Local Talent Takes Center Stage at 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival Celebrating Community, Culture, and Music, October 3-5
20+ Free Sounds Around Town Concerts by Bard College Jazz Program Students-Faculty and Local ArtistsThe 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival is proud to announce its exciting lineup of local musicians who will be performing at this year’s free pop-up Sounds Around Town concert series, taking place Friday-Sunday, October 3-5, 2025, at several different venues across the bucolic community of Hudson, New York. Bringing together the rich musical diversity of the Hudson Valley region, this year’s Sounds Around Town performances showcase beloved hometown favorites and emerging local artists—primarily students, faculty and alumni of the Bard College Jazz Program. In addition to the free Sounds Around Town concerts, the city-wide Hudson Jazz Festival hosts a weekend-long flight of the freshest voices in jazz today. The complete line-up and schedule is below.
“We’re thrilled to highlight the incredible talent growing right here in our own backyard,” said John Esposito, Sounds Around Town curator and Professor of Music at Bard College. “This series is not only a celebration of music but also of the vibrant community that makes it possible.”
The 2025 Hudson Jazz Festival is supported through a Market New York grant awarded by Empire State Development and I LOVE NY, New York State’s Division of Tourism.
2025 Hudson Jazz Festival Line-Up
Friday-Sunday, October 3-5, 2025, times vary
- Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House (327 Warren Street)
- The Caboose (60 South Front Street)
- Second Ward Foundation (71 North Third Street)
- Park Theater (723 Warren Street)
- Amtrak Train Station (69 South Front Street)
- Back Bar (347 Warren Street)
- Hudson Farmers Market (corner of 6th and Columbia Street)
- Pocket Park (537 Warren Street)
- 7th Street Park (1199 Seventh Street)
- Hudson Milliner Art Salon (415 Warren Street)
- Marine Penvern (715 Warren Street)
- Kitty’s Hudson (60 South Front Street)
- The Spark (502 Union Street)
- Red Dot (321 Warren Street)
- Return Brewing (725 State Street)
- Isaan Thai Star (41 North Seventh Street)
Friday, October 3
1-3 PM: Sounds Around Town: John Esposito
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring John Esposito (solo piano). Location: Hudson Hall Gallery3-5PM: Sounds Around Town: Imani Amie Murphy & Phat
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Imani Amie Murphy (vocals), Leo Belsky (piano, guitar, vocals), Maxwell Barnes (sax), and Micah Kelleher (drums) Location: Hudson Amtrak Station.4-6PM: Sounds Around Town: Miles Taylour Jazz Guitar Trio
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Miles Taylour Sweeny (guitar & vocals), Ben Basile (bass), and Thomas Wandel (drums). Location: Back Bar.7 PM Julius Rodriguez Group
Hailed a “prodigy of jazz clubs” by The New York Times, Julius Rodriguez blends jazz, funk, gospel, and R&B into a soulful, boundary-defying sound. A GRAMMY-winning collaborator with legends like Roy Hargrove and Meshell Ndegeocello, Rodriguez is hailed by NPR as “a torchbearer” for New York’s new generation of jazz innovators. Location: Hudson Hall.9 PM: Opening Night Dance Party feat. BIGYUKI
NYC’s secret weapon, BIGYUKI, electrifies the crowd with his virtuosic blend of jazz, soul, hip hop, and electronica. A collaborator with A Tribe Called Quest, Kamasi Washington, and Lauryn Hill, BIGYUKI’s after-hours set brings the groove straight to your soles. Location: Second Ward Foundation.Saturday, October 4
9-10:10 AM: Sounds Around Town: Jahdiel Gomez Duo
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Jahdiel Gomez (guitar) and West Watman (bass). Location: Hudson Farmers Market10:25-11:35 AM: Sounds Around Town: Imani Amie Murphy & Phat
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Imani Amie Murphy (vocals), Leo Belsky (piano, guitar, vocals), Maxwell Barnes (sax), and Micah Kelleher (drums). Location: Hudson Farmers Market.11 AM-12:20 PM: Sounds Around Town: Sam Bernhart/Mark Roman/Christopher Gallagher
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Sam Bernhart (guitar), Mark Roman (bass), and Christopher Gallagher (drums). Location: Pocket Park.11:55 AM-1 PM: Sounds Around Town: Sivaan Barak
