By all rights, Burlington shouldn’t be this good at jazz. It’s a college town, a lake town, a craft beer town — but every June, it turns into something else: one of the most exciting destinations for boundary-pushing, heart-thumping, genre-expanding jazz in North America. And this year, with Anthony Tidd as guest curator, the Burlington Discover Jazz Festival might be having its most fearless moment yet.
Anthony Tidd, a bassist, composer, and Guggenheim Fellow, is staging a vision where jazz is not a museum piece but a living organism. In his hands, the genre expands far beyond any purist’s box. He opens the door to Afrobeat, gospel, reggae, funk, and hip-hop — not as detours but as essential parts of the jazz conversation. That’s not just a philosophical stance; it’s baked into this year’s lineup like DNA.
Origins: Sounds & Stories of the African Diaspora
June 4, 2025 | 7:30 PM
A celebration exploring the rich musical heritage and stories from the African diaspora.
The kickoff alone makes it clear. “Origins: Sounds and Stories of the African Diaspora” is a sonic roadmap of Black musical history. Tidd’s band, featuring heavyweights like Fred Wesley and Greg Osby, weaves together centuries of cultural sound into one performance. This isn’t just jazz looking backward; it’s jazz looking everywhere at once.
Paris Monster
June 5, 2025 | 7:30 PM
A Brooklyn duo delivering high-energy shows blending funk, soul, synth-pop, and garage-rock with an electronic edge.
That same kaleidoscopic ethos extends to the booking choices. Paris Monster, the Brooklyn duo who somehow summon full-band power from a drum kit, bass, and synths, are an inspired inclusion. Their music ricochets between synth-pop and gutbucket funk, sometimes sounding like Stevie Wonder beamed through a punk club. It’s jazz in attitude, if not in instrumentation — which is probably the point.
Jon McBride’s Big Easy with Ryan Montbleau
June 4, 2025 | 8:30 PM
A tribute to the early roots of funk in jazz, featuring Burlington saxophonist Jon McBride and Boston singer-songwriter Ryan Montbleau.
Local pride also runs strong through the fest. Burlington’s own Jon McBride teams up with troubadour Ryan Montbleau for a Wednesday-night funk homage that promises to be equal parts party and precision. Meanwhile, the emerging Janéa Hudson is shaping up to be one of the breakout stars of the weekend. Her quintet includes a killer lineup of Vermont talent, and her soulful performances offer a compelling reason to catch her now, before bigger stages start calling.
The Soul Rebels with Rakim and Talib Kweli
June 7, 2025 | 9:15 PM
New Orleans brass meets hip-hop legends in a powerful fusion of jazz, funk, and rap.
And then comes Saturday — the night where jazz’s influence on hip-hop takes center stage. The Soul Rebels are already known for their electrifying blend of brass and bounce, but adding Rakim and Talib Kweli to the mix? That’s not just a crossover — it’s a full-circle moment. Jazz, as Tidd insists, has always informed hip-hop, and here we see that lineage made manifest in real time. Expect a packed Waterfront Park and a lot of sore necks from all the head-nodding.
Translinear Light: The Music of Alice Coltrane
June 8, 2025 | 6:00 PM
An immersive tribute to Alice Coltrane’s transcendent musical legacy.
The festival closes with perhaps its most spiritual moment: “Translinear Light,” a tribute to Alice Coltrane led by her son, Ravi Coltrane, and harpist Brandee Younger. It’s a moving correction to history — one that honors Alice not only as John Coltrane’s partner but as a powerful composer and mystic in her own right. It’s a fitting endnote for a festival that’s all about giving the overlooked their proper due, and reminding us that jazz is at its best when it refuses to stand still.
There are countless other highlights buried in this year’s five-day run. Late-night jams at Big Joe’s — the festival’s homage to local legend “Big Joe” Burrell — will no doubt produce the kind of impromptu brilliance that can’t be scheduled. And the Flynn Space, back on the bill after a long hiatus, promises to be a hub of discovery.
But perhaps the most exciting thing about this year’s festival is the feeling that jazz — as a culture, as an energy — is being taken off the leash. Anthony Tidd has made a statement that jazz is not a fixed set of instruments. It’s a language, a way of connecting stories and souls, and in Burlington this week, it’s speaking louder than ever.