Christmas has come and gone. The New Year’s Eve Ball has dropped. Work and school have begun again, and what seems to lie ahead in the month of January is merely a bleak post-holiday season slump. In Williamsburg, however, jazz-lovers gather together for the town’s 12th annual Winter Blues Jazz Fest. Nonprofit organization CultureFix has teamed up with the city to host four nights of jazz and blues music, featuring performances by Blind Boys of Alabama, Grooveburg, Jae Sinnett’s Zero To 60 Quartet, Latin Jazz Conspiracy, Forte Jazz Band, Wayne Baker Brooks, John Emil Delta Blues, Tom Euler, and Joe Baione.
“January is very quiet in Williamsburg,” CultureFix Founder and President Steve Rose says. “So we decided to create something that was fun and enjoyable in January after the holidays, and the idea was that we’d create a jazz festival.”
Rose recalls that when they started the festival, Williamsburg had not seen a jazz event, and this festival was something exciting for the city.
“We have tons of musicians in town and in this region down to Virginia into Richmond who are very highly qualified in jazz,” Rose says.
Eighteen-piece band Grooveburg, who will perform at the festival Jan. 18 at 10:30 a.m., is a mashup group of veteran jazz musicians from across Williamsburg, Newport News, and Hampton Roads.
“We’re a very tenured group of musicians and, when I walk in the room, it just puts a big smile on my face, because they’re all the best of the best,” says Brett Cahoon, Grooveburg lead vocalist.
Cahoon described Grooveburg’s sound as “classic big band swing with high energy.” As such, the band is set to play Count Basie and Frank Sinatra hits for the festival’s Big Band Brunch.
Even if big band jazz isn’t for you, the Winter Blues Jazz Fest features different styles of jazz for every festival-goer.
“A lot of people say, ‘I don’t like jazz music.’ But the reality is, if you look at our schedule, there are so many different variations of jazz and genres that all blend together,” Rose says. “So really, there’s something for everybody, with blues music on Saturday and Americana on Sunday afternoon.”
The Winter Blues Jazz Fest has brought life into a sleepy Williamsburg, transforming a quiet January into a bustling hub full of vibrant music.
“What the festival has created is almost like a family affair, since we basically have the same repeat customers coming back year after year,” Rose says. “It really has become a big social gathering as well, so we’re really excited about that.”
Helping not only the jazz-enthusiast community but also jazz music itself thrive in the area, the Winter Blues Jazz Fest has become an important and special event to Williamsburg and its jazz scene.
“I’m really glad to see that festival continuing after all these years because it’s, we, the genre needs all the help it can get, and while there used to be some jazz clubs, like that were jazz specific, you don’t really see that around this area much anymore,” Cahoon says. “It’s nice to see that there still are beacons of jazz here, and you can still find music like this at the Winter Blues Jazz Festival.”
The Winter Blues Jazz Fest 2026 will be held at the William & Mary Alumni House from Jan. 16–Jan. 19.
This article is a Virginia Living digital exclusive.
