About NoMad Jazz Festival 2025

A Celebration of Jazz in NoMad, NYC

The inaugural NoMad Jazz Festival produced by the NoMad Alliance launched with Festival Week from August 3–8, featuring 21 music events across 15 locations — including public spaces, restaurants, bars, retail stores, and arts organizations throughout the NoMad and Flatiron districts — and showcasing 93 incredible artists.

It all culminated in the NoMad Jazz Festival, held August 9–10, 2025, in Madison Square Park. This free, public celebration delivered an unforgettable weekend of world-class music, community spirit, and family-friendly fun, featuring 77 acclaimed artists performing from 10:30 AM to 8:30 PM for more than 2,500 festival-goers and over 60,000 park visitors each day — all set in one of New York City’s most iconic neighborhoods.

Highlights

• One of the few free and open-to-the-public jazz festivals in New York City.
• Built on strong, community-rooted partnerships with founding partner organizations including The Jazz Gallery, Flatiron NoMad Partnership, and Madison Square Park Conservancy — leveraging the unique strengths of each of the four non profits to enhance the festival program.
• Features a lineup of musicians and performing artists designed to engage a multigenerational audience, from emerging talent to award-winning global performers.
• Powered by the community, the festival was supported by a network of local establishments across the NoMad and Flatiron districts that opened their doors and welcomed artists during Festival Week. This community collaboration was essential in creating a free and open-to-the-public celebration in Madison Square Park.
• Achieved record-breaking attendance for a public program in Madison Square Park.

The Artists

The festival featured an electric lineup curated by The Jazz Gallery’s Rio Sakairi, including performances by Lizz Wright, Ravi Coltrane, Roy Hargrove Big Band, The Brandee Younger Trio, Michael Mayo, Dabin Ryu Trio, Arta Jēkabsone, Caracas Trio and Melissa Almaguer.

Family programming included The KongoNola Project presented by Goussy Celestin’s Ayita Brass, Lucy Kalantari & the Jazz Cats, ABCirque, and cultural programming with Asase Yaa.

Why We Did It

The inaugural NoMad Jazz Festival was an only-in-NoMad community event and a milestone — celebrating The Jazz Gallery’s 30th anniversary and the neighborhood’s storied musical history, from NoMad’s Tin Pan Alley to the birth of the Great American Songbook.

The festival honored the district’s past while also spotlighting its future. NoMad has long been a home for groundbreaking artists — and this summer, jazz returned to its roots, giving the next generation of talent a platform to shine.

Who Made It Happen

Created and produced by The NoMad Alliance, a non-profit dedicated to an ever-better NoMad, four community partners collaborated to make this event possible as only these organizations could:

• The NoMad Alliance, led by Leslie Spira Lopez, President
• The Jazz Gallery, led by Janet Luhrs, Executive Director and Rio Sakairi, Artistic Director
• Flatiron NoMad Partnership, led by James Mettham, President
• Madison Square Park Conservancy, led by Holly Leicht, Executive Director

Read more specifics about the inaugural NoMad Jazz Festival here.

What to Expect in 2026

The momentum continues! Building on the success of the inaugural festival, the NoMad Jazz Festival will return in 2026 – bigger, bolder, and filled with even more music, community, and discovery. Expect new artists, expanded programming, and more unexpected ways to experience jazz throughout the NoMad and Flatiron community.

Check back for updates as plans unfold. The next chapter of jazz in NoMad is just getting started.

There’s no place like NoMad.
And there’s nothing like the NoMad Jazz Festival.