Baltimore, MD. (Top40 Charts/ PAETEC) - The first PAETEC Jazz Festival,www.paetecjazz.com, presented by Merrill Lynch held in Baltimore August 9-11 was a great success.
Drawing more than 25,000 music fans, the three-day event featured headliners B.B. King, Little Richard, Al Green, Boney James, Jonathan Butler and Earth Wind & Fire, all of whom delivered electrifying shows to packed houses and standing ovations. Outside Pier Six Pavilion, hundreds more lined adjacent piers and still others enjoyed the music from their boats in the harbor.
Twenty free concerts rounded out the diverse program, which covered a range of musical expression from acoustic modern jazz, blues and fusion, to Latin and big band and included some of the Baltimore area's finest musicians. Set against the beautiful Baltimore skyline and a stunning evening sunset, thousands filled Harbor Pointe on Saturday to hear 11 hours of great music under sunshine and clear skies.
Arunas Chesonis, CEO of PAETEC, the title sponsor said, "We're thrilled with the PAETEC Jazz Festival in Baltimore. This weekend showcased some of the greatest musicians and fans in the nation, backdropped by one of the most beautiful harbors. We thank everyone who came out to be a part of it."
Festival Producers Marc Iacona and John Nugent expressed how pleased they were to see everyone enjoying the music, cheering and smiling.
"Overall, this event was a success on many fronts," said Iacona. "We thank the Baltimore people for coming out and supporting the Festival. We were extremely pleased with the welcome and support we received from everyone - Mayor Dixon, City services, all the venues we worked with, the 100 plus PAETEC volunteers who came from all over the eastern seaboard and of course our sponsors. Everyone embraced what we wanted to accomplish and wanted to see the event succeed."
Nugent said, "This event has been a celebration of the many forms of creative improvised music, delivered by legends and rising stars alike. Smiling faces, moving to the rhythms, cheering fans…that's what it's all about, the joy that music brings. That's why we do this."
Chesonis, Iacona and Nugent will now review all the facets of this year's event and discuss plans for next year. For updates please see paetecjazz.com and sign up for email alerts. More festival photos will be posted in the coming days.
Festival Sponsors
PAETEC Jazz Festival - Baltimore, presented by Merrill Lynch is made possible by: PAETEC, Merrill Lynch, Bacardi, Boordy Vineyards, Cadillac, Charm City Concierge, Downtown Partnership of Baltimore, DuClaw Brewing Company, Harbor East, H&S Properties Development, Heineken USA, Municipal Employers Credit Union of Baltimore, Power Plant Live!, Rams Head® Live!, Republic National Distributing Company, SAP, Smooth Jazz WSMJ 104.3 FM, Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse, The Examiner, The Cordish Company, Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults and WBAL-TV.
