Edgefest 30: FREEDOM AT THE EDGE | Wednesday-Saturday, October 7-10, 2026
KERRYTOWN CONCERT HOUSE (KCH) • ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY, OCTOBER 7-10, 2026
Kerrytown Concert House proudly announces Edgefest 2026, its 30th annual four-day festival of new music, improvised and composed. This milestone year carries a theme as expansive as the art form itself: Freedom at the Edge.
With freedom as its unifying spirit, Edgefest 2026 gives space and support to a pluralistic and deeply inclusive mosaic of innovative artists and composers, local and international, young and emerging alongside seasoned and established, who will bring their music and collaborations into performance spaces and classrooms throughout the Detroit, Ypsilanti, and Ann Arbor area. Together, they will revive and generate new artistic energy, inspired by the very freedoms and principles enshrined for Americans 250 years ago.
Edgefest presents world-class cutting-edge jazz, creative improvisation, and category-defying music too often overlooked in the commercial marketplace. Often celebrated as America’s only truly original native art form, jazz becomes a living vessel for those founding ideals. Edgefest 2026 will honor that legacy by commissioning new works dedicated to the freedom theme, championing artists whose visions boldly push the creative boundaries of the music forward.
Community is the lifeblood of Edgefest, not merely as an ideal, but as lived practice. In-depth school workshops and an improvised music parade offer the next generation fun and accessible introductions to uncompromising creativity, while deepening public appreciation for this vital musical tradition. Artists, audiences, and neighbors gather not just as spectators, but as participants in a shared experience, a community spirit that mirrors the democratic, pluralistic promise at the heart of Freedom 250.
At the edge of tradition and innovation, freedom finds its music.
WHAT IS EDGEFEST?
Founded in 1997, Edgefest is an award-winning annual avant-garde jazz and creative new music festival with a unifying purpose: to explore new music created by today’s composer-performers from the United States and beyond. Under the direction of founder Dave Lynch, it began as a single-day event and is now a major 4-day festival that includes collaborations and educational outreach.
2026 Lineup
Lineup and artists appearing subject to change.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2026
6 PM | Christian Bush: "For Roscoe"
Christian Bush, double bass & soprano clarinet
Stephen Paul, trombone
Benjamin Green, trumpet
Mara Meyer, clarinets
Oliver Bishop, woodwinds
Max Welterlen, drumset
John Tatara, percussion
7 PM | Hannah Marks "Feed the Fire" Quartet
Hannah Marks, bass
Nathan Reising, alto saxophone
Jonathan Paik, piano
Steven Crammer, drums
Sponsored by Michael Starsinic.
8 PM | Oluyemi Thomas Trio
Oluyemi Thomas, bass clarinet
Kenn Thomas, piano
Jaribu Shahid, bass
9 PM | Northwoods Improvisers
Mike Johnston, bass, flutes
Nick Ashton, drums
Donovan Boxey, saxophones, percussion
Dominic Bierenga, saxophones, bass clarinet, flute
Mike Khoury, violin
Jack O’Brien, bass, cello
Tony Holland, saxophones
10 PM | Roscoe Mitchell / Thomas Buckner / Ursel Schlicht / Damon Smith
Thomas Buckner, vocalist
Roscoe Mitchell, saxophone
Ursel Schlicht, piano
Damon Smith, bass
Sponsored by Keith Martin and Deep Friendship: The Connie Crothers Legacy Project.
Deep Friendship: The Connie Crothers Legacy Project was created to honor the life and legacy of the great improvising pianist Connie Crothers. A virtuosic improviser and composer with a truly original sound, powerfully committed to honest self-expression, her importance in the world of improvised music cannot be overstated. Connie forged her own path, living her life just as she played the piano: intensely, fearlessly, lovingly. A true artist, she was never less than completely present, and those who were fortunate enough to perform with her, to study with her, to share music, food, and conversation with her were inspired to extend the limits of their own creativity. “Deep Friendship,” the title of one of her compositions and of a Connie Crothers Quartet recording, is an apt expression of her approach to life and music. “When we create music, it’s always from love” (Connie Crothers).
