Columbus Jazz & Rib Fest Returns to the Scioto Mile July 24-26 With Free Admission

Jazz & Rib Fest is back on the downtown riverfront July 24-26. The free festival fills West Bank Park and Bicentennial Park along the Scioto Mile with three days of live jazz and barbecue. The Columbus Recreation and Parks Department puts on the event, according to the official festival site.

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, July 24 and Saturday, July 25. Sunday, July 26 runs 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Admission is free all three days.

Who's playing

The West Bank Park stage carries the national headliners. Keiko Matsui and Jonathan Butler play Friday. Huntertones and Jeffrey Osborne take Saturday. Adam Hawley and PJ Morton close it out Sunday. Across the river, the Bicentennial Park stage leans local. Friday brings The Nancy Wilson Way, a tribute show. Saturday features the Columbus Jazz Orchestra with Byron Stripling. Jon Lampley plays Sunday.

New this year is a Brass Band Stage near the Main Street Bridge at Belle Street. It features New Orleans-style brass bands all weekend, including the New Basics Brass Band, Largemouth Brass Band, and Mike Wade & The Nasty NATI Brass Band. Pitmasters from around the country will sell ribs and barbecue, joined by local Columbus food trucks.

A riverfront that keeps working harder

Big free festivals do more than fill a weekend. They pull tens of thousands of people onto the Scioto Mile and show off the riverfront parks at their best. That matters for downtown Columbus, where new apartment towers keep opening and a new riverfront restaurant is on the way at the Scioto Mile. People who come for the ribs see cranes, patios, and park space. Some of them start thinking about living here.

The festival also bookends a busy free-event summer downtown. The city's parks department is running Scioto Mile concerts through September, and CBUS Soul Fest follows on Labor Day weekend. A steady calendar of free events is part of what keeps downtown foot traffic strong, and it is one reason demand for homes near the core keeps growing. You can follow more happenings on our events page.

Plan your visit

The festival address is 233 Civic Center Dr. Food vendors open at 11 a.m. each day. Expect the biggest crowds Friday and Saturday nights when the headliners play. Coming from outside downtown? COTA buses reach the Scioto Mile from most of the metro, and garages sit within a few blocks of both parks.

The takeaway: mark July 24-26 on your calendar. Jazz & Rib Fest costs nothing to attend, the lineup is the strongest in years, and the new brass band stage gives you a third spot to catch music along the river.