Samara Joy, the three-time Grammy-awarded vocalist who won Best New Artist at the 2023 Grammys, will headline the free, three-day Downtown Jamaica Riddim and Jazz Festival in Southeast Queens this July. Running Friday night July 26 through Sunday afternoon July 28, the Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival is produced by Jamaica Center for Arts and Learning (JCAL).

It is an exciting artistic and cultural merger of JCAL’s two signature music concert series: Thursday Night Jazz, which lifts up emerging and midcareer artists and bands, and Riddim Section, which celebrates the music of the Diaspora. The Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival opens Friday night, July 26, with a free 630pm reception at the Jamaica Performing Arts Center (153-10 Jamaica Avenue), followed by performances from Melissa Almaguer and Immanuel Wilkins. The Saturday and Sunday concerts will take place outdoors at Rufus King Park (150-29 Jamaica Ave), featuring a constellation of musical superstars, including Edmar Castaneda, Yuhan Su, and the Roy Hargrove Big Band.

Saturday night at dusk (roughly 6pm), headliner Samara Joy will take to the outdoor stage for a free concert for the entire Southeast Queens community. Just prior to the performance, there will be a live onstage Q&A with Joy focused on her artistry and remarkably fast-rising career. Friday and Saturday concerts are curated by Rio Sakairi, Artistic Director and Director of Programming of The Jazz Gallery, and longtime curator of JCAL’s Thursday Night Jazz season. The programming on Sunday, curated by legendary Queens musical artist Steven Kroon, includes Ty Stephens and Cocomama—a Latin jazz group composed of women from around the world.

The Downtown Jamaica Riddim & Jazz Festival also serves as a homecoming for many artists who have performed on JCAL’s stages earlier in their careers. Immanuel Wilkins first performed at JCAL as a Julliard student back in 2018. Samara Joy opened JCAL’s first post-COVID jazz festival back in 2021 before achieving international acclaim and Grammy fame. “I’m still very much a student, even though I’ve graduated,” Joy said. “So this is only the beginning… there is much, much more to come.”

“Legends, past and present live and have lived here in Southeast Queens,” says JCAL’s Artistic Director Courtney Ffrench. “The musical fabric is rich! This year’s Riddim and Jazz festival features three days of richness, of gourmet sounds, and classic American rhythms. Samara Joy’s presence, will be transformative.” “Our team is incredibly honored to offer three days of free world-class live music to Jamaica,” added JCAL Executive Director Leonard Jacobs. “We’d like to thank both private supporters and public funders, especially City Council Member Nantasha Williams and City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, for championing culture in our community. And a special thank you to the Lake Placid Center for the Arts, which provided a grant to JCAL that enabled Samara Joy to headline our free festival.”