Django Festival Allstars

Members who give $500+ annually receive 10% off concert tickets.

2023 Concert Series sponsored by

Imagine a stage filled with five contemporary Reinhardt descendants, and you’ll get a sense that the collective talent pool on the bandstand is larger than the Arc de Triomphe.

—Wall Street Journal

A crowd favorite and the hardest-swinging group at the Newport Jazz Festival.

—DownBeat

Buoyant rhythm, blinding technique . . . solid entertainment.

—New York Times

Django Reinhardt’s unmistakable cool and jumping joie de vivre have made him an icon for a list of luminaries, including guitar greats Carlos Santana and Eric Clapton. Jimi Hendrix named his Band of Gypsys in tribute to Reinhardt, and Willie Nelson adopted his influence in playing country swing.

The star musicians of the Django Festival Allstars have grown into a brilliantly cohesive group that has performed at top concert halls and festivals to standing ovations. The group’s music transports listeners to Paris in the 1920s and ’30s, when gitane music filled the air and Django was king. The Django Festival Allstars bring Reinhardt’s music into the 21^st century, honoring traditions and standards while adding their own interpretations, arrangements, and original compositions.

Samson Schmitt—lead guitar

Pierre Blanchard—violin

Ludovic Beier—accordion and accordina

Antonio Licusati—bass

Michael Harris—rhythm guitar