Detroit Jazz Festival
The 40th annual Detroit Jazz Festival welcomed a record number of people this past weekend.
More than 325,000 people attended the Detroit Jazz Festival this past weekend, marking a record for the 40th anniversary of the downtown event.
The free four-day event saw crowds packed into Hart Plaza, Spirit Plaza and Campus Martius, where four main stages hosted internationally acclaimed acts, including artist in residence Stanley Clark, Cameron Graves and Macy Gray. Street performers and food vendors lined the blocked off Woodward strip connecting Hart Plaza to Campus Martius.
During headline performances Saturday, crowds were packed shoulder-to-shoulder in front of the Chase Main Stage, which was situated along a closed parking lot set to be the Monroe Blocks development by Dan Gilbert’s Bedrock. Quicken Loans was presenting sponsor of the event.
The festival was temporarily evacuated Monday due to storms, but performances continued through the schedule, according to social media posts from organizers.
Last year’s total attendance was just over 300,000. Since general admission for the event is not ticketed, several methods are used to count attendees, including aerial photos, food and beverage sales and clickers, according to organizers.
In Royal Oak, the four-day Arts, Beats & Eats festival saw 343,000 attendees, up 4 percent from last year, according to organizers. The total amount of money raised for charity from the event has not been tallied. Jazz fest organizers would not disclose its revenue this year, which is funneled back into next year’s event.