Hudson Hall Announces 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival, Oct 3-5

A weekend of jazz, food, and fall beauty in one of upstate New York’smost vibrant small towns

Hosted by Keanna Faircloth

Tickets Go On Sale Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 10:00 a.m.

“No stress, no filler, just great music with top-notch sound” – UK Jazz News

“…an intravenous injection of live music: even when the mainstage concerts were not happening, music wafted through the streets, and Hudson suddenly felt like the hippest place in NY” – New York City Jazz Record

Hudson, NY (For Release 06.26.25) — Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House is thrilled to announce the return of the Hudson Jazz Festival, taking place October 3–5, 2025. Curated by creative producer Cat Henry and hosted by jazz media personality Keanna Faircloth, the festival invites audiences to experience fall in the Hudson Valley with a dynamic lineup of jazz’s most exciting rising stars—including Joel Ross, Julius Rodriguez, Caity Gyorgy, and BIGYUKI—in one of the region’s most beautiful and walkable small towns. (Scroll down for the preliminary line-up.)

From bold genre fusion to vintage vocal stylings, each night of the 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival offers a unique musical flavor in a weekend-long jazz flight of the freshest voices in jazz today.

Performances take place at Hudson Hall, with after-hours and free popup events at local venues and spaces across town. Set against the backdrop of peak leaf-peeping season, Hudson offers not only world-class music but also independent shops, destination dining, and stunning views of the Catskills and the Hudson River—all just a direct two-hour train ride from NYC.

“Whether audiences choose to join us for all festival performances or just one, our goal is the same, to bring people together for an experience that lifts spirits, brings joy, and inspires awe at the breadth of virtuoso talent on these stages.” — Cat Henry, Hudson Jazz Festival curator

2025 HUDSON JAZZ FESTIVAL LINE-UP

Additional performances to be announced soon

All performances take place at Hudson Hall unless otherwise noted Alltickets at hudsonhall.org/event/hudson-jazz-festival

Friday, October 3

7 PM: Julius Rodriguez Group — Hailed a “prodigy of jazz clubs” by The New York Times, Julius Rodriguez blends jazz, funk, gospel, and R&B into a soulful, boundary-defying sound. A GRAMMY- winning collaborator with legends like Roy Hargrove and Meshell Ndegeocello, Rodriguez is hailed by NPR as “a torchbearer” for New York’s new generation of jazz innovators.

9 PM: Opening Night Dance Party feat. BIGYUKI at Second Ward Foundation — NYC’s secretweapon, BIGYUKI, electrifies the crowd with his virtuosic blend of jazz, soul, hip hop, and electronica. A collaborator with A Tribe Called Quest, Kamasi Washington, and Lauryn Hill, BIGYUKI’s after-hours set brings the groove straight to your soles.

Saturday, October 4

7 PM: Caity Gyorgy Quartet — Two-time JUNO-winning Canadian vocalist Caity Gyorgy (pronounced “George”) brings pristine vocals, playful scatting, and a retro-inspired take on jazz’s golden age.

Known for originals that sparkle with vintage charm, Gyorgy offers a modern, joyous throwback tothe Great American Songbook.

9 PM: Tristen Jarvis: Deep Tones for Peace at Park Theater — Bassist Tristen Jarvis leads this homage to legendary bassist-composers, from Charles Mingus to Jaco Pastorius and Thundercat. Expect a rich,intimate late-night set celebrating the bass as both heartbeat and soul of the band.

Sunday, October 5

2 PM: Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings at The Caboose — Two-time GRAMMY nominee Alphonso Horne leads The Gotham Kings in a high-energy, New Orleans-style jazz party that bringsthe joyful spirit of early Louis Armstrong into the 21st century with rags, stomps, funk, and lashings ofBig Easy joy.

5 PM: Joel Ross’s Good Vibes — Blue Note vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross closes out the weekend with bold, blues-inspired brilliance. Still in his 20s, Ross has earned acclaim for his commanding improvisation, deeply thoughtful compositions, and vibrant, genre-defying vision for thefuture of jazz.

PLUS:

The festival expands into the streets of Hudson with Sounds Around Town, a series of free pop-up performances by Bard College jazz faculty and students. Full lineup to be announced.

TICKETS & FESTIVAL PASSES

Festival Passes start at $89 (save 15%) and include tickets to three mainstage concerts and the Friday night dance party.