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Sivaan Barak (vocals & guitar), Lorenzo Núñez (guitar), Nico Bald (piano), Lillie Penelope Rivera-Rosario (percussion), and Luca Barendsen-Rossi (drums). Location: Hudson Farmers Market.12:40-2 PM: Sounds Around Town: Sparrow Lore
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Jef Brown (guitar), Max Liebman (bass), Aidan Samp (drums). Location: Pocket Park.1-2:30 PM: Sounds Around Town: Maia Jarrett
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Maia Jarrett (vocals & guitar). Location: Hudson Milliner Art Salon.1–3 PM: Sounds Around Town: Adriana Tampasis/Justin Geyer/Sam Bernhardt/Marco Spodek
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Adriana Tampasis (flute), Justin Geyer (synth bass), Sam Bernhardt (guitar) and Marco Spodek (drums). Location: 7th Street Park.2-3:30 PM: Sounds Around Town: Aquarium
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Steven Bonacci (saxophone), Rodney Clark (percussion), and Aidan Samp (percussion). Location: Pocket Park.2-4 PM: Sounds Around Town: Dutchess
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Miles Taylour Sweeny (guitar & vocals), Max Liebman (bass), and Thomas Wandel (drums). Location: Upper Depot Brewing Co.3-5 PM: Sounds Around Town: Maia Jarrett/Leo Belsky/Noah Jarrett
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Maia Jarrett (vocals), Leo Belsky (piano), and Noah Jarrett (bass). Location: Padrona.5-6 PM: Sounds Around Town: Charu Suri
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Charu Suri (piano). Location: Back Bar.6-9 PM: Sounds Around Town: Phat
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Phat with Leo Belsky (piano, guitar, vocals), Maxwell Barnes (sax), and Micah Kelleher (drums). Location: Isaan Thai Star.7-8:30 PM: Caity Gyorgy
Two-time JUNO-winning Canadian vocalist Caity Gyorgy (pronounced “George”) brings pristine vocals, playful scatting, and a retro-inspired take on jazz’s golden age. Known for originals that sparkle with vintage charm, Gyorgy offers a modern, joyous throwback to the Great American Songbook. Location: Hudson Hall.8-9 PM: Sounds Around Town: Charu Suri
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Charu Suri (piano). Location: Back Bar.9-10:30 PM: Tristen Jarvis Trio: Deep Tones for Peace
Bassist Tristen Jarvis leads this homage to legendary bassist-composers, from Charles Mingus to Jaco Pastorius and Thundercat. Expect a rich, intimate late-night set celebrating the bass as both heartbeat and soul of the band. Location: Park Theater.Sunday, October 5
10-11:30 AM: Sounds Around Town: Jahdiel Gomez Duo
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Jahdiel Gomez (guitar), and West Watman (bass). Location: Marine Penvern.11 AM-12:20 PM: Sounds Around Town: Sparrow Lore
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Jef Brown (guitar), Max Liebman (bass), and Aidan Samp (drums). Location: Pocket Park.11 AM-1 PM: Sounds Around Town: Maia Jarrett/Leo Belsky/Noah Jarrett
Free Sounds Around Town featuring Maia Jarrett (vocals), Leo Belsky (piano), and Noah Jarrett (bass). Location: The Spark of Hudson.11 AM-1 PM: Sounds Around Town: John Esposito Duo
Free Sounds Around Town featuring John Esposito (piano) and Otto Gardner (bass). Location: Red Dot.11 AM-2 PM: Sounds Around Town: Ondina McDonald
Free Sounds Around Town featuring Ondina McDonald (vocals), and Fosco McDonald (bass). Location: Kitty’s Hudson11:30 AM-12:40 PM: Sounds Around Town: Sam Bernhart/Mark Roman/ Christopher Gallagher
Free Sounds Around Town featuring Sam Bernhart (guitar), Mark Roman (bass), and Christopher Gallagher (drums). Location: 7th Street Park.12:40-2 PM: Sounds Around Town: Adriana Tampasis/Justin Geyer/Sam Bernhardt/Marco Spodek
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Adriana Tampasis (flute), Justin Geyer (keyboards), Sam Bernhardt (guitar) and Marco Spodek (drums). Location: Pocket Park.2 PM: Alphonso Horne & The Gotham Kings
Two-time GRAMMY nominee Alphonso Horne leads The Gotham Kings in a high-energy, New Orleans-style jazz party that brings the joyful spirit of early Louis Armstrong into the 21st century with rags, stomps, funk, and lashings of Big Easy joy. Location: The Caboose.2-3 PM: Sounds Around Town: Dutchess
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Dutchess: Miles Taylour (guitar), Maximillian Leibman (vocals and bass) and Thomas Wandell (drums). Location: Return Brewing.3:20-4:20 PM: Sounds Around Town: Maia Jarrett & Phat
