Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest 2014

The annual Berks Jazz Fest is presented by Berks Arts Council, located in Reading, PA. The mission of Berks Arts Council is to cultivate, promote, and support the arts in our community through collaboration, education, and presentation. Berks Arts Council & the Berks Jazz Fest receive state arts funding support through a grant from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, a state agency funded by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. – Source: Berks Jazz Fest

Regarded by many to be one of the top five jazz festivals in the country. Each year the festival attracts upwards of 40,000 people from all over the world. Events are hosted in various art venues, restaurants and nightclubs around Reading and Berks County, Pennsylvania (see venue details below).

Whilst strictly a jazz festival, you’ll be able to hear an eclectic mix of music genres including rock, funk, latin, pop, blues, big-band and gospel from numerous 2014 Grammy Award Nominees. The festival has about 400 volunteers who help the festival run smoothly and has great venues from small nightclubs to hotel ballrooms, traditional concert theaters, and more.

There are over a 100 events including more than 40 ticketed shows and 60 non-ticketed events (free shows, some at local venues including restaurants which may have a cover charge). Often, fans attend “meet and greets” to have CDs signed by their favorite musicians and by newly discovered talent. (source: http://www.smoothvibes.com/…/001523.html)

Videos

Confirmed Acts to Play at the 2014 Boscov’s Berks Jazz Fest

No valid json found Sorry, no video's found

History

The Berks Jazz Festival has been running since 1991 and headed by John Erneso, General Manager (also happens to be Marketing Manager for the Reading Eagle newspaper). In the festivals first year it hosted only 6 acts. Since then, this annual jazz festival has grown and now hosts in excess of 140 concerts in over 50 venues from top international performers around the world.

Past performers of the Berks Jazz Fest include: Chick Corea, Jeff Golub, George Benson, Boney James, Peabo Bryson, Kevin Eubanks, Spyro Gyra & Bob Dorough. Berks Art Council is a none-profit organisation that organizes the festival.

This year it’s sponsored again by Boscov’s – “The country’s (America’s) largest, family-owned department store” chain. The 2013 festival had a $7 million – $10 million impact on the community according to this article.

The money raised through ticket sales of the event go towards supporting various educational opportunities in music to local students.

Giveaway: The Best Music Festivals in the World vol.2 (RRP: $24.99) For a very limited time only we're giving away a number of free copies of our pre-release publication The Best Music Festivals in the World (vol.2) (RRP: $24.99). To unlock access and receive your free copy, please use one of the buttons below... Please enter your email address below and we'll send you a copy of The Best Music Festivals in the World (vol.2). We hope you enjoy it. Email *

Photo Gallery

More Photos in the ‘Gallery‘ Tab below.

Lineup & Schedule

Check back regularly for further updates or you can Updates via Facebook or ⇩ subscribe to lineup notifications ⇩:

Receive instant email notifications of any line-up changes or announcements. (max 1 email per week) Email *

The 2014 Berks Jazz Fest lineup & programme is as follows:

Attention: The internal data of table “6” is corrupted!

what do you think of this years lineup?

Please help secure the future of this event by sharing on your social media channels. It only takes 2 seconds and with your support we can increase exposure of the event, boost ticket sales, attract more festival-goers and organize better festivals for the future. We need your support, if you can, please help. Thank you.

Tickets

Tickets for the 2014 Berks Jazz Festival are between $0.00 (free) and $49.00 dependent on which acts you go and see (full programme above). Tickets for various performances can be purchased from: Ticketmaster

Venues

There are numerous venues for the Boscov Berks Jazz Festival this year.

Flights & Transportation

The closest Airport to Reading, Pennsylvania is the Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE). Distance from Reading PA to Lehigh Valley International Airport is 42 miles. Other airports close to Berks Jazz Festival:

60 miles: Harrisburg International Airport – Harrisburg, PA (MDT / KMDT)

73 miles: Philadelphia International Airport – Philadelphia, PA (PHL / KPHL)

113 miles: Newark Liberty International Airport – Newark, NJ (EWR / KEWR)

120 miles: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport – Baltimore, MD (BWI / KBWI)

To get the best flight deals I would use SkyScanner‘s official search widget below.

Hotels & Accommodation

The cheapest hotel and accommodation options I could find in and around Reading during the Berks jazz fest (End of March/Beginning of April) are shown below (Click HERE for a complete list).

Check out the nicest hotel in Reading >>

*** Hotel prices rise exponentially as you get closer to the festival dates. Book early to avoid disappointment. ***

If you are on a super shoe-string budget then search HostelWorld and get a bed in Reading for as little as $21.25!

I would recommend checking Reading hotel reviews on TripAdvisor prior to placing any booking. Alternatively, why don’t you try something different and rent someones apartment during the festival period at AirBnB?! Click here for a free £15 credit towards your first booking!

Note that there is NO TENT CAMPING at the Berks Jazz Festival. However, if you really did want to camp, either in a tent or your RV/Motorhome, then you can check out the nearby facilities at Blue Falls Grove.

Interview

We currently have not been able to interview anybody at the Berks Jazz Festival, if you work for the festival and would like to answer a few questions for this section of your listing, please contact me so that we can get something arranged, thank you.

Outside of the Festival

There are many great attractions in and around Reading, PA so if you’ve never been here before and want to do something around the festival period here’s a short list of the best things to do in Reading, PA: Visit the Reading Phillies First Energy Stadium

A visit to see the Reading Fightin’s First Energy Stadium is a dream come true for adults and children alike. A pool in right field,3 buffet’s,a new HD scoreboard and players that actually are fan friendly make this an enjoyable time out for a family or even heading to the game alone.Giveaways,great concession offerings,great beverage selection whether it be alcoholic or non-alcoholic.Seating allows a view of the on-field action from anywhere in the stadium. Mascots help to entertain the young ones and the Crazy Hot Dog vendor is a blast for all ages,as he goes around the field throwing hot dogs to the fans. Free parking is a big plus and various opportunities to throw out a first pitch or be part of the between inning fun and games also could be included in your ticket price. Thursday home games include a post game fireworks display as part of your evening at the park. For being the longest tenured minor league affiliate,it has major league qualities from a fan’s point of view. – Source: Tripadvisor

Go to the Reading Public Museum

http://www.readingpublicmuseum.org/ They are constantly changing what they bring in for everyone to enjoy. Yes they have regular exibits but they bring in many traveling ones as well. We have been to this museum so many times and enjoyed every minute spent there. We return to see the regular permanant ones, so interesting. The concerts are wonderful as well. We love the grounds outside the Museum as well. It is a place that touches the interests of any age… – Source: TripAdvisor

Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center

Nolde Forest Environmental Educational Center is a 665-acre (269 ha) Pennsylvania state park in Cumru Township, Berks County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. Programs are offered for youth and adult groups, school groups, and individuals. The center grounds provide opportunities for hiking, birdwatching, and nature photography. The park is open from sunrise until sunset. Nolde Forest Environmental Education Center is on Pennsylvania Route 625 just south of Reading. – Source: Wikipedia

If you require any further information on this festival or would like to leave a message for others then please use the comments section below. NB. You also find photo galleries, live festival news, transport information in the tabbed section below. All festival listings are changing continuously, check back regularly.

Additional Resources