Charm City Django Jazz Festival

06/03/2026

Big thanks to Baltimore Sun for listing the Django Jazz Fest last week!

Take your pick: a Baltimore-bred jazz festival, classical music with a spring theme or one that blends hip-hop to create a fresh sound. Don’t miss out on CIAA basketball-sponsored events: a f…

04/03/2026

Hot Club of Baltimore’s DJANGO JAZZ FEST hits DC at BLUES ALLEY
Wednesday April 8!! 2 sets.

Come join us at this legendary historic jazz club in the heart of Georgetown with convenient parking across the street, near tons of shops, awesome restaurants and the waterfront! It’s the ideal location for this amazing music. It’s a very special lineup featuring top violinist Eli Bishop from Nashville, pianist Brennen Ernst, bassist Will Ledbetter, guitarist Connor Holdridge, and Gabriel Wallace on clarinet and sax. I look forward to this spirited tribute to the music of Django Reinhardt!! Link in bio or go to DjangoJazzFest.com or use this link https://www.instantseats.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=home.artist&VenueID=3&artistid=21241

26/02/2026

Important announcement regarding Saturday Django Jazz Fest The Bluebird Cocktail Room (SOLD OUT)

Go to our FAQ with your questions about parking, etc.
https://gypsyjazzfest.com/

For those of you who have tickets for Saturday night at Bluebird, there are two simultaneous events going on for that event in two different rooms.
Doors open at 7PM.

There is a Swing dance in the Green Room and then there is a small listening concert in the Whiskey Pub downstairs. Live music will be featured in both spaces.

The whiskey pub will include three 60 min sets by Le Hot Jazz Quintette with Jimmy Grant on Guitar, Michael Joseph Harris on Guitar, Sam Farthing on Guitar, Randy Ball on bass and Darragh Fitzgerald on Violin. It’s important that you find a seat in the whiskey pub if you want to hear that concert because space will be very limited. It’s going to be like an underground Paris jazz club in the 1930s!

The swing dance is more spacious for dancers and will be in the green room which is where we have been hosting the Monday Django Jazz jam for years. The band will feature Luca Pino, Natalie Hanna Mendoza, Brennen Ernst, Joe Brotherton, Gabe Wallace, Alan Dale and Blake Meister.

Expect some surprises as musicians from the dance will pop in from time to time to the whiskey pub show to play a couple with the Hot Jazz Quintette.

Here’s some of the songs we’ll be playing!

Michael’s List:

Oriental Shuffle
Nuits St Germain de Pres
Reverie
Webster
Nuages
Sheik of Araby
Vamp
Mabel
Valse a bamboula
Montaigne st Genevieve
Swing Gitane
Django’s Tiger
Flèche d’or
Man I love
Lover Man

Sam’s List:

Mysterieuse
Dinette
Folie a Amphion
Songe dautomne
Place de brouckere
Soir de dispute
Louise
I found a new baby
Honeysuckle rose
This kind of friend
Porto cabello
Sweet chorus
Distraction
Vette
Insensibliment

Jimmy's list:

La Gitane
Embraceable You
Limehouse Blues
Tiger Rag
Just one of those things
Montagne St Genevieve
Chez Jacquet/Gin Gin
La Bikina
The Man I love
The Lonely Accordion
Pouro Rom
Nie Spichi

Darragh’s List

Some of These Days
Swing 39
Swing de Paris
It Don’t Mean A Thing
L’Indifference
Memories of You
I Cover the Waterfront
Cherokee
Anniversary Song
Distraction

21/02/2026

The concert in Baltimore is less than a week away! We realize that some people can’t afford the full price for the concert which is why we created the student discount ticket. Here’s the link! Use code Student to access the hidden student discount for those who need it. See you Friday Baltimore Museum of Art !!

https://app.tickethive.com/e/charm-city-django-jazz-fest-2

14/02/2026

The Baltimore Museum of Art has been a dream come true for Charm City Django Jazz Festival!! It’s the perfect concert hall for this music. The staff has been so supportive from management to stage and security personnel. We even have the same awesome sound person as we did 11 years ago when we first started ! We cannot wait to see everyone at this gorgeous concert hall. Also Gertrude’s Restaurant will be OPEN so make your reservations or swing by the bar to enjoy drinks before the show!

Love y’all!! ❤️

Django Jazz Fest began in Baltimore Maryland in 2016 by guitarist Michael Joseph Harris to feature top folk, jazz, world music and bluegrass artists from all over the world who all share a deep love for the musical style originated by Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli in the 1930’s popularly...

05/02/2026

TICKET UPDATE: There are a handful of tickets left for the small listening concert featuring Jimmy Grant, Sam Farthing, Michael Harris, Randy Ball and Darragh Fitzgerald (Le Jazz Hot Quintette) at Bluebird Whiskey Pub Feb 28 and about 150 tickets avail for the big concert Feb 27 with Dutch violinist Tim Kliphuis at Baltimore Museum of Art Auditorium. See below ⬇️

Only 15 2-Day VIP passes remain which give you both concerts and all workshops including Jimmy’s guitar workshop.

