Durham’s Art of Cool music festival expands to Charlotte

The Art of Cool Festival is expanding from its Bull City home to the Queen City.

The festival announced that it will present an edition of the festival in Charlotte Oct. 6 and 7, according to a Facebook post from Cicely Mitchell, co-founder of the festival.

Now in its fourth year, the Art of Cool Festival grew out of the Art of Cool Project, a nonprofit founded by trumpeter Al Strong and Cicely Mitchell in 2010.

The nonprofit organization was formed to give audiences venues where they could sit and hear jazz and related styles. In addition to the annual festival, the organization continues to present monthly concerts.

Artists who have performed at the annual festival include Maceo Parker, George Clinton, Thundercat, Terence Blanchard, Snarky Puppy and more.

While tickets running $65 and up could get you seats to watch artists such as Common, Rakim and Clinton at his year’s event, the festival also offered free concerts for those not willing or able to pay the price of admission. The result was a mix of locals and visitors looking to experience part of the downtown festival.

The next festival in Durham will be held April 27-29, 2018.

This story was originally published July 11, 2017 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Durham’s Art of Cool music festival expands to Charlotte."