9 NIGHTS OF THE ROCHESTER INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL
2025’s Rochester International Jazz Festival is almost upon us, and The Duke, right at The Mercantile On Main, will again be a featured destination for all 9 nights (18 shows) of this incredible event.
Similar to last year, The Duke is a Club Pass venue, which means you can attend Club Pass events. For Club Pass details, visit the official Rochester International Jazz Festival website.
Tickets will also be sold at the door for events at The Duke, for $30, on a limited basis.
THE DUKE'S 2025 JAZZ FEST LINEUP
Friday, June 20, 2024
Ruta Di
Experience the electrifying performance of Ruta Di, a London-based singer-songwriter and award-winning guitarist, whose music seamlessly blends neo-soul, jazz, rock, classical, and Brazilian influences. With her virtuosic guitar skills, captivating voice, and infectious hooks, Ruta Di creates a sound that is both sophisticated and deeply emotive.
SATURDAY, June 21, 2024
McKinley James
McKinley James is equal parts old soul and modern man. Armed with an electric guitar and sharp songwriting chops, he breathes new life into classic sounds with Working Class Blues, a debut album that introduces his mix of American rock & roll, amplified soul, and raw rhythm & blues.
SUNDAY, June 22, 2024
Bill Tibero Band
The Bill Tiberio Band has been a mainstay in the Rochester music scene for almost 20 years, and has released 4 albums. Each is available on all streaming platforms. Their latest, BTB Live 2020 was recorded in January 2020 in front of a studio audience, and received extensive radio play in the area.
MONDAY, June 23, 2024
Spin Cycle
Since 2014, contemporary jazz band Spin Cycle has been bringing their original music to clubs and concert halls across the US and Canada. Co-lead by Scott Neumann and Tom Christensen, the band highlights their flexibility, reach and capacity to surprise their audiences. On any given song, you might encounter the modal influence of John Coltrane, the second-line funk of New Orleans, or the edgy experimentation of free jazz.
TUESDAY, June 24, 2024
Muscle Tough
Muscle Tough, Philadelphia’s premier Futuristic Funk Fusion trio, specializes in a heavily improvised blend of modal jazz, funk, and rocking psychedelia.
Their creative use of sound design and group-minded improvisation blurs the line between their originals and the quirky pop classics they stretch out on.
WEDNESDAY, June 25, 2024
Shebad
SHEBAD is the creative spirit of visual artist and vocalist Claire Voy and multi-instrumentalist Ciccio Spagnolo. This Guelph-based music project plays on the exploratory realm of Indie Soul, characterized by jazz-influenced melodies, danceable basslines, and Claire’s transcendent voice. Their sound is a synthesis of influences like Stevie Wonder, Hiatus Kaiyote, Amy Winehouse, Daft Punk, and Erykah Badu, making the music compelling and curious with lyrics from the heart. CBC’s Laila Biali aptly describes their sound as “Music that exists in a sonic world of its own”.
THURSDAY, June 26, 2024
salami Rose Joe Louis
Salami Rose Joe Louis is a genre traveler, multi-instrumentalist female producer, and a signee to Flying Lotus’s Brainfeeder label. She produces and records pretty much exclusively on her beloved Roland MV8800, nicknamed “Funfunfun”. Her debut record with Brainfeeder, ‘Zdenka 2080’, is a critically acclaimed, conceptual sci-fi epic that earned a nomination for Giles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards Best Album of 2020. Since then, she has toured supporting Flying Lotus, Cinematic Orchestra, Toro y Moi, TuneYards, Clairo, and MNDSGN.
FRIDAY, June 27, 2024
C.J. Chenier
Clayton Joseph Chenier is Creole music royalty. His father, the legendary Clifton Chenier, invented the style of music we know today as Zydeco and was the first Creole musician to be recognized with a Grammy Award.
Raised in this indigenous American culture with its distinctive language, cuisine, and music, C.J. delivers soulful vocals along with jaw-dropping masterful accordion-driven Rock, Zydeco, and Blues.
SATURDAY, June 28, 2024
Salin
Salin is a Thai-born drummer, composer, and Juno-nominated producer whose music weaves together the hypnotic sounds of Northeast Thailand with the psychedelic grooves of 1970s West Africa, all through a modern, soulful lens.
Her debut album, Cosmic Island (2021), introduced her dynamic fusion of global influences, earning her a spot at major festivals, including the Montreal International Jazz Festival. As a producer, Salin led the creation of Donte Sann Yo, the debut album by Haitian duo Bel & Quinn, which was nominated for Global Music Album of the Year at the 2024 Juno Awards.