Overview The Atlanta Jazz Festival is a free three-day jazz festival in Piedmont Park over Memorial Day weekend, started in 1978 by Mayor Maynard Jackson, who backed it on the grounds that "jazz music is America's only original art form." It began as the Atlanta Free Jazz Festival, and admission is free. The 2026 festival was the 49th, with Kamasi Washington, The Roots and PJ Morton closing its three nights. The City of Atlanta's Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs produces it with the nonprofit Atlanta Jazz Festival, Inc., and the weekend caps 31 Days of Jazz, a month of concerts across metro Atlanta. On site In 2026 five sets ran each day on the main stage, then named the Design Essentials Stage, from 1 p.m. to the 9 p.m. headliner. Around it are an artist and food market, the Bank of America VIP Lounge, Tito's Jazz Spot for groups, the Publix Kids Zone and Jazz 101 workshops with visiting artists. A Friday kick-off concert opens the weekend, and a late-night jam runs at the Fox Theatre's Marquee Club. The Neighborhood Jazz Series takes the music into city neighborhoods. Audience It is a hometown crowd with a steady flow of newcomers. In the festival's 2025 survey, 69 percent lived in the city of Atlanta and 15 percent had traveled in for the festival; 40 percent were first-time visitors, while 27 percent had been coming for five years or more. Most drove, but about a third came by train, on foot or by bike. Talent and Influencers The bill runs from straight-ahead jazz to soul and hip-hop. The 2026 lineup had Esperanza Spalding, Christian McBride and Ursa Major, Butcher Brown, Nate Smith and aja monet alongside the headliners; 2025 brought Dianne Reeves, Ravi Coltrane, Charles McPherson and Marsha Ambrosius. Lionel Hampton, Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, Wynton Marsalis, Nina Simone, Herbie Hancock and Ray Charles all played the festival in earlier decades. Track record The festival's 2025 media partners delivered more than $1.2 million in advertising value, with placements at Hartsfield-Jackson airport, on MARTA and on 26 Orange Barrel digital billboards alongside radio, print and email. In that year's survey, 98 percent of attendees gave it high satisfaction ratings. Brand presence Sponsors come in at five levels, from Presenting and Powered By down to Corporate Partner, and the top three carry category exclusivity, custom activation spaces, video spots on the main-stage screen and access to the audience survey data. The Meadow Stage and VIP Lounge can be named, and the Kid Zone, Jazz Spot, Late Night stage, Neighborhood Jazz Series, Jazz 101 and the Kick Off Concert are sold as add-ons. Sponsorship is tax-deductible through Atlanta Jazz Festival, Inc.