Metro Vancouver’s Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival features live music, art and both free and ticketed concerts. It also includes the Cool Blues Show.
In 2025 the festival runs from July 24th to 27th. The Cool Blues Show is part of the festival and takes place at Fort Langley Community Park on July 25th. It’s an awesome event!
For details about the festival, see below or visit the official Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival website.
COOL BLUES SHOW
The Cool Blues Show happens on Friday, July 25th in 2025. The event features great live music as well as food trucks, art installations and more at Fort Langley Community Park. This year’s event also offers a new Angry Otter Whisky Tasting Lounge.
Artists performing at the Cool Blues Show include Bywater Call, Jimmy D. Lane Band, Robert Connely Farr Duo, Brandon Isaak & his Saints of Swing, Steve Marriner & Local Electric, and Angelique Francis.
For more information about the festivities, visit the fortlangleyjazzfest.com website.
Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival 2025
In 2025 the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival runs from Thursday, July 24th, until Sunday, July 27th. The festival happens in Fort Langley which is a beautiful historic village.
The first event of the 2025 season was a fundraiser at Fort Langley Community Hall. The Cuban Jazz Dance Party Fundraiser took place at 7:00 pm on Friday, May 30th. It featured music with the Julio Avila Cuban Band, salsa dance lessons, and a silent auction (with proceeds supporting the festival in July).
This year, on July 13th and 20th there was the Youth Concert Series Showcase. It was a set of free performances by local jazz bands outside the Fort Langley Historic CNR Station leading up to the festival. There are more youth performances during the main event weekend of July 26th and 27th as well.
Click Fort Langley Jazz for the festival’s official website.
Events at the Main Festival
On the first day of the actual festival in 2025, so on Thursday, July 24th, there is the Big Band Concerts & Swing Dance at the Fort Langley Community Hall Ballroom. The day features two separate ticketed events.
The first is a concert with the Vancouver Legacy Jazz Orchestra between 1:00 and 3:00 pm. Tickets cost about $28 each. The second part of the event features a swing dance lesson from 7:00 to 8:00 pm, followed by a concert and dance session from 8:00 to 11:00 pm. Music in the evening is also by the Vancouver Legacy Jazz Orchestra, but with special guest vocalist Tom Arntzen. Tickets for the nighttime event cost about $39 each.
Then on the Friday (July 25th in 2025), there’s the Cool Blues Show at Fort Langley Community Park. It’s a ticketed event that starts at 4:00 pm. The one-day event also offers a beer garden, food trucks, market vendors, games and more. Tickets cost $70 in advance and $80 at the door.
At this year’s Cool Blues Show, there’s a new Angry Otter Whisky Tasting Lounge. Tickets are sold separately for about $28 each. Admission to the section includes a guided tasting flight of Canadian whiskies, plus a commemorative glass and more.
The headliners for the 2025 Cool Blues show are Bywater Call (a soul and rock band that’s one of the current Canadian breakout groups), Jimmy D. Lane (a member of the Chicago Blues Hall of Fame), Robert Connely Farr Duo (Maples Blues Awards nominees), Brandon Isaak & his Saints of Swing (multi-time JUNO award nominee), Steve Marriner & Local Electric (JUNO award winner), and Angelique Francis (who has played events across the globe).
Weekend Events at the Festival
Another ticketed event happening in 2025 is A Tribute to Aretha Franklin. It takes place from 8:00 to 11:00 pm on Saturday, July 26th, at the Fort Langley Community Hall Ballroom. The event features the music of Aretha Franklin performed by the Siobhan Walsh Group. Admission costs about $50 each.
The Mardi Gras Strolling Parade returns in 2025. There are also lots of free concerts to enjoy on outdoor stages throughout the weekend. You can expect to see activities for kids, market vendors, art workshops and more on the Saturday and Sunday.
The festival closes with the Jazz AWE event on Sunday, July 27th. It takes place at St. Andrew’s Chapel at 9025 Glover Road from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. It’s a Sunday church experience with a twist, as the event features live jazz with Darlene Cooper.
For tickets and full details, see the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival website.
Mardi Gras Strolling Parade Video
A tradition at the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival is the annual Mardi Gras Strolling Parade. In 2025 the event happens on Saturday, July 26th, at 9:00 am.
The following video of the parade was taken at the festival in 2020, so when it was scaled down due to COVID-19. It’ll give you a rough idea of what you can expect at this year’s event. It was a live march, but filmed in mid-August so it could be featured later as a virtual parade for 2020’s Jazz at Home event on the Labour Day Weekend. As you’ll see in the video, around 24 musicians and other characters in costume participated.
Art at the Festival
The Fort Langley Jazz and Arts Festival isn’t just a music festival. It’s also an arts festival. That means each year local artists showcase their work at the event.
In 2025 there is an Art & Culture Zone across the street from the Community Hall. It’s where you can find impressive artwork, craft activities, and various art-related workshops over the weekend.
Other Information
To learn more about the art displays and concerts, visit the fortlangleyjazzfest.com website or see our main article about the Fort Langley Jazz & Arts Festival.
To learn more about the area, see our articles about Fort Langley and the Fraser Valley.
Other articles that might be of interest include the following:
- Vancouver’s Shows & Entertainment Calendar
- Jazz in the Vine in Langley
- Lower Mainland Festivals & Events
- Vancouver International Jazz Festival
- Vancouver Events in July
