Get in the groove with a flurry of outdoor summer music festivals to close out July

Jazz, blues, folk and even modern American classical sounds just keep blasting in the open air in July.

The weekend of July 26-28 in particular offers a nearly infinite variety of sounds at half a dozen established Connecticut festivals from the Black-Eyed & Bluesfest in Hartford to the Litchfield Jazz Festival in Washington and folk, rock and jams throughout the state.

There is also two weeks of music at the Charles Ives Music Festival as aspiring musicians get the opportunity to perform side-by-side with world class artists at multiple venues in Fairfield County.

But first, don’t miss the music in Bushnell Park ending Sunday at the Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz.

Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz

The 2024 Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz blares its last notes on Sunday in Bushnell Park. The lineup of the weekend-long festival’s final day opens with a 10 a.m. jazz mass at Christ Church Cathedral, then moves to Bushnell Park for sets by Hall High Jazz Band and Sherman Irby at 12:30 p.m., Matt Dwonszyk at 2:30 p.m., a short “Art Frm Da Hart” dance from Studio 860 at 4:15 p.m., Jon Coffe’ at 4:30 p.m., an all-star tribute to the late jazz drummer Ralph Peterson at 6:30 p.m. and a concluding set by the famed jazz/funk act The BlackByrds at 8:30 p.m. hartfordjazz.org .

Black-Eyed & Bluesfest

The music doesn’t stop there. The following weekend at Bushnell Park there is the annual Black-Eyed & Bluesfest presented by Black-Eyed Sally’s. The festival starts indoors at the Black-Eyed Sally’s restaurant on Asylum Street on July 26 with Italian blues guitarist Roberto Morbioli at 7 p.m. and Boston blues legend Toni Lynn Washington and her band at 8:15 p.m.; admission is free.

On July 27 at Bushnell Park Pavilion, there is a full day of free music starting with Blue Devil Bluez at 2 p.m. and continuing with the Georgia-born longtime Hartford institution XY Eli at 3 p.m., the Bruce Katz Band at 4 p.m., the nine–piece jump/swing/blues/soul ensemble Knickerbocker All Stars at 5:30 p.m. and Southern-styled blues-rock guitarist Jeff Pitchell and his band Texas Flood closing out the Black-Eyed & Bluesfest at 7:15 p.m.

Food and beverages from Black-Eyed Sally’s are available in the park. blackeyedsallys.com .

Litchfield Jazz Festival

From July 26-28, contemporary jazz sounds waft through the bucolic town of Washington at the Litchfield Jazz Festival.

The opening night gala on July 26 at 5:45 p.m. benefits Litchfield Jazz Camp scholarships. It’s followed at 7:45 p.m. with a concert by saxophonist Alexa Tarantino and her quartet.

The July 27 lineup includes the Amina Figarova Sextet paired with two dozen young Liberian vocalists in the Matsiko Orphan Choir at 3 p.m.; the trio of bassist Ben Allison, guitarist Steve Cardenas and saxophonist Ted Nash at 4:45 p.m.; and the Bill Charlap Trio at 6:30 p.m.

The Litchfield Jazz Festival ends on July 28 with the traditional Jazz Brunch featuring saxophonist Albert Rivera, vocalist Nicole Zuraitis, drummer Dan Pugach, bassist Matt Dwonszyk and guitarist Paul Bollenback. litchfieldjazzfest.com .

Jam at the Dam

The two-day country music Jam at the Dam festival happens July 26 and 27 at Z-topia, 1545 Monroe Turnpike in Monroe. Performers include Tyler Hubbard, Gavin DeGraw, Chase Wright, Brooke Lee, Taylor Austin Dye and Karley Scott Collins. Weekend ticket packages range from $103.22 to $204.59. Friday admission is $44.52 to $81.88, and Saturday is $71.21 to $135.23. There are food trucks and wine and beer garden. jamatthedam.com .

