Stochelo Rosenberg photo by Tyler Raymond

September 21-25
Whidbey Island Center for the Arts
565 Camano Ave, Langley, WA

Whidbey Island Center for the Arts (WICA) is proud to present the 2016 International Gypsy Jazz Music Festival DjangoFest Northwest, running Wednesday, September 21, through Sunday, September 25. Now celebrating its sixteenth year of bringing local, national, and international Gypsy Jazz musicians to Whidbey Island, DjangoFest Northwest presents some of the biggest names and brightest stars in the genre to thousands of enthusiastic fans.

As North America’s premier Gypsy Jazz music festival, and second worldwide only to the Festival Django Reinhart de Samois, DjangoFest Northwest welcomes the genre’s top performers from around the world to celebrate the culturally unique musical heritage of Django Reinhardt. This year continues that tradition with a stellar lineup featuring brothers Stochelo and Mozes Rosenberg with their special guest Christiaan van Hemert, and world-class artists from France, Sweden, the Netherlands, Canada, and the U.S., including: Antoine Boyer, Samuelito Rouesnel, and 2016 DjangoFest Saga Award-winner Noé Reine of France; Gustav Lundgren, Andreas Unge, and Martin Vidlund of Sweden; Zazi of the Netherlands; The Marc Atkinson Trio, Van Django and Quinn Bachand of Canada; and American artists John Jorgenson Quintet, Pearl Django, Rhythm Future Quartet, Hot Club of Troy, Nuages, and Ranger and the “Re-Arrangers.”

Following the success of previous years, WICA has expanded the workshops and presentations, not only to guitarists and violinists, but to the general public as well. All workshops are available to all patrons and performers, but of special interest to the festivalgoer will be the master class “The Master’s Basics of Gypsy Jazz Guitar” led by Stochelo Rosenberg, Mozes Rosenberg, and Christiaan van Hemert. This special workshop presentation is for players on the WICA Main Stage as well as seated audience observers. Entertaining and instructive, it will offer the festivalgoer a unique chance to interact with their favorite artists.

Single tickets range in price from $30 to $75 USD and are available online at www.wicaonline.org or by calling the WICA Box Office at (800) 638-7631. Festival passes are also available through the Box Office. For complete festival information, including artist lineup, workshops, artist biographies, music and videos, and ticketing information, visit DjangoFestNW.com.

–Ed., courtesy of Whidbey Island Center for the Arts