'An Injustice to LA'
John Legend and Janelle Monae were among the dozens of artists booked to play the citywide, weeks-long event until it was canceled Friday, hours before its opening ceremony
The inaugural LA Jazz Festival, scheduled to start this weekend in Los Angeles and featuring concerts by John Legend, Janelle Monae, and Parliament-Funkadelic, was canceled at the last minute Friday.
The festival was first announced in February at a press conference attended by Mayor Karen Bass, with organizers — including founder and former city council member Martin Ludlow — anticipating 250,000 attendees for the citywide, weeks-long event.
The LA Jazz Festival also booked performances by Big Freedia, Raphael Saadiq, the Free Nationals, Terrace Martin, and Charlie Wilson, and was slated to start Friday with an opening ceremony featuring Lalah Hathaway and others. However, hours before it was to start, organizers announced they were pulling the plug on the festival.
