Jazz Festival saw big attendance boost in 2023, aims to get even bigger next year

Saskatoon’s Jazz Festival experienced a big bump in attendance this year, and the executive director says she wants to see it grow even bigger in 2024.

According to Shannon Josdal, the final numbers are still being tallied, but she estimated the SaskTel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival brought in about 10,000 more people in 2023 than it did in 2022.

“We set the festival record for free program attendance on July 1, with over 5,000 people through the park, so that was very exciting,” Josdal said. “We had phenomenal performances.”

Josdal said some of the highlights included performances by the Beaches and Amanda Marshall, as well as the Stone Frigate Big Band using the Prairie Lily riverboat as a stage during a performance at River Landing.

“Paul Janeway of St. Paul and The Broken Bones actually rolled down the hill of Victoria Park partway through his set, which was extremely memorable for everyone,” Josdal added. “While singing, he went up to the top of the hill (and) rolled all the way down.”

According to the executive director, moving the festival’s new primary venue in Victoria Park in 2023 turned out to be a hit, and allowed organizers to include food trucks, vendors, a large beer garden, an artisan market and more.

“It was extremely successful,” Josdal said. “It’s a huge space, and it really allows us to spread out (and) to offer more amenities to our patrons.”

Also new this year was a day pass system for the ticketed shows, which allowed patrons to take in all the performances over a single day with just one ticket. Josdal said the festival will be sticking with that system going forward.

Some patrons were apprehensive about the new system, particularly those who just wanted to see the headlining act, but Josdal said the day pass system was still a good deal.

“Where our day passes are priced currently – at $75 plus tax and service fee for the single day – that is comparable to what you would pay to just see the headliner,” Josdal explained. “So really, you’re not actually paying more; you’re actually getting the earlier acts rolled in for free.”

While the festival underwent some major changes in 2023, the executive director said organizers aren’t expecting any big shakeups next year.

“We’re really happy with the position we’re in currently,” Josdal said. “We are so excited that we feel like we found a home that works, we feel like we found a model and a ticketing system that works, and so now it’s about growing it. It’s about getting the word out there.”

One thing Josdal said organizers want to work on for 2024 is getting more patrons to take advantage of the free shuttle services which ran during the festival.