Newport Jazz Festival

Photo: Kamasi Washington via Facebook

The Newport Jazz Festival may be 8 months from now but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be grabbing your tickets to the legendary festival as well as paying attention to the lineup.

George Wein announced on Tuesday, December 1st that Kamasi Washington, a tenor saxophonist from Los Angeles, will be a major part of the 2016 Newport Jazz Festival.

“Earlier this season, when NJF sent out a poll for requests as to which new artists people would like to see at the festival, the name Kamasi Washington came out at the top of the list.” Wen said in an email.

As the Los Angeles Times has written, “The idea is simple: Listen to more jazz. And if you heed that advice, you need to listen to more Kamasi Washington, the South Central – and Inglewood – raised saxophonist who might have made the best modern jazz record of the year.”

Flex tickets for the 2016 festival have recently gone on-sale and nearly 1000 have bought tickets before knowing a single artist, according to Wein .

Flex tickets, which allow you to choose the day of your attendance, are still on-sale and are a wonderful holiday present for your friends and family.

To purchase tickets, visit http://www.newportjazzfest.org/tickets.

Ryan Belmore is the Publisher of What'sUpNewp. 
Belmore has been involved with What’sUpNewp since shortly after its launch in 2012, proudly leading it to be named Best Local News Blog in Rhode Island by Rhode Island Monthly readers in 2018, 2019, and 2020 and an honorable mention in the Common Good Awards in 2021.

Born and raised in Rhode Island, Belmore graduated from Coventry High School and the Community College of Rhode Island. In addition to living in Newport for 10 years, he has lived in Portsmouth, Coventry, Providence, Smithfield, Burrillville, and East Greenwich.

Belmore currently serves as Vice President of the Board Of Directors for Fort Adams Trust and on the Board of Directors for Potter League For Animals. He previously served on the Board of Lucy's Hearth and the Arts & Cultural Alliance for Newport County.

Belmore and his wife, Jen, currently live in Alexandria, Virginia, a move they made in 2021. Read more about that here - https://whatsupnewp.com/2021/09/letter-from-the-publisher-some-personal-news/

Belmore visits Newport every couple of weeks to support the 12+ paid contributors What'sUpNewp has on the ground across Rhode Island, a place he called home for 39 years.

Belmore is a member of Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, Society of Professional Journalists, and the North American Snowsports Journalists Association.

In 2020, Belmore was named Member of the Year by LION and won the Arts & Cultural Alliance of Newport County's Dominque Award.
Belmore can be contacted at ryan@whatsupnewp.com and 401-662-1653.