Monterey Jazz Festival rebounds: 69th edition follows two deficit years with stronger sales
The Sept. 25-27 festival at the Monterey County Fairgrounds arrived with ticket sales ahead of last year's pace and donations up, after IRS filings showed deficits of nearly $466,000 in 2023 and more than $733,000 in 2024.
The 69th Monterey Jazz Festival took over the Monterey County Fairgrounds Sept. 25-27, arriving with the clearest signs yet of a financial turnaround for the nonprofit behind the world's longest continuously running jazz festival.
By mid-September, ticket sales were already ahead of last year's pace, and donations were running above the totals of the previous several years, managing director Bobbie Young told the Monterey County Weekly. "Last year we were rebuilding, this year we're doing great," Young said. "We are seeing a growth in donations, in our ticket sales, a growth in interest and on social media."
The rebound follows a difficult stretch. After the festival moved online in 2020 during the pandemic, it returned to the fairgrounds in 2021 to a sellout, posting a record $1.8 million surplus, with another surplus of $277,500 in 2022. Then came two deficit years: nearly $466,000 in the red in 2023 and more than $733,000 in 2024, according to IRS records cited by the Weekly. The deficits coincided with a leadership transition, as longtime artistic director Tim Jackson retired in 2023 and his successor, Darin Atwater, exited in late 2024.
The 2026 lineup was assembled by producer Jason Olaine, who also programs Jazz at Lincoln Center, working with adviser Gerald Clayton and Young. Trumpeter and composer Ambrose Akinmusire served as artist-in-residence, and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello premiered her festival commission, "America 250." Highlights included Herbie Hancock and Ron Carter reuniting as a duo for the centennial of Miles Davis's birth, Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Christone "Kingfish" Ingram, Charles Lloyd and Ravi Coltrane. In a characteristically Monterey pairing, author Amy Tan joined 23-year-old pianist Joey Alexander for a reading from Tan's "The Backyard Bird Chronicles."
Founded in 1958 by disc jockey Jimmy Lyons and critic Ralph Gleason, the festival has presented nearly 3,000 performances across its 69 years. The Garden Stage now carries Jackson's name; he led the festival as general manager and artistic director from 1992 to 2023. The 70th edition is scheduled for 2027, with new arena seating planned with support from Montage Health.
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