Jazz Festival Brief

Jazz festival brief

The client wants to stage a jazz festival over a three-day period in February.

The event will be based on the traditional Mardi Gras celebrations held in New Orleans, which draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to the city to celebrate with the locals at the famed parties and parades. The client has also engaged the services of senior members of one of the oldest krewes in New Orleans—a krewe being a social organisation that puts on Mardi Gras balls and parades.

Program

The core program of the planned festival will consist of an African-American gospel choir, a 40-member marching band from Louisiana and two world stars in the field of jazz. The program will be complemented by a number of leading Australian jazz performers, high school jazz groups, Australian marching bands and other specialist performers.

The program will consist of:

workshops with school jazz bands
workshops with community bands
jazz parade made up of floats and marching bands
jazz concerts in up to three venues for two nights
Sunday Jazz in the Park
grand finale.

The promoter expects an audience of about 15000 per day.

Due to the complexity of the program, a number of factors were considered essential. These are:

the use of one precinct that could accommodate the whole program
having the school workshops on a school day
having the community band workshops on a weekend
using an arena for the Jazz Parade
using an arena for the Sunday Jazz in the Park
using an arena for Grand finale as fireworks are expected to be used
three more intimate venues for two nights where leading jazz musicians would perform
good transportation services
venue suitable thus able to get relevant government approvals
due to costs of staging the events any existing infrastructure would be a bonus
a venue precinct with a good reputation and a history of staging large events
a number of back up venues available as a contingency due to bad weather
close to accommodation for visiting performers.

The client is looking for an exciting venue that could incorporate a dedicated event precinct, but they are open to suggestions.

The program will be as follows:

Friday

1100 – 1700School workshops

1900 – 2200Jazz Parade

2030 – 2230Jazz concerts in three smaller venues

Saturday

1100 – 1700Community jazz band workshops

1900 – 2200Jazz Parade

2100 – 2300Jazz concerts in three smaller venues (audience expected to be between 500 and 800 for each performance)

Sunday

1200 – 1700Picnic Jazz in the Grounds

1800 – 2200Grand Jazz Finale

Staging

The school and community band workshops require an indoor venue consisting of theatre style seating and a stage for presentations.
Amplified sound will need to be provided.
Jazz Parade will require the provision of significant sound and light as well as video enhancement. A substantial holding area for floats and bands as well as a parade area will need to be provided.
The jazz concerts require a full theatre setup with seating, stage, sound and light.
Picnic Jazz in the Grounds will require small stages and amplification to be set up in four garden locations in the precinct.
The Grand Jazz Finale consists of Jazz Parade, a number of individual and group performances and will be concluded by a fireworks display. Light, sound and a large stage as well as video enhancement will need to be provided.
Food and merchandising outlets will operate during program times.
The venues for the parades would be alcohol free to encourage a family atmosphere.

Notes

The school and community bands engaged in the workshops on Friday and Saturday respectively would be part of the parade in the evening.
Jazz Parade will consist of floats and marching bands sourced from Australia and the United States of America.
Well-known international and Australian jazz musicians would perform in the jazz concerts.
Tickets to jazz concerts include entry to Jazz Parade. It is expected that this audience will depart the parade early to attend their concerts in other venues in the precinct.
There will be various pricing structures that allow the audience to attend the various activities as a package or just single events if they so chose.
Picnic Jazz would not incur an entrance fee but funds collected via donation would go to a leading charity.
This will be the first of what is hoped will become an annual event, so the promoters are keen to focus on publicity and profile-building rather than just profit.

Confirm venues and sites – Solo Activity 4