I was proud to be a part of the marketing team for several years and designing the 2006 & 2007 logos.
Even though JF did kind of end a few years ago there was still some hope it would return in some kind of form. With the SFJB Society disbanding this week, we may never see JazzFest again.
It bums me out because it was always a Sioux Falls tradition I kept (often landing on my birthday) and a great mid-summer party with close Sioux Falls friends.
Maybe someday Levitt can bring this great event back!
I miss the Jazz Fest of the early 2000s with just one stage and people on the grass, the blades that is. Overtime, it became more than one stage, a village of white fair tents, t-shirts and jewelry, smoothies, and spray booths…. And I never understood what Sheryl Crow had to do with jazz. Although, Bo Diddley made musical sense:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fmOr2dMJ0XA
Glad I was able to get on stage for one last performance at the last one.
“Sheryl don’t know jazz”…. 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bjpSH8qJ7c4
I’m very sad to see SFJB disband. JF was an incredible tradition to look forward to each summer. Seeing a great 2-3 day lineup of national recording artists and headliners – free of charge – in the wide open spaces of Yankton Trail Park was a great social event. But, in addition to other factors, the Levitt came along & helped put JF out of business. IMO, it was a bad trade. The Levitt is a cute little venue with 3rd/4th/5th tier entertainment who can only perform for a 3 hour window of time in an increasingly claustrophobic downtown…with a foul smelling nearby slaughterhouse that lays down a funk that’s got nothing to do with rhythmic groove dance music. But, Levitt has now monopolized the free local outdoor summer music scene, so we’re stuck with it. But good grief: halve the number of events, and spend the savings to book some damn acts a guy has actually heard of, ok?