The Blue Note Jazz Festival is somewhat scaled-down, moved to later in the summer, and is not bringing back Dave Chapelle, but still boasts an impressive lineup featuring John Legend, Andre 3000, and Jill Scott.
It is somewhat confusing that the homepage for what would be the third annual Blue Note Jazz Festival Napa currently says “We’ll Be Back In 2025!”, indicating that the event is not happening this year. But it is happening, in a sense, though this year it's rebranded as Blue Note Jazz Festival Presents the Black Radio Experience.
And the festival just announced it has moved from its usual late July date to now Labor Day weekend (Friday , August 30-Sunday, September 1), with a frankly terrific lineup of headliners including John Legend, Andre 3000, and Jill Scott.
But as the Chronicle has noticed, this year’s lineup does not include Dave Chapelle as the emcee. Chapelle emceed the festival’s first two years in 2022 and 2023. His exclusion should maybe not seem surprising, as last year Chapelle flouted the 10pm curfew, insisted he was boycotting Napa going forward, and declared "I’ll never drink a cup of wine from this dusty ass field."
This year’s emcee will be Sway Calloway, the former KMEL DJ and MTV personality who’s currently a Sirius XM DJ. Calloway may be best known for his 2012 White House interview with President Obama, and hosting a 2013 Kanye West interview where Kanye melted down on-air, in the early days of West being known more for his bizarre antics than for his music.
Other performers scheduled include Nile Rodgers & Chic, Andra Day, Ledisi, Common & Pete Rock, and DJ Jazzy Jeff, among many others. As usual, the show is curated by artist-in-residence Robert Glasper. The event will be held at Napa’s Meritage Hotel and Resort, after previous years’ festivals were at the Silverado Resort and Charles Krug Winery.
Black Radio Experience tickets went on sale today, and start at $499 for a three-day general admission pass.
INGLEWOOD, CALIFORNIA - MAY 04: John Legend performs during City Year LA's Spring Break at SoFi Stadium on May 04, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (Photo by Anna Webber/Getty Images for City Year LA's Spring Break)
