The 6th annual LuluFest will take place at First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive, on April 1, 2023, from 6:30 to 9:30 PM. The evening will begin with guitarist Margaret Slovak, joined by lyrical Fort Worth bassist Paul Unger and the wonderful Austin drummer Mike Gordon, playing original music from Margaret's recent trio CD, "Ballad for Brad." The incredible pianist and vocalist Emily Gimble will perform the second set, joined by Michael Archer on bass and Jordan Cook on drums. The Estrella All-Star Band will perform the third and final set from 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm, featuring soprano sax extraordinaire Su Terry, coming to LuluFest from Ecuador. Su Terry will be joined by Suzi Stern on vocals, Peggy Stern on piano, Alex Coke on flute & tenor sax, Ryan Hagler on bass and Mike Gordon on drums.
The festival is modeled after the Ritenuto Foundation’s Wall Street Jazz Festival in Kingston, NY, which was an annual festival of women-led bands “where the traditions meet the progressives, and all the leaders are women,” and ran for 12 years. LuluFest expands on that idea to encompass not only jazz, but Latin and Western Swing, thereby broadening its appeal to the greater Austin audience.
This is not a women’s festival; on the contrary, most of the bands include men. The principle behind the festival is that the women leaders and their concepts of music are being presented here, thus distinguishing it from most other festivals in the country (and the world).
Presented by Ritenuto Foundation, Inc., a 501c3 Not For Profit Corporation
