2014 Lowcountry Jazz Festival boasts an incredible line-up

You don’t want to miss this year’s Lowcountry Jazz Festival, showcasing chart-topping performers such as Maysa, Bobby Caldwell, Boney James, Brian Culbertson & Najee. In fact, there are going to be so many incredible genre-crossing jazz-soul-R&B-pop artists that an entire day had to be added onto the festival!

This event will be held at the North Charleston Performing Arts Center from Thursday, August 28, through Labor Day weekend. Get your tickets at the North Charleston Coliseum Advance Ticket Office, Ticketmaster outlets, by phone (1-800-745-3000), or online at Ticketmaster.com.

Bobby Caldwell, 30-year musical icon, will be opening this year’s festival. He is known for songs like “What You Won’t Do for Love” (his own) and “Heart of Mine” (written for Boz Scaggs).

Friday night will feature multi-instrumentalist Brian Culbertson, a returning artist to the Lowcountry Jazz Festival. He has received numerous nominations for NAACP Image Awards and Soul Train Awards. Culbertson is currently re-recording his debut album and you may hear some of the songs during his performance in the festival.

After the energetic keyboardist/trombonist, you can get in touch with the Smooth Side of Soul with saxophonist Najee. Najee has collaborated with a number of legendary artists, received two Platinum and four Gold albums, and won a number of awards.

Saturday night you can catch Jazz Attack, a collaboration with guitarist Peter White, trumpeter Rick Braun, and saxophonist Euge Groove. Each artist has had numerous #1 hits as well as long careers as sidemen to rock musicians. And be sure not to miss Philadelphia’s jazzy R&B band Pieces of a Dream afterwards.

On Sunday, you will find jazz pianist Alex Bugnon at the festival’s afternoon cruise (but only if you’ve already gotten tickets, as the show is sold out!). The festival concludes with one of the most successful instrumental artists of our time, saxophonist Boney James. Also appearing are immensely popular funky guitarist Nick Colionne with keyboardist Brian Simpson.

The festival is always a huge hit and has been repeatedly named a Top 20 Event by the Southeast Tourism Society. Thousands of jazz fans flock to the Lowcountry each year for the festival and help raise funds for Closing the Gap in Health Care, Inc., an organization formed to decrease health disparities in the underserved.