Hey Bartender

When we arrived at Maymont Park, the threat of rain was imminent. Just like last year, there were two stages and by the time we found a cozy spot near the Verizon stage, the rain had already begun to fall. This did not deter us or the hundreds of others who had made the trek to Maymont Park to spend the day listening to real jazz music. As the rain continued to fall, we realized that we had chosen the wrong stage, so we packed our gear and headed further into the park to find the area where the Dominion stage was located. During our walk to the Dominion stage, the rain began to dissipate. Once we settled in to our new spot, the rain stopped, the sky had cleared, and the temperature for the rest of the day was delightfully comfortable.

One of the most interesting features of the Maymont Jazz festival was that you could not only bring lawn chairs and blankets, but you could also bring a cooler. I don't have to tell you how nice it is to be able to bring your own food and beverages to this kind of event. I'm sure that I don't have to tell you how rare an occurrence this is either. I'm not a fan of lugging coolers around with me when I'm at a concert, so it was convenient that the sponsors of the event provided quite a bit of space for vendors. The food that was available in the Bistro area looked rather delicious and I suspect that there were very few who could not find something that they liked. I was pretty fond of the rum cake and this really refreshing treat called Soul Ice. For those who needed adult beverages, there was a very limited offering of beers from Loveland Distributing and wines from Altria.

As I walked around the grounds of Maymont, I spoke with quite a few people. Jazz fans love to talk about the music. The thing that struck me most was the distances that people had traveled to attend this year's festival. I spoke with someone who had driven from New York City. There were also people there from North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Atlanta, GA. My mom drove down from Wilmington, DE because she wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to see Aaron Neville perform.

While walking passed one of the wine vendors, it suddenly occurred to me that someone had really dropped the ball with respect to the choices of adult beverages. It was obvious that Altria and Loveland were huge sponsors. Their logos were on the banners for the event. The two beers that were available were the same two that are at every event that Loveland is involved with: Miller Lite and Blue Moon. The wines that were available came from the Altria catalog: 14 Hands and Chateau St. Michelle.

Wouldn't it have been awesome if wines and beers from Virginia had been available as well? Everyone who drinks wine and beer has seen the names that I mentioned above. Every store that sells these types of products always has those brands available whether you're from Delaware, Georgia, or Timbuktu. But how cool would it have been to have the people from those far away places rave about the awesome Virginia wines and beers that they enjoyed at the jazz festival?

Imagine that instead of 14 Hands Merlot, we had the option of enjoying one of the great red wines from Barboursville Vineyards or Breaux Vineyards. One of my favorite performances of the day was the sexy sultry sounds of vocalist Chrisette Michele. I'd have much rather have enjoyed her music with a glass or two of Thibault-Janisson sparkling wine made just west of Richmond in the Monticello Appellation.

Choosing mass-marketed beers is always the safe choice, but Richmond has one of the best breweries in the state and it's located just east of the site of the festival -- Legend Brewing Company. I'd choose their Hefeweizen over Blue Moon one billion times out of one billion. Their other offerings are also just as delicious. Starr Hill, located in Crozet, VA also has a number of fine brews that would hold their own against any of the mass-marketed beers that were available at the festival.

I really had a great time at this years jazz festival. The music was first rate and Maymont Park is the perfect venue to host this type event. My only disappointment was that the sponsors' grip on the beer and wine selections kept visitors to our area from experiencing the best that we have to offer. Jazz fans are sophisticated enough and discerning enough to be able to appreciate the craft beers and artisan wines that are produced throughout the state. Hopefully next year we'll see Saint Georges, Legend, Williamsburg AleWerks, Dominion, Starr Hill, Linden Vineyards, Fabbioli Wines, Fox Meadow Winery, Williamsburg Winery, Veritas Vineyards, or any of the many wineries and breweries located in the state of Virginia. It would help enhance the great memories provided by events such as the Maymont Jazz Festival.

So, there you have it, the Richmond Jazz Festival at Maymont -- unwrapped!! If you are a jazz fan and you weren't there, then you missed a great weekend. Richmond hosted some of the best that the jazz world has to offer: Christian McBride, Jonathan Butler, Maysa, The Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, and many, many more. It was a great opportunity for jazz lovers to enjoy something rarely seen in these parts. Hopefully, next year, we can pair it with some great Virginia wines and beers. Until next time...prosit!!!