This year’s Rye International Jazz & Blues Festival will take place as usual over the August Bank Holiday weekend and is set to be the biggest yet. At the party in Rye Retreat to announce the festival’s Patron and Friend membership schemes, there was footage of some of the acts booked to appear, including Wilko Johnson, Avery Sunshine, Ian Shaw and James Tormé , son of jazz legend Mel, as well as highlights from last year’s event. Director Ian Bowden is delighted that the festival, first launched in 2012, continues to develop as “one of the UK’s most exciting and growing boutique festivals”.
Bowden explained that Patrons and Friends will get discounts on booking tickets (20% for Patrons and 15% for Friends), recognition in the festival programme, home delivery of the festival guide and regular festival news updates. In addition, Patrons will enjoy a champagne gala dinner with world class live music and receive an invitation to the press launch, as well as having priority premium seating at festival events and recognition on the festival website. On the corporate side, festival events can be sponsored on a sole or joint basis, for instance sole sponsorship of James Tormé at St Mary’s on Friday August 28 will cost £2,500.
Acts booked to appear include The Blues Band headed by original Manfred Mann front-man Paul Jones, singer and drummer Kitty LaRoar, singer/songwriter Nina Ferro, vocalist Theo Jackson, award-winning jazz singer Liane Carroll, Afro-Cuban band Snowboy and the Latin Section, as well as the festival’s “most loved regular guest” Herbie Flowers.
A Patron’s annual membership costs £185 per person (email patrons@ryejazz.com for details), and a Friend’s annual membership costs £35 per person (e-mail friends@ryejazz.com for details). The festival will run from Thursday August 27 to Monday August 31 and further details can be found on the festival website.
Main photo: Phil Law