RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) – If you’re looking for good music, delicious food and great community, then it is just the place for you.
Thousands showed up for day one of the return of the Richmond Jazz and Music Festival on Aug. 12. The big crowds of people are a sign the music and overall community were missed.
“I’ve come every single year I’m so happy to have it back here after COVID,” Kesha Coward said.
It’s now titled the Richmond Jazz and Music Festival, emphasizing the idea that there’s something there for everyone. Coward says she didn’t even check the entire lineup because she knew she was going to go either way.
Multiple attendees and artists called the event a “family reunion,” due to the friendly crowds and community aspect of the event.
It’s one of a kind, with its culture and diversity mirroring and representing all that the city has to offer. The sounds of the festival will be the soundtrack of the city for the weekend.
“I was excited because first of all the lineup is perfect,” attendee Denna Ross said.
Ross came with her sisters all from Maryland for a birthday trip. What they didn’t realize is their family reunion was a part of a bigger one.
It all takes place at Maymont, attracting people from all over the country. Smith said she met people from Maryland and New York, though she says the festival has an overall homegrown aspect to it.
While listeners say the sounds are worth the trip, attendees come for the good company, too.
“Whether you are a music lover or not, I think you come out of here as family you come in as strangers, but you come out as family,” Coward said.
The second day of the festival is Sunday at Maymont again. NBC12 is a proud sponsor of the event.
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