More Than Music: The Stowe Jazz Festival

Two sisters play catch on the lawn. 

A dog greets a circle of strangers as though they’ve known each other for years. 

A family unrolls a blanket, and friends who haven’t seen each other in months stop to catch up.  

Visitors wander up from the bike path.  

Over it all, a trumpet finds its way into the late-summer air. 

This is the Stowe Jazz Festival. 

From August 14–16, the festival will bring 35 performances to 11 venues throughout Stowe, including an outdoor Main Stage where world-class musicians perform against a backdrop of Vermont mountains and late-summer skies. 

What makes the festival remarkable isn’t just the music. It’s that everyone is invited. 

There are no tickets. No cover charges. No parking fees. 

Now entering its 10th year, founded and led by the indefatigable George Petit, the Stowe Jazz Festival has become a beloved Vermont tradition by creating something that feels increasingly rare: a gathering place open to all. 

For three days, music spills into restaurants, streets, parks, and public spaces. People arrive for a performance and stay for the day. Neighbors meet neighbors. Visitors discover a community. 

The music may be world-class, but the atmosphere is unmistakably Vermont. 

At the Vermont Community Foundation, we believe thriving communities are built in countless ways. Through schools and housing. Through local news and civic institutions. And through the moments when people gather, share an experience, and feel connected to one another and the place they call home. 

The Stowe Jazz Festival does that beautifully. As George says, “We’re in the business of joy.” 

The Stowe Jazz Festival reminds us that community isn’t only built in meeting rooms or town halls. Sometimes it takes shape on a summer lawn. 

Sometimes connection begins with a conversation. 

Sometimes it begins with a song. 

We’re proud to support the Stowe Jazz Festival and the connections it helps create across Vermont. 

Learn more at stowejazzfestival.org.