When September comes, Pittsburgh swings. The Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival, presented by the August Wilson African American Cultural Center, takes over downtown stages and Liberty Avenue each fall with a lineup that honors the city’s towering jazz heritage — this is the hometown of Art Blakey, Mary Lou Williams, Billy Strayhorn and Kenny Clarke, after all.
The festival mixes ticketed headline concerts with free outdoor stages, turning the Cultural District into a weekend-long block party of legends and rising stars. Past editions have drawn tens of thousands; the 2027 edition is expected in September, with the lineup announced in late spring.
Watch awaacc.org for dates and artists. In Pittsburgh, jazz isn’t a genre — it’s a birthright, and this festival is where the city proves it.
