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Music · Monterey
Festival founded in 1958, with an annual tradition that also had a virtual edition: three days in late September at the Monterey fairgrounds on California’s central coast, with a main stage in the arena and several smaller stages among the oaks.
In the photo: Monterey
Illustrative images. The pictures in this guide are illustrations based on the real place, not photographs, and may differ from it.
Click a photo to enlarge it.
Monterey Jazz Festival — Monterey
On a weekend in late September, from Friday to Sunday.
September
Dates change every year: check this year's date before you travel.
The festival
The Monterey Jazz Festival takes place every September in Monterey, a city on California’s central coast between San Francisco and Big Sur. For three days, from Friday to Sunday, the county fairgrounds — a wooded site with oak trees — host jazz musicians from several generations and styles, from traditional to contemporary, as well as blues, Latin music and related genres.
The festival was founded in 1958 by Jimmy Lyons, a radio host specializing in jazz, and Ralph J. Gleason, a jazz critic at a San Francisco newspaper, inspired by the Newport festival on the East Coast. The first edition was held in October that same year at the same fairgrounds. The annual tradition included a virtual edition during the pandemic; the organizer presents it as the longest continuously running jazz festival in the world. The main arena also hosted the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, a landmark in rock history.
The festival offers two types of experience. The arena contains the main stage, named for the founder, with reserved seating and a lawn area. Outside the arena, across the fairgrounds, there are several smaller stages — outdoors and in halls — with performances throughout the day, plus conversations with musicians, documentary screenings, exhibitions and workshops. Between stages you’ll find food and drink stalls and vendor booths. The festival has a picnic atmosphere: many people spend the whole day in the park, moving between outdoor stages and halls, on the lawns and in communal areas. One indoor space operates as a café with shows and film screenings about jazz, and another broadcasts arena performances on a big screen for those with grounds-only tickets. The festival also hosts photography and art exhibitions related to jazz and craft and shopping areas.
Behind the event is a nonprofit organization that runs year-round music education programs, with musician visits to schools, jazz camps and a youth orchestra that performs at the festival itself. Many students play on the festival stages alongside well-known names.
The city completes the trip: Monterey has the Monterey Bay Aquarium, the Cannery Row waterfront and a historic downtown, and is close to Carmel-by-the-Sea and the Big Sur coastal road. For jazz lovers, the festival is a nearly seventy-year tradition and a good reason to visit California’s central coast at the end of summer.
The evening shows on the arena’s main stage, where many historic jazz names have performed. The smaller stages spread across the grounds, where you can discover new musicians and student ensembles. The festival’s youth orchestra from the education program. Conversations with musicians and documentary screenings about jazz. The fairgrounds setting among the oaks, with food stalls. In town, the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Cannery Row waterfront; nearby, the 17‑Mile Drive and Carmel-by-the-Sea.
Choose the ticket type: arena tickets include a seat at the main stage and access to the grounds; grounds tickets give access to the smaller stages, with general admission. There are single‑day tickets and weekend passes. The fairgrounds are near downtown Monterey; the festival lists parking and shuttle options — check the pick‑up point and the route from your lodging. Bring warm clothing: September brings mild sunny days on the coast, but outdoor nights can get cold, especially in the arena. Comfortable shoes help, as the grounds are large and there are walks between stages. Check the official website for stage schedules and what items are permitted.
Tickets go on sale months in advance, with priority for members of the organizing entity; the most sought-after seats in the arena sell out first. Monterey has limited accommodation for the festival weekend; book in advance in town, in Pacific Grove, or in Carmel-by-the-Sea. The drive from San Francisco takes about two and a half hours without traffic, and there is a regional airport in Monterey.
In the city
Your questions
Every year on a weekend in late September, from Friday to Sunday. The exact dates for each edition are announced by the festival months in advance.
At the county fairgrounds in Monterey on California’s central coast, the same site as the first edition in 1958.
Arena tickets include a seat at the main stage and access to the rest of the grounds; grounds tickets provide access only to the smaller stages scattered around the fairgrounds, with general admission seating.
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JanuaryOn the morning of January 1; if the 1st falls on a Sunday, the parade is held on Monday, January 2.
New Year’s Day parade in Pasadena, near Los Angeles, featuring floats completely covered with flowers, seeds and other natural materials, marching bands and mounted units along Colorado Boulevard. On the same day, the Rose Bowl stadium hosts the college football game of the same name.
February/MarchOn a Saturday night, a few weeks after Lunar New Year, between February and early March; the celebration in Chinatown lasts several days.
San Francisco Lunar New Year nighttime illuminated parade organized by the Chinese Chamber of Commerce: floats, lion dance, acrobats, bands and, at the end, the Golden Dragon carried by dozens of people, amid firecrackers and lanterns.
MarchOn March 17, St. Patrick’s Day; if the date falls on a Sunday, the parade is moved to Saturday, March 16.
Irish parade along Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on St. Patrick’s Day: bagpipers, bands, Irish associations and groups from across the country march on foot, with no floats, passing in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
March/AprilFrom mid or late March to mid April, lasting about four weeks, following the blooming of the cherry trees in Washington.
Spring festival in Washington that celebrates the cherry trees donated by Tokyo in 1912: weeks of events around the Tidal Basin and the National Mall, including a kite festival, a parade on Constitution Avenue, fireworks and a big Japanese street festival.
MarchOver three consecutive days in March, from Friday to Sunday, usually in the last week of the month.
A three-day electronic music festival at Bayfront Park, beside Biscayne Bay in downtown Miami; the highlight of a week when the city hosts parties and DJ shows from around the world.