Presented by Jazz in the Berkshires
Williamstown Jazz Festival
Inaugural · September 11 – 13, 2026

Three days.
Three venues. One festival.

When
Sept 11 – 13, 2026
Where
Williamstown, MA
Festival MC
Todd Barkan, NEA Jazz Master
Buy Festival Tickets →
Festival Passes

Choose your weekend.

Full-festival, single-day, and VIP options. All passes include venue access for that day's programming.

Best Value

Full Festival Pass

All three days · Sept 11 – 13
$310
Base pass
VIP Upgrade
$400
  • Priority VIP seating
  • Artist meet-and-greet
  • Exclusive festival swag
  • $10 food/drink voucher

Friday

September 11
$85
Day pass
VIP $150
  • VIP seating
  • Meet & greet

Saturday

September 12
$100
Day pass
VIP $175
  • VIP seating
  • Meet & greet

Sunday

September 13
$125
Day pass
VIP $200
  • VIP seating
  • Meet & greet
Festival Host & MC

Todd Barkan

"If you take care of the music, the music will take care of you."

A 2018 NEA Jazz Master and world-renowned jazz impresario. Proprietor of Keystone Korner Baltimore and former Artistic Administrator for Jazz at Lincoln Center, Barkan has spent over five decades at the heart of the jazz world.

A Grammy Award-winning producer with hundreds of recordings featuring legends including Dexter Gordon and Miles Davis. From the Boys Choir of Harlem to Dizzy's Club, Barkan's career is defined by dedication to the music and its practitioners.

Schedule

The weekend.

Plan your weekend — every set, every venue, every artist.

Friday · Sept 11
Opening Night
5:00 PM

Brandee Younger Trio

'62 Center for Theatre and Dance
7:00 PM

Connie Han Trio

'62 Center for Theatre and Dance
Saturday · Sept 12
Center Stage
11:00 AM

Jazz Film Festival — Rhythm & Reels

Images Cinema · until 3:00 PM
6:00 PM

Steve Turre's All-Star Band

'62 Center for Theatre and Dance · with James Carter, ELEW, Corcoran Holt, Herlin Riley
8:00 PM

The Cookers

'62 Center for Theatre and Dance
Sunday · Sept 13
Finale
11:00 AM

Regional Jazz Artists

Clark Art Institute · Berkshires Youth Ensemble, MCLA Jazz Ensemble, Richard Stanmeyer & Company
2:00 PM

The History of Jazz in the Berkshires

Brooks-Rogers Recital Hall · John Gennari book talk with Todd Barkan
4:00 PM

Wanda Houston Quartet

Chapin Hall, Williams College
6:00 PM

Triangle Offense — Kris Allen Trio

Chapin Hall, Williams College
8:00 PM

Arturo Sandoval & Octet

Chapin Hall, Williams College — closing night headliner
Artist Profiles

Meet the musicians.

The full lineup, with bios, set times, and venues. Every act we've booked for the inaugural festival.

Sunday Headliner

Arturo Sandoval

& the Arturo Sandoval Octet
A protégé of Dizzy Gillespie, Sandoval has evolved into one of the world's most acknowledged guardians of jazz trumpet and flugelhorn — also a renowned classical artist, pianist, and composer. Seen by millions at the Oscars, Grammys, and Billboard Awards.
Sun · Sept 13
8:00 PM
Chapin Hall
Williams College
Friday Opener

Brandee Younger

& the Brandee Younger Trio
Revolutionizing the harp's role in modern music. In 2022, the first Black woman nominated for a Grammy® for Best Instrumental Composition. Has worked with Common, Lauryn Hill, John Legend, Pharoah Sanders, and Christian McBride.
Fri · Sept 11
5:00 PM
'62 Center
for Theatre & Dance
Friday

Connie Han

& the Connie Han Trio
Hailed by Variety as "one of contemporary jazz's most talented and inventive musicians" and Downbeat's "Jazz Warrior-Goddess." Interprets the jazz piano pantheon with her own fiery, contemporary style.
Fri · Sept 11
7:00 PM
'62 Center
for Theatre & Dance
Saturday

Steve Turre's All-Star Band

with James Carter, Eric 'ELEW' Lewis, Corcoran Holt, and Herlin Riley
One of the world's preeminent jazz innovators. Trombonist and seashellist, member of the Saturday Night Live Band since 1984. Has consistently won both the Readers' and Critics' polls in JazzTimes, Downbeat, and Jazziz.
Sat · Sept 12
6:00 PM
'62 Center
for Theatre & Dance
Saturday Closer

The Cookers

Dr. Eddie Henderson · Azar Lawrence · George Cables · Billy Hart · Cecil McBee · Donald Harrison · David Weiss
An aggressive mid-'60s spirit channeled through a potent collection of expansive post-bop originals — marked by killer instincts and pyrotechnic playing from some of the heaviest hitters on the scene today.
Sat · Sept 12
8:00 PM
'62 Center
for Theatre & Dance
Sunday Afternoon

Wanda Houston

& the Wanda Houston Quartet
Lead vocalist for Heth, Bradley & Houston, the Wanda Houston Band, and Big & Bigger. Also lends her talent to the Convergence Project, Mothership Trio, the VT Jazz Center Big Band, and the NOLA-inspired Rejuvenators.
Sun · Sept 13
4:00 PM
Chapin Hall
Williams College
Sunday Evening

Kris Allen — Triangle Offense

Jonathan Barber, drums · Kris Allen, saxophone · Matt Dwonszyk, bass
A band built by and for spacious symbiosis, unforced chemistry, and good humor. Each member is a world-renowned performer and bandleader in his own right, with deep roots in Hartford, Connecticut's fertile scene.
Sun · Sept 13
6:00 PM
Chapin Hall
Williams College
Sunday Morning · Free Showcase

Regional Jazz Artists

Berkshires Jazz Youth Ensemble · MCLA Jazz Ensemble · Richard Stanmeyer & Company
The next generation of Berkshire jazz. The festival's commitment to education and regional talent — featuring youth ensembles, MCLA's jazz program, and Berklee alum Richard Stanmeyer.
Sun · Sept 13
11:00 AM
Clark Art
Institute
Sunday · Book Talk

John Gennari

in conversation with Todd Barkan
Lenox native and Professor of English at the University of Vermont. Discussing his latest, The Jazz Barn: Music Inn, the Berkshires, and the Place of Jazz in American Life (2025). Author of the award-winning Blowin' Hot and Cool: Jazz and Its Critics.
Sun · Sept 13
2:00 PM
Brooks-Rogers
Recital Hall
A Note from the Nonprofit

The Williamstown Jazz Festival is produced by Jazz in the Berkshires, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Every ticket helps. Every donation builds something lasting.

Support the festival → Become a founding sponsor →