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April 17, 2025

Contact: Kerry Francis, Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, 614-908-5834

Columbus Recreation and Parks Department Announces Jazz & Rib Fest Headliners for 2025

COLUMBUS - The premier event of the summer is coming back to downtown Columbus! Columbus Recreation and Parks Department is proud to announce the headliners for the department’s Jazz & Rib Fest, which will be held July 18-20. This will be the 44^th year for Jazz & Rib Fest, which is Columbus’ most anticipated free summer festival.

“We have a great lineup for Jazz & Rib Fest this year,” said Bernita A. Reese, M.S., CPRP, director of Columbus Recreation and Parks Department. “This is such a special event for so many residents of Columbus and beyond. We are thrilled to be able to host this festival which draws hundreds of thousands of people to downtown Columbus to enjoy hot ribs and cool jazz.” 

Headliners:

Friday, July 18

• West Bank Park Stage: Kenny Lattimore at 8 p.m.
• Bicentennial Park: Lizz Wright at 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 19

• West Bank Park Stage: Boney James: Slow Burn Tour at 8 p.m.
• Bicentennial Park: The Baylor Project at 7:30 p.m.

Sunday, July 20

• West Bank Park Stage: Mavis Staples at 6 p.m.
• Bicentennial Park: Cimafunk at 5:30 p.m.

A total of 30 bands will perform across four stages over the three days of Jazz & Rib Fest. Check out the full lineup. Bicentennial Park Stage is presented by Ohio Lottery.

New for 2025:

Jazz & Rib Fest will now offer shaded dining on each bridge featuring live street performers every day! The four shaded dining areas throughout the festival will all be close to a stage or have live music throughout the day. These will include the ABC 6 Fan Zone, the Champion Dining Tent on the Rich Street Bridge, the Main Street Bridge Dining Tent and Bicentennial Park Fountain Seating.

Food and Beverage Options:

In addition to some fabulous music, it is impossible to have Jazz & Rib Fest without delicious ribs! This year, Jazz & Rib Fest will have 20 top-notch BBQ vendors for residents to try.

The BBQ vendors are: After Hours Barbeque, Armadillo's BBQ, Austin's Texas Lightning, Big Show BBQ, Blazin’ Bronco BBQ, Buck ‘Em BBQ, Carolina Catering, Carolina Rib King, Chicago BBQ Company, Cowboys BBQ & Rib Co, Fat Boy Q, GIT-R-SMOKED, Holy BBQ, Johnson's BBQ, Mojo's Famous BBQ, Off The Bone BBQ, Pigfoot BBQ, Smitty’s BBQ & Catering, Texas Outlaw BBQ and The Smoqehouse.

There will be plenty of alternatives to BBQ at Jazz & Rib Fest, including vegetarian and vegan options. Food vendors include: 614 Fully Loaded, Bubblegum Concessions, Flavor 91 Bistro, Fork in Nigeria, Giuseppes Concessions, Honey Child Pops, Juniors Sweetpotato Pie, Komodo Loco, Long's Concessions, Seivers Concessions, Shrimp Lips Seafood, Snow Sisters, Snowie Shaved Ice, Sofi’s Mini Donuts, Taesty's, Tortilla Street Food and Turtle Island.

You can’t miss out on the great beverages at Jazz & Rib Fest! Beverages for 2025 include Miller Lite, Coors Light, Blue Moon Belgian White and Leinenkugel’s Summer Shandy. Cocktails and seltzer include Sun Cruiser Vodka Iced Tea, Sun Cruiser Vodka Lemonade and Vizzy Strawberry Kiwi Hard Seltzer. Pepsi products are also available, including Pepsi, Diet Pepsi, Mountain Dew, Starry, Gatorade and Aquafina.

Learn more about the food vendors and beverage vendors for Jazz & Rib Fest.

Visit HotRibsCoolJazz.org for the newly-released complete lineup for Jazz & Rib Fest. Jazz & Rib Fest will be held from 11 a.m.-10 p.m. on July 18-19 and from 11 a.m.-8 p.m. on July 20.

To learn more about Columbus Recreation and Parks Department, visit ColumbusRecParks.com.