Yesterday, I attended the DC JazzFest at The Wharf. I have been attending the JazzFest for a number of years now, but this is the first time I’ve ever attended the festival at its new location, The Wharf. It used to be held in the Navy Yard, but I believe last year, it was moved. I did attend last year, but went to the ticketed opening of the JazzFest which was held at City Winery. That was a great event! The day of the show Dave Chappelle announced he would be doing a performance later that night to celebrate the opening. And there was an amazing harmonica player who had previously performed with the likes of Stevie Wonder. Very fun event and great venue in Ivy City.

As you can see, we had nice weather for the event down by The Wharf, with a modest breeze coming off the Potomac. I was excited to take in a show here, since the only concerts I have been to at The Wharf have been at The Anthem. I have seen them put up an outdoor stage for other events like the Cherry Blossom Festival, but have not had a chance to attend. Personally, I think the new venue works out well. I kind of miss the Navy Yard location because there was more of a picnic atmosphere where you could just lounge on a blanket all day. However, with all the development that has happened at Navy Yard, I doubt you would be able to do that now anyway. At The Wharf, there was very limited seating, mostly up by the stage, but there were some standing tables sprinkled around to rest drinks on. The crowd was pretty consistent for most of the day, and seemed to be growing a little when I was leaving around 5:00pm. I also heard a few people mention that they did not know the JazzFest was happing, but were just presently surprised when they went down to enjoy The Wharf and ended up getting to see a free show. This is a perk of the new, more trafficked, venue. The jazz was still great, and I will definitely be back to the festival next year.