Five Points Jazz Festival to End, Replaced by Grants Program

Five Points Jazz Festival has been breathing music and joy into Denver's historic Five Points neighborhood since its inception in 2003. But last year's fest was its swan song — which only became apparent today with an announcement on November 21 that the annual event is being transformed from a one-day celebration into a year-round grants program.

Denver Arts & Venues made the announcement just weeks after Five Points Jazz boardmember David Froman unveiled the 2025 launch of a new annual happening, Denver Jazz Fest. But the latter will have a strong focus on nationally prominent jazz acts, whereas Five Points Jazz was very much a Denver-centric affair.

"While I've been aware that changes were underway at Denver Arts & Venues regarding the Five Points Jazz Festival for some time, it's more of a coincidence that Denver Jazz Fest is starting now," Froman says of the synchronicity. "The planning of Denver Jazz Fest has been in the works for nearly two years."

It's not yet clear what the new grants program — dubbed the Five Points Jazz Activation Fund — will look like, other than having "a year-round emphasis on arts and culture represented by jazz in Five Points" and being "a way to invest more significantly in jazz artists and enliven the neighborhood in a more consistent manner," according to Denver Arts & Venues Executive Director Gretchen Hollrah.

The Five Points Jazz Activation Fund will begin accepting grant applications in early 2025. Jazz-supporting businesses, nonprofits and creatives will vie for a slice of the annual $225,000 fund.

In decades past, jazz giants such as Miles Davis, Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington made Five Points a touring destination. That stewardship of that legacy now seems vague, with Denver City Council member Darrell Watson saying, "This program gives us a chance to recognize the past with an eye on the neighborhood's future."

How Five Points Jazz Festival might have failed at that mission enough to be canceled was not fully explained by Denver Arts & Venues, other than a reference to "changing neighborhood needs" and "rising event expenses."