5 days ago
Festivalgoers travel hundreds of miles for Birmingham's Steel City Jazz Fest
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) – Thousands of people are expected to gather at Linn Park over the weekend to enjoy the sweet sounds of jazz music. The Steel City Smooth Jazz Festival attracts people from all over the country.
'I could sit and listen to the music all day long, I hope the weather holds up,' said Montie Taylor, who traveled down from Tennessee. 'Just wonderful music, a great environment and just vibing and kicking off the summer.'
Taylor and her best friend, Tina Deneen, are getting groovy together at the Steel City Smooth Jazz Festival this weekend. Though they live hundreds of miles apart, the sorority sisters knew the perfect spot to reconnect would be the jazz festival in Birmingham.
'We used to live here, sometime about 6 years ago we moved from here to Maryland, and we came to this jazz festival before and had such a wonderful time, so we thought we'd travel back to Birmingham,' Deneen said.
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'I lived here in Birmingham for a small amount, short amount of time, and Tennessee is not that far away,' Taylor said. 'So, when my best friend said she was coming from Maryland, it was an easy decision to come down and enjoy good music, good food and have the best time with our besties.'
'The experience of being able to come out here with our friends, and we have such great memories of Birmingham, that's why we came back,' Deneen's husband, Lou, said.
The Steel City Smooth Jazz Fest is a homecoming for more people than just Taylor and Deneen.
'I grew up here as a little kid,' said Dennis Gordon. 'Up the road there about three blocks on 22nd street.'
Gordon lives in Atlanta now. He says, since retiring, he and his wife travel to all of the jazz festivals around the southeast. He says he has mixed feelings about genres other than jazz being included in the festival.
'It's ok, but I'm iffy if it's not jazz. I'm 70 years old and it keeps the young folks from here,' Gordon said. 'We enjoy it though, we enjoy all of it.'
While people travel to the Magic City from all over to enjoy the music, it's a big draw for locals as well. Thelma and Wayne Webb have been coming to the Steel City Jazz Fest for the last decade.
'Everybody just loves one another, you know, we're just of all race, of all kind, just love one another,' Thelma said.
'That's what it's all about, love and having a good time. A safe, good time,' Wayne added.
Gates will reopen for the Steel City Smooth Jazz Festival at noon on Saturday. Music continues through Sunday. You can find more information about the event here.
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