The idea for the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival was hatched in 2003, when a group of musicians, actors and businesspeople gathered at In a Pig's Eye restaurant to discuss starting a music festival in ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />Salem. Out of that meeting, a core group -- Henley Douglas Jr., saxophone player for the Boston Horns, and Jennifer and Jonathan Reardon, The Pig's owners -- continued to brainstorm about the event regularly...:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

In their mind, there was no better place to meet: Douglas had performed at "The Pig" for years, almost as long as the small Derby Street restaurant had played host to Sunday night plays, readings and comedy shows. They felt comfortable in that creative environment, and it didn't hurt that the food was cheap.

Patrons and employees, all friends, added their ideas as the three developed a plan to put on a music festival in Salem, home to dozens of talented musicians. The idea grew and soon a plan was formed to have the concert be a catalyst for educating the city's young musicians. Together the three fostered a dream of constructing a performance space and music education center somewhere in Salem.

In the coming years, they continued to meet intermittently. This winter, at a late-night New Years party in Beverly Farms, Douglas told a group of friends about the dormant jazz festival idea. His presentation was passionate and the group encouraged him to follow the dream, even offering to lend their expertise.

Seven days later, at a Monday night meeting, the festival was back on track. In the next few weeks, more volunteers joined the group. Each Monday, another talented person would be invited until the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival was built into a board of directors made up of North Shore musicians, actors, writers, concert promoters and businesspeople.  

Within just 10 weeks, the show was back on track. Douglas and Jennifer and Jonathan Reardon are still on board and they are about to have their dream realized. The inaugural Salem Jazz and Soul festival is expected to take place at the Salem Willows bandstand on Saturday, Aug. 18, and we couldn't be more excited.

The best part of it all is that we have kept the altruistic spirit throughout. We realize that constructing a performance space and music education center is a lofty goal, but we're committed to realizing an idea that grew out of several informal dinners at a neighborhood restaurant.

In the meantime, we're prepared to donate to music causes in Salem through a concert series which will consist of outdoor shows in Derby Square, club gigs and year-round fundraising parties, all anchored by an enthralling music festival at the Willows in August.

We expect the Salem Jazz and Soul festival to grow into the premier music festival on the North Shore, adding to the region's creative economy through tourism, music and education.

www.salemjazzsoul.com                                              salem jazz and soul festival                                        info@salemjazzsoul.com