Summer Kick-Off: Atlanta Jazz Festival!

In the United States, Memorial Day represents the unofficial start of summer. And in Atlanta, Memorial Day weekend means Jazz Festival!

The Atlanta Jazz Festival is easily among my Top 5 things I love about Atlanta. There's no better way to kick off the summer than by spending time outdoors grooving to good music.

This is my third year in a row attending Jazz Festival (at least that I can remember). It's a summer date night staple for Danny and I. This year I actually went twice—Friday and Sunday nights!

On Friday night I enjoyed a Ladies Night with my girls Dafnie and Yoldine. We got to Piedmont Park a little after 7pm armed with a picnic blanket and snacks.

As Friday is the first day of the festival, the crowd was light. So the three of us were able to get a good spot on the grass, close to the main stage.

The Pedrito Martinez Group was on stage, and they rocked their performance!

The group even invited some of the ladies in the crowd to join them on stage. Unfortunately, because of festival security, only a handful were allowed to go on for the last song.

The highlight of the night was the festival's Friday Night Headliner: The Robert Glasper Experiment.

Danny and I really enjoy the Robert Glasper Experiment's music. We discovered the 2012 album, Black Radio, and have been listening to the music ever since. Dafnie and Yoldine are big fans of the music as well, so the three of us were hype to be able to see the group LIVE!

Song Favorites include Ah, Yeah; Cherish the Day; and Afro Blue.

(Unfortunately Danny had to miss out because he was working, but the three of us ladies thoroughly enjoyed our ladies' night, as evidenced by our giggles below).

But the 40th Atlanta Jazz Festival weekend didn't end there! Ms. I-try-to-say-goodbye-and-I-choke was there on Saturday night (that's right, Macy Gray!) among other great Saturday performers.

After a long morning on Sunday, Danny and I finally headed out to enjoy the last of the festival's festivities together around 5:30 Sunday evening. We took a Lyft to avoid having to find parking.

We took our time walking around before settling down by the Legend's Main Stage.

Sunday evening was far more crowded than Friday night. I was actually a little surprised by the turn out considering it had rained earlier in the day.

Thankfully the ground was not still damp when we finally put our blanket down.

As per usual we had our snacks ready!

After we got settled, Danny found a group of kids throwing a football and immediately joined them.

As the sun began to set we settled in to listen to the smooth sounds of The Ojeda Penn Experience with Jean Carne and Freddy Cole. Whiffs of incense carried on the wind. People stood up from time to time to sway to the music. Groups of all colors and sizes surrounded us.