Annapolis Jazz & Roots Festival Returns for Fifth Year

The 2026 program, titled "New World Music: Centuries of Sound," opens November 6 at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church with the Muneer Nasser Band. The performance honors the 1926 birth year of jazz icons John Coltrane, Miles Davis, and Randy Weston. Throughout the festival, the schedule pivots between global musical traditions and Maryland’s local history, featuring lectures on colonial-era indenture and the legacy of slavery alongside performances by the Afro-Peruvian band Perkutao and drummer Makaya McCraven.

The second weekend highlights cultural intersections, including vocalist Vanessa Racci’s exploration of Italian contributions to American jazz and Akua Allrich’s tribute to Miriam Makeba and Nina Simone at the Banneker-Douglass-Tubman Museum. The festival concludes November 15 with an Indigenous dance performance by Uhwachi-Reh at the Pip Moyer Recreation Center. Most events are free or require modest admission, though organizers strongly recommend booking reservations in advance via instantseats.com.