This past Saturday, downtown Bainbridge came alive with soulful rhythm at the 5th annual Jazz and Blues Festival.

The Jazz and Blues Festival was a day of music and fun. Everyone was invited to the festivities to listen to different talented artists. A vibrant collection of bands filled the stage in eight locations, each delivering smooth and powerful melodies that resonated with blending jazz and blues. The main stage consisted of BHS Jazz Ensemble, Avis Berry Quartet, Ben Flournoy, Billy Allen & The Pollies, and Johnnie Marshall Band; The Hook and Ladder saw the Jerry Thigpen Trio, JB’s Zydeco Zoo, and Billy Rigsby Band perform; the Firehouse Arts Center had Bobby Durham and JC & The Backscratchers give performances; Southern Philosophy had the Asher Pereira Trio and Dabbit; the American had the Reese Cloud Trio; the Old Post Office featured Brian Hall and Will Fulkerson; the Bean Cafe had Jon Copps, and the Recovery Room featured Rachel Hillman.

Furthermore, artwork also plays a part in the Jazz and Blues Festival. Local artists have created posters for the previous Jazz and Blues Festival. This year, Dargan Long created artwork for the Jazz and Blues Festival. Gallagher Dempsey, owner of Southern Philosophy Brewing, stated, “I worked with different artists this year. We were honored to work with Dargan Long, who sadly passed away in December. He helped out with the artwork in May for this year’s Festival. He had it finished around August or September. It was cool to work with him on that. To honor him and his family.”

The Jazz and Blues Festival has significantly grown over the last few years. Last year, there were six stages with 14 acts, but this year, there were eight stages with 17. It was a big turnout as many roads that led to Downtown Bainbridge were blocked off by traffic signs. Some grilled downtown, while children enjoyed activities at Willis Park, and street vendors sold Jazz and Blues Festival merchandise. While the festival was free and open to the general public, there was a VIP tent that offered an elevated atmosphere and performance with all-inclusive food and drinks for $80.

All the work that goes into organizing a Jazz and Blues Festival is due to help from volunteers and sponsors. Dempsey stated, “None of this would have been possible without help from sponsors and volunteers. We had a lot of volunteers during the day of the event. It was great. Many were from the First National Bank and other sponsors like Inland, SunStop, Southeastern Plastic Surgery, Taurus, Melinda Taylor State Farm, the Old Post Office, The American, Southern Philosophy Brewing, and the Firehouse Arts Center.”

Gallagher wants next year to be bigger and better, with more sponsors and volunteers, and the Festival spread out to other areas, because “people love the walkability to downtown, and there are still more downtown businesses that will get involved. That would be cool to get everybody that wants to be involved.”