30th Annual Balcones Heights Jazz Festival; Marion Meadows to Headline; San Antonio Transit to Open the City’s Summer Jazz Concert
The Balcones Heights Jazz Festival will host its highly- anticipated 30th season on Friday, July 28, 2023. Performances will take place at the Amphitheater at Wonderland of the Americas. Headlining will be Marion Meadows, with San Antonio Transit opening.
“One of the many things that makes this event unique and so successful is the fact that it is free, family-friendly jazz performed by top artists,” says City of Balcones Heights Mayor Suzanne de Leon. “We are thrilled to welcome the sights and sounds of our signature jazz festival, attracting locals and visitors from all over South Texas to experience the best of smooth jazz”.
From the opening notes of Chicago’s first hit single, “Make Me Smile”, San Antonio Transit with its powerhouse 10-piece band delivers one classic Chicago hit song after song. Mega hits like “Saturday in the Park”, “25 or 6 to 4”, “Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is”, “Beginnings”, and many more come to life as San Antonio Transit reproduces the sound and feel of a true high-energy Chicago touring concert experience.
After the group’s performance, headliner Marion Meadows will take the stage. Meadows hails from the east coast, growing up in Stamford, Connecticut. He attended the SUNY Purchase School for the Arts. Meadows first hit the airwaves in 1991 with “For Lovers Only”, but his career really began one day in the late 80’s at New York’s Grand Central Station. One day, while waiting for a train, he pulled out his horn and began playing under the dome. His sweet sound caught the attention of producer and TV Composer Jay Chattaway. Impressed with Meadow’s sound, Chattaway help put Meadows on the road to his eventual success. Meadows has hooked up with numerous artists and musicians and became a well-known sideman in his own right, recording or performing with Brook Benton, Eartha Kitt, The Temptations, Michael Bolton, Will Downing, John Lee, among many others.
Balcones Heights Jazz Festival has captivated jazz aficionados from in and around Texas with a free stellar line-up in the festival’s laid back and family-friendly atmosphere. Festival regulars or as they call themselves, “jazz babies”, grab their favorite spots along the edge of the sparkling reflecting pool and fountain of the city’s main hub, Wonderland of the Americas.
The Balcones Heights Jazz Festival is produced through a partnership of the City of Balcones Heights, Wonderland of the Americas, and iHeartMedia. David Muñoz is back again to host the Jazz Festival, as he has every year since the event’s inception. Muñoz, known as San Antonio’s very own “Jazzman,” is serving as emcee and co-producer of the festival. David also hosts “Smooth Jazz San Antonio” on KQXT/Q101.9 HD-2 and iHeart Radio App/Texas Central Region.
FREE
General admission to the festival is free and parking is free at Wonderland of the Americas, 4522 Fredericksburg Road, Balcones Heights, Texas. Wonderland of the Americas is located at the intersection of IH-10and Loop 410, just a few minutes from downtown San Antonio, and minutes from the South Texas Medical Center.
SEATING
Hillside seating around the Amphitheater is on a first-come, first-served basis. Fans sometimes stake out their spots as early as the Monday preceding the Friday concert! Food and beverage vendors will be on-site. Attendees can also visit the Food Court inside Wonderland of the Americas. No coolers and outside food and beverages are allowed at the Amphitheater.
For more information about the festival, visit San Antonio Central: Balcones Heights | Jazz Festival (reachfortheheights.org), the event’s Facebook page.
