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w at er lo oc hr on ic le .c a W at er lo o C hr on ic le | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 21 ,2 02 2 | 12 NOWOPEN After being cancelled the past two years and cut short due to Mother Na- ture in 2019, the Sun Life UpTown Waterloo Jazz Fes- tival makes its return this weekend, July 22-24, with Swing Dance Lesson open- ing on the city hall stage at 2:30 p.m. Friday. "I can't think of any- thing better on a nice, warm summer night than sitting down with a beer, listening to great live mu- sic," said festival president Steve Joyce. "We're so ex- cited about getting live mu- sic back and sharing it with the community." After the rug was pulled out from everyone in 2020, Joyce said a drive-in ver- sion of the jazz festival was in the works for Binge- mans last year that would have ended up being per- mitted under the provinc- e's COVID-19 colour codes. "But they didn't lift the to- tal lockdown until the mid- dle of June and by then it was too late," Joyce said. "We thought we had it licked, but it had us licked." Many of the entertain- ers that would have been part of last year's event have been rescheduled to play this year. Headliners include 'Matt Dusk Sings Sinatra' on Friday evening, the rock-inspired band Mon- key House on Saturday night and contemporary crooner Steven Taetz, who was originally scheduled to play the 2019 festival before it closed early, on Sunday afternoon. The lineup is stacked with "world-class, Ontario- based" talent, according to artistic director Derek Hines, who said bringing in international talent, which sometimes comprises half of the festival's schedule, was still too risky with travel restrictions in place earlier this year. But with 14 acts throughout the weekend, there's enough for both so- phisticated purists and fu- sion fans, according to Joyce, who said artists like Brantford's Avery Raquel will bring soul music to the stage and Kitchener-Wa- terloo-based R&B artist Rufus John incorporates hip pop. "We're trying to broad- en the scope," Joyce said, who's hoping to attract more people with an indif- ference to jazz as a genre lacking beat or melody, noting the festival's tag line, "Where Music Comes Alive." Jazz can be about im- provisation, but it doesn't have to be, said Hines, a vo- calist who plays with a lo- cal ensemble and works with some of the artists ap- pearing this weekend. "It can have great rhythm and follow a melody, or it can be more expressive and com- pletely improvisational," he said. "The really awe- some thing about jazz is that those two things exist at the same time. "There's no sort of one size fits all thing with jazz, and I think that's the cool thing about it." Hines said a main goal this year was making the entertainment accessible to everyone, especially af- ter two years away. Other local artists ap- pearing at this year's festi- val include Top Pocket, Big Band Theory and Ted's Warren Commission from Guelph. The festival usually at- tracts more than 20,000 people and is free thanks to sponsors and government grants. There are family activi- ties in the afternoons, a va- riety of food trucks and the usual beverage service. When it comes to crowds, Joyce isn't sure what to expect this year. "Let your hair down, bring family, bring friends," he said. "There could be an- other wave that comes in the fall, so let's enjoy it while we can." The Sun Life UpTown Waterloo Jazz Festival is a not-for-profit organization run by local volunteers since 1993. Volunteers are still needed. More informa- tion can be found at water- loojazzfest.com. STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Making its return after two years away, the Chronicle checked in with the organizers of Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival to see what's in store this weekend. NEWS SUN LIFE UPTOWN WATERLOO JAZZ FESTIVAL IS BACK SCHEDULE JULY 22-24, 2022 FRIDAY 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Iron Tonic, Dave Hjin Trio, Avery Raquel, New Vibes Quintet, Matt Dusk (headliner). SATURDAY noon to 10:30 p.m. Youth Jazz Ensemble, Rufus John, Rob Gellner Septet, Laura Anglade, Big Band Theory, Monkey House (headliner). SUNDAY noon to 4 p.m.Steven Taetz (headliner), Top Pocket, Ted's Warren Commission. BILL JACKSON bjackson@torstar.ca Organizers with the Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival are looking forward to seeing a semblance of normalcy this weekend after two years away. Below: Steve Joyce is the president of the Sun Life Uptown Waterloo Jazz Festival. Uptown Waterloo Jazz Facebook photo Bill Jackson/Metroland