The 23rd annual Amelia Island Jazz Festival opens Sunday, Oct. 4, with a free community concert in Fernandina Beach. The eight-day event runs through Oct. 11 across multiple Amelia Island venues.

Artistic director Les DeMerle, who co-founded the nonprofit festival with vocalist Bonnie Eisele in 2001, said the lineup spans big band, smooth jazz, Latin, salsa, swing, New Orleans, Dixieland and Brazilian music. "We try to raise the bar each year," DeMerle told the Amelia Islander in a Sept. 9 interview at his Fernandina Beach home.

The week kicks off at noon Oct. 4 with "Jazz Party at the Rec," a free concert at the Atlantic Recreation Center, 2500 Atlantic Ave. The 21-piece UNF Jazz Ensemble II, directed by Dennis Marks, will play swing, bebop, funk and fusion. Beyond Horizons Food Truck will serve lunch on site.

Here is the day-by-day schedule:

Tuesday, Oct. 6. Jazz & Wine Tasting at The Decantery, 117 Centre St., downtown Fernandina Beach. Two seatings at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. featuring The Jazztet with Paul Tafoya on trumpet, Ajax McDonell on saxophone, Doug Matthews on piano, Eisele on vocals and DeMerle on drums and vocals.

Space is limited.

Wednesday, Oct. 7. Jump, Jive & Wail Swing Night at Sadler Ranch, 869 Sadler Road. The Dynamic Les DeMerle Little Big Band performs with special guest Bill Wharton, known as the "Sauce Boss."

Thursday, Oct. 8. Two events. Down Home Blues & Gumbo at Story & Song Center for Arts & Culture, 1430 Park Ave., where Wharton performs while cooking his gumbo on stage. Tickets include the gumbo, and a cash bar will be available. That same evening, VG Latin Band makes its festival debut at the Latin Jazz Concert & Dance at Sadler Ranch. DeMerle and Eisele said they saw the band perform in Orlando earlier in 2026.

Friday, Oct. 9. Headliner concert at the Courtyard Amelia Island/SpringHill Suites, 2700-2 Atlantic Ave. The Four Freshmen, the close-harmony vocal quartet founded in 1948, takes the stage after an opening set by The Les DeMerle Sound 67 Band. The current Four Freshmen lineup includes Bob Ferreira, Jake Baldwin, Chris Peters and Tommy Boynton.

Saturday, Oct. 10. Headliner concert at the same venue. Gunhild Carling, billed as "Sweden's Queen of Swing," headlines after The Les DeMerle Hittin' the Blue Notes Band. Carling is a multi-instrumentalist who plays trumpet, trombone, harmonica, flute, piano and bagpipes, and is known for playing three trumpets at once.

After both headliner nights, Late Nite Jam: Bebop, Blues & Beyond runs 10 p.m. to midnight at Dizzy's Den inside Mocama Beer Company, 629 S. 8th St. The jam is led by 2026 festival scholarship recipient Rory Ames, a jazz pianist at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts and a 2026 YoungArts honoree.

Sunday, Oct. 11. Dixie to Swing Jazz Brunch at the Courtyard Amelia Island/SpringHill Suites closes the festival with seatings at 10:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. The Spare Rib Six, a seven-member ensemble featuring Longineu Parsons, Bill Prince, Bill Hazlett, Mike Levine, Marks, DeMerle and Eisele, performs.

Ticket sales cover about 30 percent of the festival's expenses, according to DeMerle and Eisele. Sponsors fund the rest. The festival also runs Jazz in Schools and Jazz for Seniors educational programs and awards annual scholarships to young musicians.

Tickets are on sale now at ameliaislandjazzfestival.com. The free Jazz Party at the Rec on Oct. 4 requires no ticket.