyra
Internationally recognized jazz fusion band Spyro Gyra plays Tri-C Jazz Fest Friday, June 26. The band celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2024.
Saxophonist Jay Beckenstein said Spyro Gyra earned its place in jazz history by bridging traditional jazz with a more electrified version. “But I think the thing that’s unique about Spyro Gyra as I look back over all these years,” he said, “is that it’s been a very successful collective.… There aren’t many true bands in the sense that all the members of the band are creative forces. In terms of writing and concept and where we want to go with it at any given time, it’s very much a collective organism, and that’s been a five- to seven-way marriage the whole time that has been really successful.”
Spyro Gyra and Beckenstein are from Buffalo, New York. “In our earliest days,” said Beckenstein, “our touring radius was from Cleveland to Rochester, and so I have really warm feelings towards Cleveland. When I play Lake Erie, I always feel like I’m at home.”
Beckenstein said Spyro Gyra’s sets are primarily divided into thirds with songs the audience will expect to hear, songs that feature the individual band members, and some surprises the band may not have played live before, or rarely plays.
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Tommy Lehman
Trumpeter and Akron native Tommy Lehman brings his band to the outdoor stage at Tri-C Jazz Fest at 5 p.m. Saturday, June 27.
Lehman said his music is built around making a connection to the community, honoring his musical family heritage, and meeting listeners where they’re at. He wants jazz fans listening to his sound to think of Andrew Hill’s “Dance With Death,” Kenny Garrett’s album “Songbook,” and Chief Xian aTunde Adjuah’s “Stretch Music.”
Lehman is both a Tri-C graduate and a former attendee of the school’s jazz camp for kids. “That camp changed my life in 2011,” he said. “That’s what made me want to be a jazz musician. All these world-class musicians who now have Grammys and Oscars and Tonys…as a young kid in high school, to be around that level of mastery and just to see how they carried themselves and the level of seriousness and care that they took with the music…it was a pivotal moment in my life.”
Lehman said members of the jazz community who have seen him perform know what to expect of the band’s live show, including the possibility of impromptu jams. “I’m going to let cats stretch out and say what they have to say and tell their stories, you know. I’m never one to deny someone their moment. If they’re feeling it, I’m gonna let them go.”
Weedie Braimah and Hands of Time
Multi-faceted composer and drummer Weedie Braimah will lead his band Weedie Braimah and Hands of Time through a musical performance of West African folk music featuring traditional dance by the Djapo Cultural Arts Institute on the outdoor stage Saturday, June 27.
Braimah explained African music relies heavily on visual representation, using James Brown as an example of a visual musician fans of Western music can relate to. “African music,” he said, “and any music that deals with the diaspora understands the importance of being able to bring a visual aspect, whether it’s through the instrumentation, whether it’s through live dancing, live singing, [or] body gestures.”
Braimah said the Jazz Fest audience can expect a couple of surprise guests, including a Grammy-winning jazz guitarist and Braimah’s son, Nasir Wilson, to perform with them.
Correction: This story was updated to correct the year Sheila E. won her first Grammy.