Free Sounds Around Town concert featuring Maia Jarrett (vocals), Leo Belsky (piano, guitar, vocals), Maxwell Barnes (sax), and Micah Kelleher (drums). Location: Return Brewing.5 PM: Joel Ross’s Good Vibes
Blue Note vibraphonist and composer Joel Ross closes out the weekend with bold, blues-inspired brilliance. Still in his 20s, Ross has earned acclaim for his commanding improvisation, deeply thoughtful compositions, and vibrant, genre-defying vision for the future of jazz. Location: Hudson Hall.About Hudson Hall
Hudson Hall at the historic Hudson Opera House is a cultural beacon in the Hudson Valley, offering a dynamic year-round schedule of music, theater, dance, literature, workshops for youth and adults, as well as family programs and large-scale community events like the Hudson Jazz Festival. Located in an historic landmark that houses New York State’s oldest surviving theater, Hudson Hall underwent a full restoration and reopened to the public in April 2017 for the first time in over 55 years. The newly restored Hudson Hall reflects Hudson's rich history in a modern facility that welcomes residents and visitors from throughout our local community, across the nation, and around the globe.About Hudson Jazz Festival
In February 2018, as part of its reopening season, Hudson Hall introduced the first Hudson Jazz Festival to celebrate one of America’s greatest art forms in its newly restored theater. Curated by jazz pianist Armen Donelian, the inaugural festival was endorsed by Sonny Rollins and featured legendary jazz artists Sheila Jordan and NEA Jazz Master Joanne Brackeen, as well as a hands-on workshop for local middle and high school students.The 2019 and 2020 festivals built on this foundation with music by luminaries including Billy Harper, Cidinho Teixeria, Bobby Sanabria, Amir ElSaffar, and others. The festival’s reputation was cemented in 2022 with curator Cat Henry’s stellar lineup including Jazzmeia Horn, The Baylor Project, and Jimmy Greene; and followed in 2023 with sold out performances by Marquis Hill, Aaron Parks and Samantha Rise featuring Meshell Ndegeocello, plus Endea Owens & The Cookout, and more. In 2024, the festival shifted to October and expanded city—wide with performances in multiple venues across town and free indoor and outdoor pop-up performances by Bard College Jazz Program students. Highlights included a sold-out opening night performance by Ekep Nkwelle, a stunning performance by trumpeter Riley Mulherkar, and jazz legend Ethan Iverson.
In 2020, Hudson Hall added a visual arts exhibition that remained an ongoing element of future jazz festivals. The first exhibition was curated by Reginald Madison, a working artist who is passionate about jazz, featured the work of artists living or working in the area: David Hammons, Bijan Mahmoodi, Reginald Madison, Marlene Marshall, Kris Perry, Richard Sandler, Tschabalala Self, and Kianja Strobert. Hudson Jazz Festival provides a platform to support jazz artists, unify and connect its diverse community, strengthen the local and regional economy, and improve the lives of area residents.
About Jazz at Bard
The Jazz Music Program at Bard has a commitment to teaching jazz as an integral part of the African musical diaspora and, historically, as a place where European, African, and Native American musical and cultural practices flowed together. It also regards the music as evolving, while becoming increasingly socially and culturally diverse. It is also a technologically inclusive art form that should not be frozen in time.Its emphasis is on giving students a strong foundation of basic musical skills, a thorough understanding of the history behind the music, and an emphasis on the individual developing her or his creative process. To this end, Bard combines theory, history, and technical skills training with a strong improvisational/compositional regimen.
Its goal is to teach students to be the creative artists of the future rather than uncreative repeaters of the past. Students are notable for the uniqueness of their self-expression and the quality of their original music while at Bard, and the program is gratified to see the exciting work that many of its graduates go on to do after Bard.
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