Arizona Jazz Festival At the Wigwam

First I think this event should be renamed the Arizona Soul Fest. There really isn't much Jazz going on which is a shame becuase I love me some jazz.

That being said I really did want to be at this festival and I really did want to go on Sunday especially. Angie Stone, my fave soul lady Miss India Arie, and Anthony Hamilton were all playing Sunday in that order. So I took a pass on seeing Jill Scott on Friday. You really can't beat the lineup. And considering that we found vacant seats near the front during these acts for our general admission priced tickets I would say it is definitely worth every penny. Seeing India Arie ALONE was worth the price of the tickets. She is so amazing, spiritual, beautiful, and talented.

I loved the atmosphere. The people were extremely friendly. We got the the festival pretty early and didn't want to be in the sun as there was no shade over the seating. So we found a shady spot outside of the event boundaries on the lawn of the resort with some fellow festival goers. They shared wine and snacks and amazing conversation with us. We bought drinks at the bar inside the resort and held up some other conversations about the music, order of the lineup, and the process. Seems some others had a hard time getting will call tickets. There was major issues with wifi/internet availability at the will call line. Most everyone I spoke liked/LOVED the lineup but agreed that it was less jazz and more neo-soul. The drinks were decently priced both inside the event and at the bar in the resort but most everyone agreed that the food was really overpriced. Beer selection could have used some work but they had kiltlifter which is ususally a satisfactory beer choice in a pinch and definitly more drinkable than bud light... blegh.

Anyways I really had a great time over all and of course made some new friends and spent some time with old ones. Performances were awesome and I will most definitely see them again.

What a fun time! If you're into R&B and Jazz (in that order), then this is a great event to attend. Tickets can be a bit pricey, but considering you're seeing a lot of acts at an all-day event, it's not really that bad.

As I hinted at, this is primarily an R&B festival -- more than Jazz. Not a bad thing, just a slight naming discrepancy in a lot of folks' minds. India Arie was one of the headliners (2nd billing to Anthony Hamilton) on the night we attended. I liked India Arie before, but I LOVE her now. A truly amazing performance.

If you want to drink, bring cash. Also, this is a closed-off festival that doesn't allow you to bring your own food/drinks. It didn't affect me, but I did see some people with coolers waiting outside of the event for part of the day.

The Wigwam is a great resort to host the Jazz Festival too. Very courteous and professional staff. Great amenities that festival goers are able to take advantage of as well. Not sure of the room prices, but it might be fun to stay the night and catch more than one day of the event.

Overall, I had a great day at this festival. I wouldn't have thought to attend a Jazz Festival before, but I'd certainly consider returning for another one.

I averaged my rating based on Oct 2012 (5Star) and April 2013 (3.5 Star)

The Arizona Jazz Festival is one of the nicest/prettiest music festivals I've attended.  Normally, festivals are held in these huge fair grounds with dirty dust being kicked up everywhere.  But what is so wonderful and nice about the AZ Jazz festival is that it is held on the beautiful grounds of the Historic Wigwam Resort <a href="http://www.yelp.com/biz/the-wigwam-litchfield-park#hrid:-Yra83fScX6aPuKW8hLBSQ">http://www.yelp.com/biz/…</a>.  My review in this link tells you how I feel about the Wigwam.

As for the musical selection at this "jazz" festival, it is a common tongue in cheek comment  that this is not a real Jazz festival because the major draws to the event are "neo-soul" and "old school R&B/Soul" performers.  A fellow Yelper, Reese J, commented that the festival should be renamed "Arizona Soul Festival".   Nevertheless, the fun atmosphere and talented draws are certainly worth the money and time.

So for a little FYI:  This festival was previously held at the JW Marriott.  This festival is put on every 6 months in October and April.  I attended both the October 2012 and April 2013 events.  

My friends and I bought hotel packages for each event.  If you live locally and you live out in Mesa, consider it.  The convenience of running to the room at 4pm after sitting in the sun and heat to take a quick shower and change can't be beat.  As well as not having to drive an hour to get home.

As I stated, I attended Oct 2012 and April 2013.  In Oct 2012, the festival set the bar extremely high.  I sent them feedback and my only "needs improvement" comment was "get an after party".  Litchfield park has no night life.  Capitalize on that.  They didn't do any better on Friday night in April 2013.

The lineup in April '13 was far better than Oct '12.  But less Jazzy and more Soul.

So, in April 2013, all they had to do was maintain the BEAUTIFUL experience I had Oct '12, but they fell short.  here's where I was unhappy.

-The Will Call line
AWFUL on Friday night.  I missed the entire Will Downing Concert because of it.  Suggestions: Have lines based on last name.  A staff person in the hotel lobby during check-in hours of 3:30 - 5:30 to hand out tickets to hotel pkg people.  Separate Will call for VIP.  

-Drink Tickets!  ANOTHER unnecessary line.
Suggestions: Presale drink tickets online. And/OR Use a mobile app so folks can buy the tkts at their seats and get in line to buy drinks.

-OverCrowded!!
Suggestion: Reduce the Max Capacity.  Get a new, larger Venue.  In October 2012, people danced at their seats as there was more room.  Since we were packed in there, you didn't see that very much.  

-Entrance to Festival Area.  
lines were long and the VIP line was largely empty.
Suggestion: Run the entrance like the TSA does the security chk points at the airport.  The TSA person checking the boarding pass/ID of the 1st class passengers ALSO checks coach-class folks when there is no 1st class person is in line.  Apply that concept here too!  Anyone taking tickets should never be doing nothing (excuse the double negative) when you have a long line.

-Guarantee Event exclusivity
the resort members scheduled an event on top of this event.  I can say that many people felt there was some bias there.  I'll leave that comment there.

My experience in Oct 2012 was extremely pleasant.  I could not imagine a festival being done better.  Apr 2013 was just ok for me.  The AZ Jazz Fest has my support in Oct 2013.  I'm hoping they use a sensible cap this time.  But I'm not sure how I will support this event in Oct 2013.  I'll have to evaluate the pricing and then make my decision.

Update:
one thing I forgot to mention: They had more vendors this time around than in Oct 2012.  That may have contributed to the lack of space.  You may like it.  

I also didn't comment that every single act was amazing.  The shows almost always ran exactly on time and finished on time. I especially love that.