One of the biggest music festivals in North Texas is gearing up for its eighth annual installment — and a change of scenery.
The festival is presented by The Black Academy of Arts and Letters (TBAAL), which has temporarily lost its home during the renovation of the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in downtown Dallas. So the party is moving to Fair Park, where more than 30 musical acts will perform on multiple stages over three days. The festival will also be at Fair Park in 2026.
The event kicks off Friday, Aug. 29 and continues through Sunday, Aug. 31. Tickets — either a weekend pass or single-day admissions — are on sale now, and all proceeds from the festival will benefit the TBAAL Youth arts and education programs as well as the institution itself. It’s also worth noting that all musical performances will be held indoors.
This year’s opening night event is also doubling a tribute to four performers TBAAL has presented in the past: Roberta Flack, Roy Ayers, Angie Stone and Frankie Beverly.
“We’re asking opening night attendees to bring a red rose or a white carnation,” the festival organizers said in a statement. “The red rose [symbolizes] the love, passion and devotion the artists contributed to our music and the white carnation [symbolizes] reverence to their musical gift and indomitable spirit they left to the world.”
The Midnight Troubadour
Tough and timeless, this polo is built for the long ride. Featuring a crisp, non-collapsing collar and a rugged, stretchy fabric, it's the perfect shirt for any cowboy's wardrobe.
For a complete listing of the scheduled artists performing over Riverfront Jazz Festival’s three days, click here. Here are five can’t-miss acts appearing at this year’s event.
Raheem DeVaughn (7:30 p.m. Friday, Jazz Main Stage)
It’s been 20 years since New Jersey singer-songwriter Raheem DeVaughn dropped his debut album, The Love Experience. In that span of time, he’s kept working steadily — his latest studio effort, Winter in Love, dropped in February. He will perform as part of Friday’s tribute to Flack, Ayers, Stone and Beverly.
War (8:20 p.m. Saturday, Blues & Soul Main Stage)
It’s amazing to consider California funk-soul-rock collective War has been active for more than half a century. The septet hasn’t released any new material since 2014’s Evolutionary, but with stone-cold classics like “Why Can’t We Be Friends,” “Low Rider” and “Spill the Wine,” War still packs plenty of firepower.
Kirk Whalum (5:40 p.m. Saturday, Jazz Main Stage)
A veteran jazz saxophonist, songwriter and composer, Memphis native Kirk Whalum is marking his fourth decade in the music business this year. Although he’s backed a veritable who’s who of modern music — Whitney Houston, Quincy Jones, Michael McDonald and Luther Vandross all enlisted his services — Whalum has maintained a busy solo career, up through 2024’s Epic Cool LP.
Tank and the Bangas (7:30 p.m. Saturday, Jazz Main Stage)
New Orleans funk-soul collective Tank and the Bangas is a full-on force of nature. Led by the irrepressible Tarriona “Tank” Ball, the band bagged its first-ever Grammy earlier this year for its 2024 album, The Heart, The Mind, The Soul, its fourth studio effort overall.
Anthony Hamilton (9:20 p.m. Sunday, Jazz Main Stage)
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and producer Anthony Hamilton has demonstrated perseverance over the course of his 33-year career. After his debut album XTC was unceremoniously shelved, he toured with D’Angelo and bounced back to drop Comin’ Where I’m From in 2003, his second album but the first to be released. His most recent LP, Love is the New Black, dropped in 2021.
Riverfront Jazz Festival at Fair Park, Dallas. 7:30 p.m. Aug. 29; 1 p.m. Aug. 30-31. Tickets are $190 for a weekend pass, or $95 per day.
Preston Jones is a North Texas freelance writer and regular contributor to KXT. Email him at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky (@prestonjones.bsky.social).Our work is made possible by our generous, music-loving members. If you like how we lift up local music, consider becoming a KXT sustaining member right here.
