Filtering by Tag: Indianapolis
For your pleasure,
More jams for your JAM,
To get the most out of JAM,
Visit JAMindy's Facebook for a calendar full of jazz and Premium Blend will post daily on our Facebook! Click the picture below to check out today's JAM.
Jazz Appreciation Month brings the JAM's
JAM's for Jazz Appreciation Month is here for your enjoyment! We draw inspiration from all of these artists and their contributions to jazz. JAM on, everyone.
March Madness brings April Laughter,
We are gearing up for another crazy month of shows! Our very own, Jared Thompson, will be traveling with the Indy native BYBYE to play during SXSW. When he returns, you can catch us for a free performance at The University of Indianapolis as a part of their Jazz Concert Series.
In April, we are thrilled and honored to return to the stage at Laughing Matters, a local cancer benefit that brings national talent. This year, Whoopi Goldberg headlines and we could not be more excited!
That's a Wrap!
Village Voices: Note from the Griot has come to an end. We were honored to participate in this event and to collaborate with such talent. We will have some closing thoughts, but for now, enjoy this amazing panoramic collection of the artists, taken from each performance!
Have You Heard,
Premium Blend featured on the radio show, Have You Heard, with Richard Dole and Matthew Altizer. Here you can listen to Jared Thompson as he discusses taking "The Road" out on the road!
If you missed it live, you can listen to everything here!
One of our local teachers,
Rob Dixon takes it away at the Chatterbox! Indianapolis Jazz will never disappoint!
Inside The Vanguard
Take a look at what you're missing out on every Sunday at The Vanguard! We'll be there next week from 6-9!
NUVO's Best of Indy 2017,
For the 4th consecutive year, Premium Blend joins some of Indy's best in the Nuvo 2017 awards! Click the picture below to cast your votes for everything and everyone you love in the city!
Open Bite Night: Ridiculous!
What started as an impromptu neighborhood cookout in July of 2016, Open Bite Night has morphed into an energetic culinary and artistic display for the residents of the 46208 zip code and beyond.
Husband and wife Earl and Ro Townsend, the creators of the event, will be at it again October 7th from 2-8pm at the Flanner House located at 2424 Dr. Martin Luther King St. With over 20 food vendors providing everything from soups to sliders, seafood to savory vegan/vegetarian dishes, and a multitude of desserts, Open Bite Night is anticipating over 1,100 people in attendance this year.
Admission is only $3 and the proceeds got to several local nonprofit organizations
(GRoE Inc, Flanner House of Indianapolis Inc, The Learning Tree, Voices Corp, Growndwork Indy, and Kheprw).
Premium Blend will be the final performance of the evening from 7:15-8pm.
Learn more about Open Bite Night here and be sure to follow them on facebook!
Septemeber & Indy Jazz Fest are upon us,
September in Indianapolis is marked by shorter days, cooler nights, and Indy Jazz Fest.
The week-long festival continues with the "all around town" concept in order to bring great jazz to every section of the Circle City. The festival begins September 14th and ends with a massive block party on the 23rd at the Jazz Kitchen from 3pm-1am.
This year's roster includes Grammy winners Kirk Whalum and Randy Brecker, as well as other national giants such as Charlie Hunter and Tony Monaco.
Below you'll find the full line-up for Indy Jazz Fest 2017. Go to http://www.indyjazzfest.net for tickets and venue/concert info.
Outside Yats stage
3:15p | Monika Herzig & The Time Flies
4:30p | Charlie Ballantine
5:45p | Jared Thompson & Premium Blend
7p | Tucker Brothers
8:15p | Bashiri Asad & Xenobia Green
9:30p | Kevin Anker Experience
Inside JK stage
3p | Scott Routenberg Trio
4:15p | Ella Tribute – Brenda Williams, Yvonne Allu, Wendy Reed, Sandy Lomax
5:30p | Rob Dixon & Triology + trombonist Ernest Stuart
6:45p | Steve Allee & Friends
8p | Clint Breeze & the Groove
9:15p | Charlie Hunter
10:30p | 4Korners
11:45a | Taylor McFerrin
IndyGo Route 17 | indygo.net
We're coming for you, Vanguard!
The Wake
Our very own, Jared Thompson, and brother Joshua Thompson at The Wake.
Indianapolis Event Combines Art and Activism
This August at the Madame Walker Theater, artists, actors, dancers, musicians, and activists alike will take the stage to discuss a system that has been built on a foundation of anti-blackness. While this event will include the deconstruction of this system, all of the proceeds from ticket sales are going straight back into communities that need reconstruction.
Premium Blend's own Jared Thompson, alongside his brother Joshua, will be taking the stage, joining a long list of talented performers. With speakers, artists, and musicians from every walk of life, The Wake sets out to bring the community together and raise awareness on topics like education inequity, food insecurity, and police brutality. A part of the program will be dedicated to eulogies for those who have been lost, and to loosely quote the description written on eventbrite, the focus will be to talk about their life and light, humanizing these people once again.
To learn more about The Wake, you can follow DONT SLEEP on facebook and purchase tickets through eventbrite below. Proceeds will benefit Green For All, GRoE, Inc., Bloom Project, Inc., and Sisters United.
Inspired by
Christina Sharpe
The Chatterbox - An Indianapolis Jazz Institution
Honored to be a part of this documentary with so many talented people. Catch the first screening Sunday, July 18th at 7:30 pm in the Toby Theater. Get more information on the Indy Film Fest below the video!
NUVO's Kyle Long on "The Road",
Take a sneak peek at Kyle Long and Jared Thompson sitting down to discuss "The Road".
Kyle: Since we're talking about great poets I want to ask about the closing track from your new album The Road, “Conveyor Belt Dreams" which features the voice of a brilliant multi-talented artist, poet and rapper Theon Lee.
“Conveyor Belt Dreams” hits on everything from the struggles of women, and Black women, of Black men, of gay men both black and white. It touches on a very culturally sensitive topic that unfortunately does not go out of style. This piece could’ve worked 60 years ago, and here’s hoping that this piece will not be as relevant 50 years from now. That’s always the dream, and that’s the conveyor belt that we’re on.”