Michael Mwenso Announced as Curator for the 2022 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival

The Flynn will welcome Michael Mwenso, leader of the captivating band Mwenso & The Shakes and co-founder of Electric Root, as the curator for the 2022 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival. This year marks the 39th anniversary of the festival, one of the biggest and most beloved annual events in Vermont. Events take place all over Downtown Burlington from June 3-12. Read more about Michael Mwenso and his movement at flynnvt.org.

As curator of Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, Michael will take the lead in shaping the 10-day festival from start to finish. He will ensure that the festival is a wide-ranging celebration of jazz music in all its forms, with exciting performances from local and International Artists, while maintaining a focus on arts education and discourse.

"We are so excited to welcome Michael and his Electric Root team to Burlington to curate this year's jazz festival," said Flynn Executive Director Jay Wahl. "Last year's comeback was a memorable experience for the Flynn team and for the community. 2022 promises to be even more energized, and Michael's leadership is a big part of that feeling. Michael is an incredible, rousing musician who has a history with this festival. Michael will be the face of the festival, and his warm, inspiring, and charismatic personality and performance style will guide the selections for this year's lineup. I can't wait to see the festival take shape."

"Through our visits to Burlington, in the warmth and the frigid, we have fallen in love with the community and their spirit of inclusive freedom and resonate joy," said Michael Mwenso. "My creative partner, Jono Gasparro, and I are elated to have the opportunity to share the ancestral gifts that this music brings to people: healing, empowerment, and uplift. After a long, difficult two years, we look forward to this 10-day celebration of coming together!"

Michael Mwenso was born in Sierra Leone and began singing and playing trombone after he moved to London as a young child. His band Mwenso & The Shakes performed at Burlington Discover Jazz Festival in 2016 and 2017. Michael is a sought-after cultural curator as well as a master at distributing the spiritual nutrition inherent in Black music with Electric Root, the mission-driven company he co-leads with Jono Gasparro. After his celebrated work at Ronnie Scott's, a world-renowned jazz and blues club in London, Michael was invited by Wynton Marsalis to join the programming team at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where he built the after-hours program at Dizzy's Club.

The Flynn will start announcing marquee festival shows in March. Become a member today and get early access to tickets and other jazz festival benefits. The full festival lineup will be announced in April. To follow news about the 2022 Burlington Discover Jazz Festival, visit flynnvt.org/Community/Burlington-Discover-Jazz-Festival.

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