*note: member and student discounts apply for Feb 27 only. Let me know if you want info for Student discount for Feb 27.

https://app.tickethive.com/e/charm-city-django-jazz-fest-2

02/02/2026

The workshop schedule is up for Saturday Feb 28 to take place at The Bluebird Cocktail Room (Green Room and Whiskey Pub)
Go here to sign up! All workshops are in Green Room except vocal workshop in Whiskey Pub.
https://michaeljosephharris.com/shop?category=Workshops
11am violin with Tim Kliphuis
12pm guitar with Jimmy Grant
1pm guitar with Luca Pino
2pm facilitated jam
4pm vocal workshop (Whiskey Pub) with Natalie Hanna Mendoza
4pm beginner Balboa dance workshop with Jonna Joy Carroll
5pm intermediate Balboa dance workshop with Tiffany Brantner

NOTE: 2-Day VIP Passholders can attend any workshop for free. There are only a few of those left. Best deal if you plan to attend both nights of concerts and workshops. https://app.tickethive.com/e/charm-city-django-jazz-fest-2/tickets

Also anyone who has a ticket for the Feb 28 concert at Bluebird gets free admission to both dance classes!

21/12/2025

Workshop Schedule is up!! DjangoJazzFest.com
All workshops are *$30 each and take place at The Bluebird Cocktail Room’s Green Room Saturday Feb 28 in the afternoon.
(Feb 27 Concert at BMA, Feb 28 Vintage Paris Swing Party at Bluebird which includes a swing dance and small concert)

* 2-Day VIP ticket holders get free admission to ALL workshops otherwise they are $30 each.
* Musicians - buy any one workshop and you get free admission to the facilitated jam session with the artists.
* Dancers - if you buy tickets to the February 28 vintage Paris swing party then you get free admission to the dance workshops at 4PM beginner and 5PM intermediate/advanced

Visit DjangoJazzFest.com for info on tickets to concerts and workshops for the 11th Annual Charm City Django Jazz Festival

Experience the magic of live music as we enter the exciting world of Paris in the 1930s and the 1940s, with particular emphasis on the legendary Guitarist Django Reinhardt, who single-handedly brought the acoustic guitar to the forefront of world music.

The show on Friday February 27th at Baltimore Museum of Art will showcase both the early all-string ensemble that took over the Paris Jazz scene in the mid-1930s, and the later post-war era of the 1940's with drums, piano and horns.

The show on Saturday February 28 is at The Bluebird Cocktail Room with a swing dance in The Green Room featuring Natalie Hanna Mendoza and Luca Pino with the Django Big Band and a listening concert in the Bluebird Whiskey Pub in the basement featuring Le Jazz Hot Quintette, a tribute to the early Django sound.

There will be a limited amount of 2-day passes available for a discount which include admission to all workshops. (See schedule below) There’s also an early bird discount for those who purchase tickets before January 1st.

Workshops are $30 each unless you have a VIP 2-Day Pass. All workshops occur at The Green Room on Saturday February 28th.

SCHEDULE
11am - Jazz violin with Tim Kliphuis
12 noon - Django Reinhardt style guitar and Gypsy waltzes with Jimmy Grant
1pm - Trad and Modern Gypsy Jazz guitar with Luca Pino
2pm - Facilitated Jam
*4pm - Beginner Balboa Dancing
*5pm - Intermediate/advanced Balboa
Dinner Break
Concert doors open at 7PM

09/12/2025

Hello Facebook Family!! Word of mouth means everything so please share !

11th Annual Charm City Django Jazz Fest is on!! Seated listening concert on Friday Feb 27 Baltimore Museum of Art and a Vintage
Paris Swing Party Feb 28 at The Bluebird Cocktail Room with a swing dance in Bluebird’s Green Room and small concert in Bluebird’s Whiskey Pub. Plus music and dance workshops in the afternoon at Green Room. (Tim Kliphuis violin 11am, Jimmy Grant guitar 12 noon, Luca Pino guitar 1pm, facilitated jam 2:30pm, Balboa dance lesson 4pm beginner, Balboa dance lesson 5pm intermediate.)

*2-Day VIP Passes include everything!!
INFO and TICKETS: DjangoJazzFest.com
(Early bird discount til Jan 1)

Note: The Friday event is a family friendly concert at Baltimore Museum of Art with full handicap access and an elevator. The Saturday event is more adult oriented and features a dance in Bluebird Cocktail Bar’s Green Room and a concert in the whiskey pub downstairs. (18 and over for dance. 21 and over for pub.) There a few steps to navigate at Bluebird so there is not wheel chair access on Saturday night.

18/11/2025

Charm City Django Jazz Fest returns to Baltimore Museum of Art Friday February 27 for the seated listening concert and to Bluebird Saturday February 28 for the Vintage Paris Swing Party which includes a swing dance in the Green Room and a small concert in the Bluebird Pub downstairs.
Ticket link coming soon! DjangoJazzFest.com

Among the list of musician performing will be Brennen Ernst. Here’s an artist profile to introduce him to you!

Brennen Ernst is a pianist and guitarist specializing in the classic sounds of early and mid-century American genres, ranging from hot jazz and swing to old time, bluegrass and honky-tonk country. Regarded as a keen interpreter of the early jazz piano styles of James P Johnson and Jelly Roll Morton, he can frequently be heard as part of the Mona's Hot Five in Manhattan and has performed with Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks and Jonathan Stout. As a guitarist his solid rhythm and interpretations of Eddie Lang and George Barnes has earned him a growing following in the jazz guitar world. Brennen lives in Philadelphia PA and may be heard performing there and in New York.

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05/08/2025

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