The Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival, the area's longest-running outdoor jazz festival, is two nights each August. 2027 dates not yet announced.

Last checked Oct. 19, 2026. This page is updated each year. Facts come from Norfolk Festevents, which runs the festival.

The Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival is two nights of smooth jazz on the downtown waterfront each August, and Festevents calls it the area’s longest-running outdoor jazz festival. The 2027 dates had not been announced when this page was last checked. The 43rd festival ran Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22, 2026, moved indoors to Scope Arena because of the weather forecast. Watch festevents.org for next year’s dates and lineup.

The festival books some of the biggest names in international smooth jazz, the festival page says. It usually sells out: the 2025 page was marked “tickets are sold out.”

Who to call

  • Festival questions, lost and found, accessibility requests: Norfolk Festevents, 757-441-2345, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays
  • Tickets: tickets.festevents.org
  • Emergency: 911

The festival at a glance
Next dates 2027 not yet announced
Last year Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22, 2026
Hours 5 to 11 p.m. both nights
Usual venue Town Point Park, downtown Norfolk waterfront
2026 venue Scope Arena, 201 E. Brambleton Ave. (weather move)
Cost Ticketed; reserved seats and general admission
Tickets on sale January (Jan. 12 for the 2026 festival)
Organizer Norfolk Festevents

Past dates

Edition Dates Venue
41st Friday and Saturday, Aug. 16-17, 2024 Town Point Park
42nd Friday and Saturday, Aug. 22-23, 2025 Town Point Park (sold out)
43rd Friday and Saturday, Aug. 21-22, 2026 Scope Arena
44th 2027 not yet announced

Dates come from the Festevents pages for 2024, 2025 and 2026.

Tickets

Tickets are sold on the Festevents ticket site. For 2026, a presale opened Friday, Jan. 9, for email subscribers with a code, and general sales opened at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, the lineup page said. Sign up for the Festevents email newsletter on festevents.org to get the presale code. The ticket types for 2026:

  • Reserved seating: for one night, or a two-day ticket with the same seat both nights.
  • General admission: one night or both nights. Seating is first-come, first-served, and pop-up tents and umbrellas are not allowed.
  • “Week of” general admission: a separate general admission listing sold in the week of the festival.

Festevents did not list prices on its event pages; check the ticket site when sales open.

The 2026 move to Scope Arena

Festevents moved the 2026 festival from Town Point Park to Scope Arena because storms were forecast during setup, it said on the festival page. The indoor rules that year:

  • No personal wagons, chairs or coolers, and no outside food or drinks. Clear bags were not required, but all bags were searched.
  • Entrances: advance ticketholders used the Exhibition Hall entrance; will call and walk-up buyers used the Scope Box Office in the Scope parking garage.
  • Doors: 5 p.m. Friday and 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
  • Parking: the Scope garage at 201 E. Brambleton Ave., the Charlotte Street Garage at 253 E. Charlotte St. and the Bank Street Garage at 130 Bank St., at event rates.

Check the festival page in the week of the 2027 festival in case the weather forces another move.

At Town Point Park: rules and parking

When the festival is on the waterfront, Festevents’ park rules apply:

  • No outside alcohol, glass containers, tents, shade structures or large umbrellas.
  • No skates, skateboards or bicycles in the park.
  • Pets: service animals only, unless an event is posted as pet-friendly.
  • Alcohol: you must be 21 with a valid photo ID to buy or drink.
  • Accessibility: the park is fully accessible. Call 757-441-2345 ahead for special accommodations; special seating can be requested on the day from event security.

The closest garages to Town Point Park are the Waterside garage at Waterside Drive and Atlantic Avenue, the Town Point garage at West Main and Boush streets and the Main Street garage at West Main Street and Atlantic Avenue, Festevents’ directions page says. The Tide light rail and the Elizabeth River Ferry also serve downtown; see Hampton Roads Transit and our getting around guide.

More music in Norfolk

For year-round shows, see our live music and nightlife guide and things to do in Norfolk.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival 2027?

Norfolk Festevents had not announced 2027 dates when this page was last checked on Oct. 19, 2026. The festival runs on a Friday and Saturday in mid to late August; in 2026 it was Aug. 21-22.

Where is the Norfolk Waterfront Jazz Festival?

Normally at Town Point Park on the downtown waterfront. In 2026 Festevents moved it indoors to Scope Arena because of a storm forecast.

When do jazz festival tickets go on sale?

For 2026, a presale opened Friday, Jan. 9, and general sales opened at 10 a.m. Monday, Jan. 12, Festevents said. The 2025 festival sold out.

Can I bring a chair to the Norfolk jazz festival?

General admission seating at Town Point Park is first-come, first-served, and pop-up tents and umbrellas are not allowed. When the festival moved to Scope Arena in 2026, no wagons, chairs, coolers or outside food and drinks were allowed.