The inaugural NoMad Jazz Festival brought Madison Square Park alive on Saturday, August 9 & Sunday, August 10, 2025 — and set a new attendance record for the park. Over 75 world-class performers helped to secure NoMad’s place in New York’s cultural legacy and the international jazz stage. Conceived by Leslie Spira Lopez, President and CEO of Kew Management and Founder of The NoMad Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to an ever-better NoMad, and produced by The NoMad Alliance, in partnership with nonprofits The Jazz Gallery, Flatiron NoMad Partnership, and the Madison Square Park Conservancy, the weekend was a triumph of artistry, community, and vision.
The Jazz Gallery, a founding partner celebrating its 30-year anniversary, programmed an exceptional Mainstage lineup curated by Artistic Director Rio Sakairi. The festival also drew vital support from founding partners The NoMad Alliance, Madison Square Park, and Flatiron NoMad Partnership. Special congratulations go to Festival Director Miriam Dalaei-Fodera, whose leadership exceeded all expectations, delivering a world-class jazz festival in NoMad.
Each day began with family and cultural programming at 10:30 AM, followed by Mainstage performances every two hours from 1:00 PM onward. Audiences — from neighborhood regulars to visitors from across the city and beyond — packed the park under perfect summer skies. Saturday saw picnic blankets spread across the lawn; Sunday crowds gathered at the park’s southwest corner where the second-day stage stood. Food from Shake Shack and other local favorites kept everyone happily fed and refreshed throughout the weekend.
Saturday’s Mainstage lineup was emceed by James Browne, radio personality, producer, and board member of The Jazz Gallery. Highlights included the dynamic piano work of the Dabin Ryu Trio, featuring Taxi, a deeply personal composition written for her grandfather; the inventive vocal artistry of Michael Mayo, blending standards with originals from his album Fly and closing with selections from Bones; and the powerhouse Ray Hargrove Big Band, a 17-piece ensemble that practically lifted the NoMad Jazz Festival stage off the ground.
Closing day one was the soulful magic of Lizz Wright, whose performance of Grace became a transcendent park moment. As the sun dipped low and summer cicadas added their own voices, Wright delivered her final two songs from the piano, then returned for an encore that sealed the day as unforgettable.
Sunday’s Mainstage was hosted by singer, WBGO announcer, and The Jazz Gallery co-founder Lezlie Harrison. It opened with the joyful Venezuelan rhythms of the Caracas Trio, performing the first song they ever recorded and welcoming tap dancer Melissa Almaguer to the stage. Arta Jēkabsone infused the afternoon with Baltic soul, performing works from Searching for a Song and closing with Home. Harpist Brandee Younger defied genres with selections from her album Gadabout Season, a luminous rendition of Stevie Wonder’s If It’s Magic, and a Marvin Gaye classic to close her set.
The second day reached its climax with saxophonist Ravi Coltrane and Translinear Light: The Music of Alice Coltrane — a thrilling tribute joined by Brandee Younger on harp, Gadi Lehavi on piano and keyboards, Rashaan Carter on bass, and Ele Howell on drums. More than homage to his parents, Alice and John Coltrane, the performance was proof of the power of jazz to endure and evolve through generations.
Throughout the weekend, Family Programming was a festival within the festival. Highlights included The KongoNola Project with Goussy Célestin’s Ayiti Brass, Asase Yaa’s multi-part journey from African drumming to gospel and house celebration, and GRAMMY®-winner Lucy Kalantari & The Jazz Cats joined by the acrobatic brilliance of ABCirque. Face painting, bubbles, and balloons were hits among attendees of all ages.
Leading up to the festival weekend, the surrounding neighborhood pulsed with music and energy, thanks to Festival Week, which featured free live jazz and pop-up performances across NoMad & Flatiron — from Marcus Garrick Miller at The Jazz Gallery to performances at Rizzoli Bookstore, BRASS at The Evelyn Hotel, and multiple performances on the NoMad Piazza.
To keep the memories alive and the music playing, commemorative merchandise is still available, including collector’s edition posters signed by the visual artist, T-shirts, caps, water bottles, and more. Read more in The Jazz Issue of NOMAD Magazine.
The first annual NoMad Jazz Festival 2025 was jazz music at its best: a manifestation of community, creativity, and connection. There’s no place like NoMad.
Thank you to the community who helped make this incredible event come to fruition. Founding Partners: The NoMad Alliance, The Jazz Gallery, Flatiron NoMad Partnership, Madison Square Park Conservancy. Sponsors: The NoMad Alliance, Howard Gilman Foundation, Simons Foundation, WBGO, Duggal. Legacy Sponsors: Kew Management, Spira Lopez Legacy Foundation. Benefactors: Farhana Ahmed, Lorinda Ash and William S. Rubenstein, Andjelkovic, Knauf & Fava Group Merrill Private Wealth, Gayle and Stephen Bernstein, Jennifer Coutts Clay, Daniel Di Tieri, Goldberg Weprin Finkel Goldstein LLP, Robert and Elissa Granick, Jane Gural-Senders, GFP Real Estate, Mark Henkin and Julie Lamb, Barbara T. Hoffman, Esq., Mark Lopez, Bill Lukashok and Janet Pines, Marc Mellon, David and Cindy Pinter, Beth Torin, Kirby Veevers and Eric Rubenstein, Glen and Margaret Wood. Community Sponsors: La Dolce Vita, Barlume, Scarpetta, The Seville, Apotheke NoMad, The New York EDITION, A & J Custom Framing, Kaufman Organization, USI Insurance Services, BLACKBARN, Evelyn Hotel, BRASS NY, Crewcial Partners, All’Antico Vinaio NYC, Impact Kitchen, La Pecora Bianca, Mark’s off Madison, MoMath, Shake Shack, The Ritz-Carlton New York, NoMad, Nicholas Athanail (Licensed Associate Real Estate Agent at The Corcoran Group), Rizzoli Bookstore, Wagamama, Bazaar Bar at The Ritz-Carlton New York NoMad, and Inday.
To support The NoMad Alliance, the nonprofit producer of The NoMad Jazz Festival, you can make a tax-deductible contribution here. We can’t do what we do without you.