Inaugural Jazz Festival Featuring Live Jazz Throughout Door County

Week-Long Festival Brings Live Jazz Programming in Door County  August 4th-9th with Performances from Sister Bay to Sturgeon Bay.

Sturgeon Bay, Wis. (July 31, 2025) – The inaugural Door County Jazz Festival will feature live Jazz music throughout the Door County Peninsula during the prime Wisconsin Summertime, from August 4th-9th, 2025. Launching with an impressive roster of performances at its inception, the first-year festival is timed to the full moon in August with an appropriate theme of “Celebrating Centennial Stars Under the Sturgeon Moon,” as festival artists honor the Centennials of legendary Jazz artists Oscar Peterson, June Christy and Cal Tjader. The year 2025 holds special significance as the date also coincides with the centennial celebration of the late George Wein, who founded and produced the Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island, one of the world’s most iconic celebrations of jazz. 

“It’s been a dream to bring the Door County Jazz Festival to life. Over the years, I’ve enjoyed going to the Newport, Monterey and Umbria Jazz Festivals, and each one uniquely demonstrated how destination music festivals offer such a rewarding experience. That’s what’s perfect about Door County,” said Producer and Artist Staci Griesbach. 

Griesbach continued, “I remember waving at George Wein as he rode in the golf cart through the audience at Newport’s Fort Adams Park, marveling at how his vision had set the stage for so many incredibly memorable moments in music history. The fact that this inaugural year lines up with what would have been George Wein’s 100th birthday is a sign that there’s a little bit of magic in the air.” 

The festival mostly coincides with Door County’s popular “Concerts in the Park” series, featuring free music in the park where patrons can bring their picnic, lawn chair or blanket, and curl up with some great music. The Festival has teamed up with community business organizations and collaborators including the Ephraim Business Council, the Gibraltar Historical Association, Visit Fish Creek, the Sister Bay Advancement Association, Björklunden, the Birch Creek Music 

Performance Center and Destination Sturgeon Bay to create a community-based festival inclusive of a wide swath of Door County’s popular landscape and local charm. 

The 2025 festival also features collaborations with top music education institutions, including UW-Madison Mead Witter School of Music, UWGB’s Sharon J. Resch Institute of Music, the Milwaukee Jazz Institute, Lawrence University’s Conservatory of Music and UW-Stevens Point. 

“Door County is one of the most beautiful places on earth, and it has a long tradition of artistic culture. A Jazz festival there is a perfect fit,” said Mark Davis, Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Milwaukee Jazz Institute. 

The Door County Jazz Festival is made possible by the support of The Door County Jazz Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)(3) entity designed to fundraise and develop programming which celebrates and creates a Cultural Arts movement in Door County focused on community building for and creating cultural arts opportunities. The Door County Jazz Festival is also supported by top sponsors including Green Bay Packers Give Back, Associated Bank, Renards Artisan Cheese and Lautenbach’s Orchard Country Winery & Market. Additional community sponsors include Door County Medical Center, Door County Candle Company, McGranahan & Stawsky Ltd., The DöRR Hotel, Tadych’s Marketplace, Simple Life Rentals, Heid Music, True North Real Estate, and Sand Bay Beach Resort & Suites. 

For more information, visit www.doorcountyjazzfestival.com and sign up for the email list or follow on social media @doorcountyjazzfestival for updates throughout festival week.