Veteran festival producer Danny Melnick has put together another star-studded lineup for the 49th Saratoga Jazz Festival (June 27-28) at SPAC in Upstate New York.
On this episode of The Art of the Story, WBGO's Doug Doyle chats with Melnick about his goals for the two-day, two-stage event.
This year’s headliners are R&B legend and “Godmother of Soul” Patti LaBelle and the New Orleans rock collective known for their triple-platinum hit “Wish I Knew You,” The Revivalists.
The 2026 lineup bridges legacy and discovery, presenting iconic artists alongside the next generation. The festival will bring together a dynamic mix of genre-defying artists, including blues guitar virtuoso Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Afro-Cuban funk phenomenon Cimafunk, and hip, soul-inflected rhythm and blues band The Dip. They’ll be joined by jazz powerhouse vocalists Dianne Reeves and Cécile McLorin Salvant, contemporary and cutting-edge jazz leaders Terri Lyne Carrington and Lakecia Benjamin, Cuban piano master Gonzalo Rubalcaba, and many more!
The two-day festival will also mark the 100th birthdays of jazz legends with two special performances: Miles Electric Band: Celebrating Miles Davis’s Centennial and Skidmore Jazz Institute Faculty All-Stars Celebrate John Coltrane’s Centennial.
You can SEE Doug Doyle's entire interview with Danny Melnick below:
