What’s billed as America’s largest jazz festival with no admission charge is underway in Cedar Falls this weekend. The Sturgis Falls celebration is already drawing big crowds to the university town, but organizers of the 30th annual Cedar Basin Jazz Festival expect thousands of toe-tapping Dixieland lovers to attend their event through Sunday.
Organizer Dave Krejchi says the free admission brings out droves of jazz fans. Krejchi expects more than ten-thousand people to attend the music fest. He says dixieland jazz has been around since the 1920s but draws everyone from teens to seniors. Krejchi says, "I’m 46-years-old and I love the stuff. It’s just really upbeat, gets your feet moving, we get people dancing and it’s just a great festival, a great time."
Bands playing this weekend include: Natural Gas Jazz Band of San Francisco, Claim Jumpers Jazz Band from Denver, the Barbary Coast Dixieland Jazz Band from the Twin Cities, the Party Grass Classic Jazz Band of West Des Moines and the Saints Dixieland Jazz Band from Cedar Falls.
The music’s playing in several locations. For details, surf to " www.cedarbasinjazz.org ".
Audio: Matt Kelley reports on the Cedar Basin Jazz Festival :44 MP3