Dec. 6, 2019

JazzFest won’t be held next year.

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society announced Friday that it’s putting the music festival “on hiatus, as the organization focuses its efforts and resources to educational efforts across the state.”

“Live music performance has grown tremendously in Sioux Falls, and we are very proud to be a part of that,” Beth Ormseth, president of the organization’s board, said in a statement. “This growth and other headwinds over the last few years, including weather events, unforeseen artist cancellations and increasing expenses, cause us to pause and evaluate the model for the festival that we remain committed to in the future. With this, the board of Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society will assess our organization and programming, including JazzFest, as we grow into 2021.”

In the news release, the nonprofit organization noted that it was founded in 1987 with a mission to increase the awareness of jazz and blues music in the region, with JazzFest serving as the primary method of working toward that goal. The musical festival was a free event, with revenue coming from donations at the gate, sponsors and fees for parking and vendors.

“In 2020, the JazzFest event will be on hiatus, as the organization focuses its efforts and resources to educational efforts across the state,” the group said.

 “Education has been at the core of why we do what we do, and we’re thankful that JazzFest, among other fundraising efforts, has afforded us the ability to provide our educational programming for the last 20 years. Festival revenues have declined, and that has been a catalyst for us to channel our mission toward all the other great things we do, including raising music appreciation and education for our youth and younger audiences,” she said.

The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society said it plans to expand its educational programming to neighboring out-of-state communities that have supported the organization.

“The Sioux Falls Jazz & Blues Society is larger than one annual event, and we want to let our patrons know that we’re carrying forward their love for jazz and blues to our younger audiences with full rigor,” Ormseth said. “Our work is to expand the reach of our mission — especially to groups and communities that can benefit from it the most.”