{"id":147834,"date":"2026-02-25T22:34:54","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147834"},"modified":"2026-02-25T22:34:54","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T03:34:54","slug":"2026-wilkes-barre-cavalcade-of-jazz-set-for-june-5-7-featuring-headliner-the-bill-frisell-trio","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/?p=147834","title":{"rendered":"2026 Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz Set for June 5-7, featuring headliner the Bill Frisell Trio"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\u00a0Photo Caption: The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz is back for its 75th Anniversary Celebration! Featuring headliner Bill Frisell Trio, the 2026 festival promises to deliver an unforgettable celebration of music, art, and community at venues across Wilkes-Barre during the weekend of June 5-7.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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WILKES-BARRE, PA<\/strong> \u2014 The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz is back and better than ever! Following the overwhelming success of the last few years, the 2026 festival promises to deliver an unforgettable celebration of music, art, and community. From June 5-7, venues across Wilkes-Barre will come alive with the sounds of world-class jazz. This year also marks the 75th<\/sup> anniversary of the first Cavalcade, which took place in 1951.<\/p>\n

Friday, June 5<\/strong>
\nThe festivities kick off with the Opening Ceremony<\/strong> at the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts<\/strong>. Following this, jazz enthusiasts can experience the vibrant Jazz Walk<\/strong>, featuring incredible artists performing throughout downtown Wilkes-Barre. Friday night wraps up with a special Late Night Jazz Jam.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Saturday, June 6<\/strong>
\nStart your Saturday with the fan-favorite Jazz and Java<\/strong> followed by Afternoon Jazz<\/strong> performances in downtown venues.<\/p>\n

As we head into the evening, the festival\u2019s headliner, Bill Frisell Trio<\/strong>, will take the stage at 6:30 p.m. in the F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts\u2019 Chandelier Hall<\/strong>. The F.M. Kirby Center presents this performance as part of their Signature Series, sponsored by Geisinger.<\/p>\n

Sunday, June 7<\/strong>
\nThe festival concludes on Sunday with a delightful Jazz Brunch<\/strong>, a perfect way to wind down the weekend with great music and delicious food.<\/p>\n

Tickets for the Bill Frisell Trio are available for purchase beginning on Friday, February 27th<\/sup> at 10 a.m. online at ticketmaster.com and at the F.M. Kirby Center Box Office. A Kirby Member presale will begin Thursday, February 26th,<\/sup> at 10 a.m.<\/p>\n

Additional artists and performances will be announced in the coming weeks on the festival\u2019s social media pages and website: wilkesbarrecavalcadeofjazz.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz is made possible thanks to the efforts of the Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz Committee<\/strong> in partnership with Visit Luzerne County<\/strong>, The City of Wilkes-Barre<\/strong>, and Diamond City Partnership<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

About the Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz<\/strong>
\nThe Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz began in 1951 and is widely recognized as America\u2019s first jazz festival. A plaque on Wilkes-Barre\u2019s Public Square commemorates this historic moment, reading:
\n“On February 23, 1951 history was made in Wilkes-Barre. Eight jazz bands got together for ‘The Cavalcade of Dixieland Jazz,’ which became the country’s first jazz festival. On this occasion, April 29, 1994, the City of Wilkes-Barre acknowledges and pays tribute to those early jazz musicians and promoters who initiated the tradition which continues today, not only here in its birthplace, but throughout the country.”<\/em>
\nSigned,
\nLee A. Namey, Mayor of Wilkes-Barre<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz Committee is comprised of dedicated community leaders and jazz enthusiasts, including this year\u2019s committee chairs James and Susan Shoemaker, as well as Bob Borwick, Maria Edmunds, Shelby Gushka, AJ Jump, John Maday, Gina Malsky, Neil Prisco, Michael Slusser, and Alan Stout.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t miss this incredible celebration of jazz in the heart of Wilkes-Barre! Mark your calendars for June 5-7 and join us for a weekend of extraordinary performances, community connection, and the joy of live music.<\/p>\n

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Information provided to TVL by:
\nNeil Prisco<\/p>\n

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 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

  WILKES-BARRE, PA \u2014 The Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz is back and better than ever! Following the overwhelming success of the last few years, the 2026 festival promises to deliver … Continue reading 2026 Wilkes-Barre Cavalcade of Jazz Set for June 5-7, featuring headliner the Bill Frisell Trio<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":147836,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[482],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-release-2"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/cavalcade-of-jazz.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147834"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=147834"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":147837,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147834\/revisions\/147837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/147836"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=147834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=147834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thevalleyledger.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=147834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}