City will be jumpin' all weekend to P.E.I. Jazz & Blues Festival

The process of transforming downtown Charlottetown into P.E.I.'s largest jazz and blues venue began Wednesday with the erection of a giant white tent on Queen Street that will host several major concerts as part of this weekend's fifth annual TD Canada Trust P.E.I. Jazz & Blues Festival.
Over the next four days, the tent, one of three festival venues in the city, will host a number of evening concerts, the first of which gets underway tonight with Ian Toms, this year's Doug Riley Artist, and Quebec jazz trio The Lost Fingers.
This year's tent will be larger than those used in previous years and will have enhanced audio-visual capabilities. And in the event the evenings prove chilly the tent will also be equipped with heating equipment.
The joint should be jumpin' all weekend.
Friday night's lineup for the tent features the critically acclaimed jazz ensemble Fieldtrip and blues/rock legend David Wilcox. That show starts at 7:30.
Saturday night in the tent audiences will be treated to the hot jazz of Gypsophilia and the Creole gumbo of Zydeco, funk, R&B, blues, and rock 'n' roll served by multiple Grammy nominee Buckwheat Zydeco.
The tent will also host afternoon performances on Saturday by P.E.I.'s Teresa Doyle and by Native Gumbo, an ensemble comprised of First Nations drum ensemble Mi'kmaq Thunder and four of Atlantic Canada's top jazz artists.
Respected jazz artist Skip Beckwith has composed new music especially for this performance.
The Teresa Doyle and Native Gumbo shows are both free.
Sunday afternoon, the tent will play host to the Charlottetown Festival All Stars, a group comprised of the stars of Anne of Green Gables, Stan Rogers - A Matter of Heart, Disco Cirque and other hit festival shows who've been wowing audiences all summer long on the weekly Late Night at Mavor's stage.
Those slated to perform include Julain Molnar, Kristen Peace, Catherine O'Brien, Tiffany Deriveau, Janet MacEwan, Terry Hatty, Joey Kitson, John Connolly, Sean Hauk and Craig Fair, backed up by a killer band of late-night regulars.
There are two other festival venues in Charlottetown and one in Summerside. Confederation Court Mall played host Wednesday to the East Wiltshire/Charlottetown Rural Combo and today will present the Queen Charlotte Jazz Ensemble.
City Stages Fresh Jazz moves to the mall on Friday.
The Seaport Centre on the Charlottetown waterfront will be used Friday and Saturday for shows and workshops.
Harmonica wizard Carlos del Junco will present a workshop there Friday afternoon and perform there Friday night.
Master jazz guitarist Ted Quinlan will present a workshop Saturday at 6 p.m.
Joey Kitson and Sam Moon will play a show late Saturday night.
St. Paul's Church will be used for a show by acclaimed jazz vocalist Emilie-Claire Barlow today.
Legendary horn player and band leader Guido Basso will play at the church Friday, while the Ted Quinlan Trio will be there Saturday. Those shows all start at 6 p.m.
Summerside will be incorporated into the festival Sunday when the Morgan Davis Quartet plays the Jubilee Theatre.
Festival patrons in Charlottetown are encouraged to park in the Queens, Pownal and Fitzroy parkades. These downtown parking garages are within walking distance of festival venues and offer free parking on weekends.