Single tickets start at $20. Discounts available for students, veterans, and patrons under 25. Visithudsonhall.org for full details, tickets, and festival updates.

About Hudson Hall

Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House is a cultural beacon in the Hudson Valley, offering a dynamic year-round schedule of music, theater, dance, literature, workshops for youth and adults, as well asfamily programs and large-scale community events like the Hudson Jazz Festival. Located in an historic landmark that houses New York State’s oldest surviving theater, Hudson Hall underwent a fullrestoration and reopened to the public in April 2017 for the first time in over 55 years. The newly restoredHudson Hall reflects Hudson's rich history in a modern facility that welcomes residents and visitors fromthroughout our local community, across the nation, and around the globe.

About Cat Henry

Cat Henry is a creative producer specializing in the visioning and planning of concerts, tours, and public programs. Curator of jazz programs for Hudson Hall, Henry previously curated concerts for MoMA Summergarden: New Music for New York, from 2005-2015, featuring composers such as Henry Threadgill, Myra Melford, and Don Byron, and produced the inaugural season of Lincoln Center’s first everPoet-in-Residence, Mahogany L. Browne, part of 2021’s Restart Stages Festival. As executive directorfor Live Music Society, Henry oversees the foundation’s work to celebrate and support small music venues where musicians begin their careers and develop their craft. Previously, she served as Vice President, Concerts and Touring, for Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she oversaw hundreds of season performances and tours featuring jazz icons Wynton Marsalis, Ron Carter, Chick Corea, Wayne Shorter, and many more. Henry has led co-productions with City Center Encores! and artistic collaborations with partners including The Barbican Centre London, HopeBoykinDance, and Sesame Workshop. She is a fellow of the Executive Program in Arts and Culture Strategy at the University of Pennsylvania and holds a BFA in Jazz Performance from The New School.

About Hudson Jazz Festival

"Hudson Hall, NY State’s oldest surviving theater (built in 1855) is putting in overtime to turn the charming and walkable town of Hudson (about 120 miles from NYC) into a sought-after jazz destination " – New York City Jazz Record (2024) 

In February 2018, as part of its reopening season, Hudson Hall introduced the first Hudson Jazz Festival to celebrate one of America’s greatest art forms in its newly restored theater. Curated by jazz pianist Armen Donelian, the inaugural festival was endorsed by Sonny Rollins and featured legendary jazz artists Sheila Jordan and NEA Jazz Master Joanne Brackeen, as well as a hands-on workshop forlocal middle and high school students. 

The 2019 and 2020 festivals built on this foundation with music by luminaries including Billy Harper, Cidinho Teixeria, Bobby Sanabria, Amir ElSaffar, and others. The festival’s reputation was cemented in2022 with curator Cat Henry’s stellar lineup including Jazzmeia Horn, The Baylor Project, and Jimmy Greene; and followed in 2023 with sold out performances by Marquis Hill, Aaron Parks and Samantha Rise featuring Meshell Ndegeocello, plus Endea Owens & The Cookout, and more. In 2024, the festival shifted to October and expanded city- wide with performances in multiple venues across town and free indoor and outdoor pop-up performances by Bard College Jazz Program students. Highlights included a sold-out opening night performance by Ekep Nkwelle, a stunning performance by trumpeter Riley Mulherkar, and jazz legend Ethan Iverson.

In 2020, Hudson Hall added a visual arts exhibition that remained an ongoing element of future jazz festivals. The first exhibition was curated by Reginald Madison, a working artist who is passionate about jazz,featured the work of artists living or working in the area: David Hammons, Bijan Mahmoodi, Reginald Madison, Marlene Marshall, Kris Perry, Richard Sandler, Tschabalala Self, and Kianja Strobert.

Hudson Jazz Festival provides a platform to support jazz artists, unify and connect its diverse community, strengthen the local and regional economy, and improve the lives of area residents.

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Festival Sponsors

 This event is supported by a Market New York grant from Empire State Development, and I LOVE NY/New York State’s Division of Tourism through the Regional Economic Development Council initiative®. I LOVE NEW YORK is a registered trademark and service mark of the NewYork State Department of Economic Development; used with permission.

Support for the 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival has been provided by the City of Hudson.

These programs have been made possible with support from New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.

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