Hyde Park Jazz Festival

What Hyde Park Jazz Festival does

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization founded in 2007 that produces an annual free jazz festival on Chicago's South Side, alongside year-round community programs. Its flagship event is held over two days each September across more than a dozen venues in the Hyde Park neighborhood — including outdoor stages on Midway Plaisance, the Logan Center for the Arts, Rockefeller Memorial Chapel, the DuSable Black History Museum, and the Smart Museum of Art — delivering 35+ programs and drawing 15,000–20,000 attendees per year. Programming features local Chicago jazz musicians alongside national and international artists, with a curated emphasis on jazz rooted in the Black American experience and the South Side's jazz heritage. The festival also operates year-round sub-programs: the Artist Corps Fellowship (paid performance opportunities on the South and West sides, launched 2022 with Walder Foundation support), Jazz Postcards (pop-up neighborhood performances), Jazz Kitchen (food-and-jazz conversation series), Back Alley Jazz (community alley performances), and a Commissions Program for new works.

The organization is governed by a Board of Directors and operates with a small paid staff of approximately 5–7 people under Artistic and Executive Director Kate Dumbleton (in role since 2012), supplemented by 200+ volunteers. Its revenue model is donation- and grant-based, not commercial: the festival is free to attend with a suggested $10 donation, and operating support is drawn from individual donations, private foundations (Reva & David Logan, Walder, MacArthur, Pritzker Traubert, Oppenheimer, Harper Court Arts Council), government arts grants (NEA, Illinois Arts Council, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Events), and corporate sponsorship (Hyde Park Bank, University of Chicago Medical Center). In 2025, individual donations exceeded $40,000 — an all-time high and roughly 30% above 2024. The festival is co-produced with the Hyde Park Jazz Society and operates without app, API, or proprietary technology products; its digital presence is a standard Squarespace website with conventional email, social, and earned-media outreach.

Name

Hyde Park Jazz Festival

Legal name

Hyde Park Jazz Festival

Website

https://hydeparkjazzfestival.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that produces a free annual jazz festival across 12+ venues in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood each September, supplemented by year-round programs including the Artist Corps Fellowship, Jazz Postcards, Back Alley Jazz, Jazz Kitchen, and a Commissions Program, supported by foundations, government grants, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Live Music Festival

NAICS

Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71), Musical Groups and Artists (711130)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG)

Keywords

• Jazz festival production
• Live music events
• Arts nonprofit programming
• Community cultural events
• Musician commissioning services

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: The festival receives donations from individual supporters and community members. Press coverage notes donations totaled more than $40,000 in 2025, increasing by roughly 30 percent over 2024 and hitting an all-time high.
2. Foundation Grants: The festival receives funding from private foundations including Reva & David Logan Foundation, Walder Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Harper Court Arts Council, Pritzker Traubert Foundation, Oppenheimer Family Foundation, and others.
3. Government Funding: The festival receives government grants from National Endowment for the Arts, Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Events, Illinois Arts Council, and University of Chicago Medical Center.
4. Corporate Sponsorship: Support from corporate entities including Hyde Park Bank and other sponsors listed on the Sponsors page.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that produces a free annual two-day jazz festival across multiple venues in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood, featuring local, national, and international jazz artists. Beyond the flagship September festival, it operates year-round programming including the Artist Corps Fellowship (paid performance opportunities), Jazz Postcards (pop-up neighborhood performances), Back Alley Jazz (community street performances), Jazz Kitchen (conversation series), and a Commissions program supporting new jazz works.

Product overview

The Hyde Park Jazz Festival is a nonprofit arts organization presenting an annual free jazz festival as its core product, supplemented by year-round programs including the Artist Corps Fellowship (summer concert series), Jazz Postcards (pop-up performances), Jazz Kitchen (conversation series), Back Alley Jazz (community performances), and a Commissions Program supporting new jazz works. The organization operates as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Artist Corps: A fellowship program that brings paid performance opportunities to musicians on the South and West sides of Chicago, with curators producing free summer concert series.
• Jazz Postcards
• Jazz Kitchen
• Back Alley Jazz
• Commissions

Products and services

• Hyde Park Jazz Festival (Annual Festival)
• Artist Corps Fellowship
• Jazz Postcards

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,000-20,000 annual attendees
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of Chicago Office of Civic EngagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvided early support when cultural leaders convened in 2006. Stepped up to assist the grassroots effort to create the inaugural festival in 2007. Continues as a key supporter and venue partner (Logan Center for the Arts).
• Hyde Park Jazz SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity group that co-convened with cultural leaders in 2006 to create the annual event. Festival is co-produced with the Hyde Park Jazz Society.
• Logan Center for the ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Chicago venue that serves as a primary location for festival performances, including indoor concerts, the penthouse performance room, and screening room.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DC Jazz Festival: Annual multi-venue jazz festival in Washington D.C. presented by a nonprofit. Similar model of free/affordable ticketing, foundation funding, year-round education programs, and community engagement.
• SFJAZZ: San Francisco-based nonprofit jazz presenting organization running a major jazz festival and year-round programming. Comparable as a nonprofit presenting jazz artists with foundation support, though at significantly larger scale.
• Monterey Jazz Festival: One of the longest-running jazz festivals in the world, organized by a nonprofit with foundation and donor funding. Comparable as a multi-day jazz festival with a strong artistic reputation and similar funding approach.
• Detroit Jazz Festival: Free, nonprofit-led jazz festival in Detroit with deep community roots, multiple venues, and a similar foundation/donor funding model. Comparable in scale, mission, and free-event structure to Hyde Park Jazz Festival.
• Newport Jazz Festival: Iconic American jazz festival with a nonprofit presenter (Festival Productions Inc./Newport Festivals Foundation). Comparable as an established, foundation-supported jazz festival with national brand recognition.
• Cleveland Jazz Orchestra: Nonprofit jazz organization presenting concerts and educational programming in Cleveland. Comparable as a community-rooted nonprofit presenting jazz performances with foundation and donor support.
• Winter Jazz Festival: Annual multi-venue jazz festival in New York City. Comparable as a multi-day, multi-venue jazz festival with foundation/corporate sponsorship and a curated programming approach.
• Chicago Jazz Festival: Chicago's other major free jazz festival, also nonprofit-presented and held annually in Millennium Park. Directly comparable in city, format (free multi-venue festival), and audience overlap with Hyde Park Jazz Festival.

Broad incumbents

• Jazz at Lincoln Center: Much larger national nonprofit jazz organization presenting concerts, festivals, and education. Comparable mission and programming but operates at national scale with significantly larger budget and institutional footprint.
• North Sea Jazz Festival: One of the world's largest indoor jazz festivals held in Rotterdam. Comparable genre and multi-venue festival format but operates at much larger commercial scale with paid ticketing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/hydeparkjazzfestival
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hyde-park-jazz-festival

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles21 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hyde Park Jazz Festival