San Antonio’s Wednesday Ball kicks off the free concert series
By Kathleen Petty
Photos Courtesy Balcones Heights Jazz Festival
Wednesday Ball has been performing at the Balcones Heights Jazz Festival for a decade, but this summer’s opening night concert is the first in which she’ll be a featured artist.
“It’s an honor,” says Wednesday, who will open the 26th annual free festival on Friday, July 12. “After so many years of helping, it’s an honor to be the one starting it out.”
A San Antonio native and St. Mary’s University graduate, Ball grew up listening to jazz with her family and after studying the genre while at St. Mary’s has been performing jazz and R&B for over 15 years. The Balcones Heights Jazz Festival has called on her for the last 10 years to act as a backup vocalist when featured guests from out-of-town need on-stage support.
So when festival organizers set out to create an all-female lineup for this year’s event, Ball, who released her debut solo album in November 2018, seemed like a natural fit, said Lorenzo Nastasi, director of economic development and public affairs for Balcones Heights.
“It’s nice to take an opportunity just to focus on the talent of an incredible group of musicians who happen to be women,” says Nastasi, adding that Balcones Heights has long been led by women, which also served as inspiration for the festival.
David Munoz, host of Q101.9’s Sunday Morning Jazz and emcee for the Balcones Heights festival, spent the last six months curating the lineup, which also includes Ragan Whiteside, Lindsey Webster, Jeanette Harris and others.
Ball says she will play several songs from her first album, Breakaway, as well as tracks that fans have not yet heard. She plans to release a sophomore album, All I Am, in the coming months.
The free concerts attract plenty of jazz fans, but Nastasi says they also welcome people who are simply looking for a way to spend the evening outdoors. “We see people with babies and kids in strollers plus teenagers and people who have been coming since this began who are well into their golden years,” he says.
Balcones Heights Jazz Festival
July 12, 19, 26 and Aug. 2
Wonderland of the Americas, 4522 Fredericksburg Road