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2026
At Community High School Auditorium
(401 N Division St.) ⬇
5 PM | A Conversation with Roscoe Mitchell moderated by Marc Hannaford
Roscoe Mitchell, guest
Marc Hannaford, moderator
Immediately following | Creative Arts Orchestra featuring Roscoe Mitchell, with a world premiere by Michael Malis
Roscoe Mitchell, guest
Creative Arts Orchestra, ensemble
Marcus Elliot, director
Michael Malis, composer
Sponsored by Marc Andren & Christine Reardon.
At Kerrytown Concert House ⬇
7 PM | Ken Kozora - Birds of a Feather
Ken Kozora, trumpet
Kenn Thomas, piano
Shoshke-Rayzl Yuni, guitar
Piotr Michalowski, reeds
Djallo Djakate, percussion
8 PM | Dimensionality
Andrea Wolper, voice
Ursel Schlicht, piano
Lou Grassi, drums
Ken Filiano, bass
9 PM | Teiku
Josh Harlow, piano
Jonathon Barahal Taylor, percussion
Jaribu Shahid, bass
Jason Stein, bass clarinet
Sponsored by Michael Starsinic.
10 PM | Michael TA Thompson Quintet
Michael TA Thompson, drums
Mara Rosenbloom, piano
Ken Filiano, bass
Piotr Michalowski, reeds
Deanna Relyea, voice
Sponsored by Alan Feller & Keith Martin.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9, 2026
6 PM | Andrew Bishop, solo saxophone
Andrew Bishop, solo saxophone
7 PM | William Hooker Quartet
William Hooker, drums
Mara Rosenbloom, piano
Charlie Burnham, violin
Jair-Rohm Parker Wells, bass
Sponsored by Alan Feller & Michael Starsinic.
8 PM | New Origins Trio
Joe Fonda, bass
Harvey Sorgen, drums
Christophe Rocher, clarinet
Sponsored by Keith Martin & Michael Resil.
9 PM | Stein / Smith / Shead Trio
Jason Stein, bass clarinet
Damon Smith, bass
Adam Shead, drums
Sponsored by Alan Feller, Christopher Merlo, Frank Rubolino, and Michael Starsinic.
10 PM | Fay Victor's Herbie Nichols SUNG
Fay Victor, voice, lyrics & conceptualist
Anthony Coleman, piano
Devon Gates, bass
Tom Rainey, drums
Sponsored by Keith Martin and Michael Starsinic.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 10, 2026
2 PM | Junk Jazz
Aya Sekine, piano, electronics
Djallo Djakate, drums, electronics
3 PM | Vinny Golia / Ken Filiano / Michael TA Thompson
Celebrating Vinny Golia’s 80th Birthday
Vinny Golia, reeds
Ken Filiano, bass
Michael TA Thompson, drums
Sponsored by Keith Martin, Michael Starsinic, and Luis Torregrosa.
4 PM | Amir ElSaffar's New Quartet
Amir ElSaffar, trumpet
Tomas Fujiwara, drums
Tania Giannouli, piano
Ole Mathisen, tenor saxophone
Sponsored by Luis Torregrosa.
7:30 PM | Craig Taborn, solo piano
Craig Taborn, piano
Sponsored by Keith Martin & Michael Resil.
8:30 PM | Roscoe Mitchell with featured Detroit-area artists
Roscoe Mitchell, saxophone
Jaribu Shahid, bass
A. Spencer Barefield, guitar
Zekkereya El-magharbel, trombone
Tani Tabbal, drums
More artists TBA
Sponsored by Marc Andren & Christine Reardon, Nimish Ganatra, Niraj Ganatra, and Bonnie Patterson.
EDUCATION & OUTREACH
TICKETS & EDGEPASSES
Individual set tickets will be available in late August 2026.
EDGEPASSES
DAY PASSES
EDGEFEST30 GRANTORS & SPONSORS
