Vinnie D’Agostino is this month’s featured performer at the High Museum of Art’s Friday Jazz event. (Photo courtesy of Vinnie D’Agostino)
Each week, ArtsATL delivers a critic’s short list of the shows, exhibitions, concerts and events we recommend for the coming weeks within one discipline or venue type in the kaleidoscope of Atlanta arts and culture. Every week, we’ll present a different art form.
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In addition to the shows listed below, Atlanta boasts several venues where you can hear jazz and blues regularly, many of them hosting weekly jam sessions. Among those venues are Fat Matt’s Rib Shack, the Velvet Note, Blind Willie’s, St. James Live and Northside Tavern. At Napoleon’s in Decatur, Blue Velvet Atlanta leads an open jam every second and fourth Thursday from 7:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Read our recent profile of Blue Velvet Atlanta.
July 10
Jazz pianist and Atlanta native Joe Alterman is also the executive director of Neranenah, the Atlanta-based concert series that celebrates Jewish contributions to music and the arts. He’ll perform at Eddie’s Attic at 7 p.m. on July 10. Read more about Alterman in our collaborative series, Everyday Heroes, and about his memories of his friend and mentor Les McCann.
July 11
Grammy-winning jazz musician Diana Krall has had eight albums debut at the top of the Billboard Jazz Albums chart, and her 1999 release of When I Look in Your Eyes spent an unprecedented 52 weeks in the No. 1 position on Billboard’s Jazz chart. She’ll return to Atlanta for a show at Atlanta Symphony Hall at 8 p.m. on July 11.
July 12, August 2 and September 6
The Mable House Barnes Amphitheatre brings a wealth of R&B and jazz fusion to Mableton in the coming months. On July 12, they’ll feature Will Downing, Najee and Ken Ford. Next up, Jonathan Butler, Richard Elliot and Rick Braun take the stage on August 2; and Marcus Miller, Avery Sunshine and Vincent Ingala will perform on September 6. All shows begin at 7 p.m.
July 18
Atlanta trumpeter and vocalist Joe Gransden brings his 16-piece Big Band to Eddie’s Attic at 7 p.m. on July 18. Gransden also leads a weekly jazz jam every Monday at Napoleon’s in Decatur.
Enjoy a cultural double feature at the High Museum of Art’s Friday Jazz series, where you’ll experience live music and explore the museum’s galleries. On July 18, Friday Jazz features multi-instrumentalist Vinnie D’Agostino, an Atlanta-based musician proficient in saxes, clarinets and flutes. He’ll play throughout the evening on April 18. Coming up next is KIN on August 15.
July 20
The Atlanta Blues Society’s next Gathering & Jam happens from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday, July 20, at the Green Room in Mableton (1391 Veterans Memorial Highway). The host band will be Time Crunch, the 2024 Youth Band winners of the Atlanta Blues Challenge.
July 29
In between European tours, international jazz vocalist and educator Lori Williams will perform at City Winery Atlanta at 8 p.m. on July 29. When she isn’t bringing jazz to the world (with dates scheduled in Austria, Italy, Slovenia and Croatia, among others), you’ll find her hosting the Sunday Jazz Lounge at St. James Live.
August 6
The Jazz Legacy Project will present a Tribute to Cannonball Adderley at Eddie Owen Presents at the Red Clay Music Foundry in downtown Duluth. The show starts at 7 p.m. on August 6. On future dates, they’ll pay tribute to Billy Strayhorn (September 3).
August 10
Head to MadLife Stage & Studios in Woodstock (8722 Main St.) for The Atlanta Blues Society’s 2025 Blues Challenge from 1 p.m. to 8 p.m. on August 10. There will be up to 12 acts competing, and the winners will represent Atlanta in the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in January 2026.
August 14
Jimmie Vaughan, founder of the Fabulous Thunderbirds and brother of Stevie Ray Vaughan, has been melding blues and rock for almost 60 years. He’ll be bringing his Tilt-A-Whirl Band to City Winery for an 8 p.m. show on August 14.
August 16 and 17
The Stockbridge Jazz Festival is happening at the VyStar Amphitheater at the Bridge (4650 N. Henry Blvd., Stockbridge) beginning at 8 p.m. on August 16 and August 17. Tommy Davidson hosts a lineup that includes David Benoit, Norman Brown, Jennifer Holliday and Chandra Currelley.
September 22
Grammy-nominated saxophonist and vocalist Mindi Abair has recorded with some of the biggest names in music, including Gregg Allman, Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, Dave Koz and Max Weinberg. She’ll be performing at City Winery Atlanta at 8 p.m. on September 22.
