The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival began in the early aughts, when a group of imaginative residents of Salem – a city teeming with gifted musicians – proposed the idea of starting a music festival celebrating the rich history of jazz and soul music in the area.  Set with a goal to bring the diverse community together with a plan to use the festival as an engine for music education, the group grew into a team, adding musicians, actors, writers, promoters, and businesspeople from the North Shore until the Salem Jazz and Soul Festival was fully formed with a dedicated board of directors. The festival’s inaugural fundraiser, a sold-out event, took place on April 21, 2007.

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival draws thousands of visitors each year to enjoy a free day-long concert at the Salem Willows as well as several concerts and events throughout the year.  So far, the festival board has hosted over 100 free concerts and raised more than $70,000  to support music education efforts throughout the North Shore. 

The Salem Jazz and Soul Festival  is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces free concerts and supports music-education causes on Massachusetts’ North Shore.  The festival is passionately dedicated to enriching the North Shore’s cultural landscape. It orchestrates a spectacular array of free concerts that showcase a vibrant mix of jazz and soul music as well as other genres. Moreover, the organization actively fundraises to provide vital financial support to music education initiatives throughout the North Shore region, fostering the next generation of musical talent.