MV Jazz & Blues Summerfest History
Since its inception, the annual Martha’s Vineyard Jazz & Blues Summerfest has played host to music lovers from all over the United States and Europe. Sheila Baptista, Summerfest producer and President of Lewis and Kirk Music, Inc., believes that great music and medicine can radically change the course of one’s life, a family’s future and a community’s well-being. Baptista launched Summerfest in 2008 to support regional breast cancer initiatives with a monetary donation and to also spread a vital message regarding breast cancer, early detection, courses of treatment and positive recovery.
The first concert, in 2008, with only world of mouth marketing, hosted 125 music lovers. The next year, 2009, the audience nearly doubled, as 225 jazz patrons enjoyed the Friday-only concert. The 2010 concert was on hiatus, as the producer underwent chemotherapy and radiation treatment for stage-two breast cancer. Like its producer, Summerfest made a great comeback in 2011 with 550 island vacationers and locals in attendance, enjoying two nights of music. The next year, 2012, was a breakthrough year. Summerfest hosted more than 600 jazz and blues aficionados.
Summerfest 2013 featured actress/comedienne Phyllis Yvonne Stickney, musicians of Sage, Anaisa, Andrea and James Rohlehr, and soul/blues vocalist Nicholas David, finalist of NBC’s The Voice, accompanied by the Soul Synergy Orchestra. Every artist offered a stellar performance leaving audiences mesmerized and wanting more. Summerfest continued to show strength in 2014, when 800 plus jazz and blues connoisseurs filled the seats at two beautiful landmark buildings in Oak Bluffs and Edgartown. The concerts celebrated the talents of Brazilian bassist Amanda Ruzza, the phenomenal Berkeley College Jazz Rainbow All Stars, The all ladies jazz ensemble Sage – a Summerfest favorite, Jazzmeia Horn – who was introduced for the first time at the festival, and Andrea and James Rohlehr an outstanding husband and wife team and their ensemble.
The music is the star; however, the setting, Martha’s Vineyard, contributes heavily to Summerfest’s success. The combination of cool jazz and earthy blues nestled in the cross winds of Martha’s Vineyard Island, a wonderful vacation locale in North America, makes for a perfect end of summer treat. While Martha’s Vineyard consists of six distinct communities: Vineyard Haven, Oak Bluffs, Edgartown, West Tisbury, Chilmark and Aquinnah, Baptista selected Oak Bluffs and Edgartown to host Summerfest. Her family has summered in Oak Bluffs for years, so she wanted everyone to enjoy what she and her family had grown to love.
About Lewis & KirK Productions
Lewis and Kirk Expeditions, Inc d/b/a Lewis and Kirk Music is a comprehensive music production, management and artist performance collective based in New York. The company has been providing quality entertainment, music events, arts seminars and workshops throughout the country for more than nineteen years.
Our clients include Major League Baseball, MasterCard, New York DEA, PBS, New York City Airtran Jazz Festival, Inaugural Balls for President Obama, Schomburg Music Series, Westchester County, Yonkers, Mount Vernon, Stamford, Stamford Center for the Arts, The Billie Jean King Foundation, Big Apple LISC and numerous local youth organizations. The artists affiliated with the company perform in many different genres including Jazz, Blues, R&B, Latin, Caribbean, Reggae, Classical, Broadway, and Soul.
We are especially excited about our signature music production, The Martha’s Vineyard Jazz and Blues Summerfest, one of the few all women’s jazz festivals in the country which we created, designed and developed. Taking place during the Labor Day Weekend, this festival returns on September 2, 2023, following a hiatus due in part to the pandemic. This year’s one day event at Union Chapel, Oak Bluffs, MA on the beautiful island of Martha’s Vineyard, features phenomenal women in the Jazz, Blues, Latin and Contemporary Arts.
For more information, visit www.LewisAndKirkMusic.com.
about the venue
In 2024, Summerfest will feature performances at the Old Whaling Church on Friday, August 30, and Sunday, September 1, at the Old Whaling Church (89 Main Street, Edgartown, Massachusetts).
There will also be a free outdoor concert on Saturday, August 31, on the Great Lawn at the Martha’s Vineyard Library in Oak Bluffs.