Falcon Ridge Folk Festival

The Falcon Ridge Folk Festival, July 26-28 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. at the Goshen Fairgrounds, features more performers than we can possibly list here. There are dozens of acts, some of whom artfully challenge the unusual definition of “folk,” like the Cajun/Creole artists The Bunkhouse Boys and the rocking folkies Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Among the others are Adam Ezra Group, Annie & the Hedonists, The Ebony Hillbillies, Eileen Ivers, The Gaslight Tinkers, Narissa & Katryna Nields, Richie Furay and Vance Gilbert. Many of them are performing on more than one day.

Traditions include the Thursday Night Music Stage, the Grassy Hill Emerging Artist Showcase and the Most Wanted Song Swap. Single day tickets are $65 and a three-day festival ticket is $175. There is separate pricing for those who are camping during the festival ($150, $130 for children), well as for students, seniors and military. falconridgefolk.com .

Savin Rock Festival

The Savin Rock Festival is a two-day affair July 26 from 5 to 10 p.m. and July 27 from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. at Old Grove Park in West Haven. The entertainment on Friday night includes the cover band Cover Girl at 6 p.m. and the tribute act Foreigner Journey Experience at 8 p.m.

Saturday brings two bands from the Rock House School of Music (Echo Box and MeltDown) at 2:30 p.m., the Allman Brothers tribute Faster Things at 4 p.m., the cover band Cover Girl at 6 p.m., cover band The Navels at 6 p.m. and Connecticut’s own “American Idol” winner Nick Fradiani at 8 p.m. There are also amusement park-type rides and much more. cityofwesthaven.com .

Charles Ives Music Festival

The festival action moves indoors, and to a very different style of music, for the two-week Charles Ives Music Festival at a variety of venues in Fairfield County.

Ives, who died in 1954, was an internationally renowned American modernist composer who was born in Danbury, went to Yale and was a church organist in Connecticut when he began achieving fame as a composer. His influence on modern composers is immeasurable, and the festival demonstrates that by marking the 150th anniversary of his birth with a theme of “His Living Legacy.” The concerts are each given a heading that shows the range of modern classical composition.

The festival starts with a concert labeled “American”: Violinist Julia Choi and pianist Mika Sasaki playing works by Ives, Alex Weiser, Amy Beach, George Gershwin, Samuel Barber and John Corigliano on July 28 at 4 p.m. at Lounsbury House in Ridgefield.

A “Spiritual” concert happens on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. at Keeler Tavern Museum and History Center in Ridgefield with flutist Katie Althen-Velázquez, violinists Jeremías Sergiani-Velázquez and George Meyer, violist Jacob Shack, cellist Mitch Lyon and featured cello soloist Francesca McNeeley performing works by Michael Ippolito, Augusta Read Thomas, Alexandra Bryant, Adolphus Hailstork, Chris Beroes-Haigis and of course Ives.

There is an “Evening of Chamber Music” on Aug. 2 at 7 p.m. in Ives Concert Hall at White Hall in Danbury with some of the festival artists and faculty.

The next concert titled “Infinite” is Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. at MoCA CT in Westport with a series of classical ensembles playing pieces by Reena Esmail, Takashi Yoshimatsu, Jon Cziner, Maurice Ravel and yes, Ives.

The festival’s Chamber and Orchestra performance is Aug. 8 at 7 p.m. in the Visual & Performing Arts Center’s Hagman Hall in Danbury, featuring works by Barber, Tchaikovsky, Edward Elgar and 2024 CIMF Concerto Competition winner Lucas Tejada.

The final Charles Ives Music Festival concert, Aug. 10 at 7 p.m., is titled “Trailblazing” and has mezzo-soprano Kara Dugan, pianist Peter Dugan and violinist Charles Yang playing Dvorak, Mendelssohn, Ives, Paul Frucht, Duke Ellington, Maria Schneider and others.

Most of the concerts are free. Tickets to the “American” concert are $30 and tickets to the “Infinite” concert are $40, with discounts for students and seniors. charlesivesmusicfestival.org .