Festivals / Downtown (Hart Plaza) + Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center, Midtown
Detroit Jazz Festival
A free jazz festival on Hart Plaza in downtown Detroit every Labor Day weekend, with extra programming at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center in Midtown.
01 / The story of this place
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Founded in 1980 by Robert McCabe and Detroit Renaissance, it bills itself as the world's largest free jazz festival and has been produced by the nonprofit Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation since 2006. In 2026 the three main stages were consolidated on Hart Plaza, with more programming at the Gretchen C. Valade Jazz Center (4743 Cass Ave); Joe Lovano was artist-in-residence.
- Free admission
- Three main stages on Hart Plaza
- Founded in 1980
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Sources & fact check · Checked: 2026-09-25
An independently written bilingual guide. This collection is not an attendance-based ranking.
03 / Events
Events at this place
Published events automatically linked from our event guide. Times are local to the venue.
We have no published upcoming events linked to this place yet. That does not mean the venue has no events; check its official calendar too.
Official website & visitor information ↗