Dear Outpost Friends,

It is with great sadness that, due to the coronavirus pandemic, and for the sake of everybody’s health and safety, we are announcing the cancellation of Outpost’s 2020 summer season which includes the 15th Annual New Mexico Jazz Festival (scheduled for July 7-27 (as well as our 25th Annual Summer Thursday Jazz Nights series, scheduled for June 18-August 20), our in-person educational programs, and so on. We remained hopeful that we might be able to present some of our summer season, but, as with other arts organizations and festivals worldwide, it just could not be. First and foremost here at Outpost, our concern is to do what we can to keep you— our patrons, artists, staff, volunteers and so on— SAFE! We aim to do that by following social distancing guidelines, which, although they may be relaxed somewhat in the coming weeks and months, will not allow for any large gatherings nor international travel, which are both integral to a successful festival and our programming in general.

We were truly excited to be celebrating what would have been our 15th Annual NM Jazz Festival this year with an incredible line-up of artists – from The Count Basie Orchestra featuring Lizz Wright to Chick Corea & The Spanish Heart Band with special guest Rubén Blades (who I have wanted to present for years!), to the great Bobby McFerrin, Tower of Power, Terri Lyne Carrington’s Social Science, Charlie Musselwhite Band, Pedrito Martinez and so much more! We are hoping to be able reschedule many of these artists when we are able to open again. We don’t know when that will be and of course will have to wait until we all have more clarity about how we can move forward, but what is most important to us now and in to the future is everyone’s health and safety.

Here’s the good news though! The fact that we have reached such milestones as the 15th Annual NM Jazz Festival and 25 years of our Summer Thursday Jazz Nights, is pretty awesome, right?! It is testament to how strong and committed the Outpost community is, to your continued enthusiasm and excitement for what we present, and to your generous and steadfast support! We are as strong as our community, and we think the Outpost community is among the strongest there is! We will miss you tremendously this summer, but will continue to look forward to when we can meet again and share great music together.

Yes, we are all very disappointed! We have looked forward the amazing talent and energy that we have been able to present at the New Mexico Jazz Festival for the past 14 years now, along with all the great performances by some of New Mexico’s finest jazz musicians at our Summer Thursday Jazz Nights, our summer Jazz & Latin Music classes, etc.! We can’t wait until we can hit the downbeat again, but rest assured that we will stay connected and that we are working on bringing you some virtual programming this summer so we can all continue to enjoy great music. We will keep you posted! Meanwhile, please stay safe, stay healthy and stay connected!

The Outpost Team!

The Outpost