This spring, Grammy-winning drummer, composer and former VCUarts music student Nate Smith was named the new artistic director of the Newport Jazz Festival. Smith is the third artist to hold the title in the festival’s storied 72-year history.
The annual event, held every summer in Newport, Rhode Island, is one of the longest-running and most influential jazz festivals in America. This year, the event will celebrate the centennial birthdays of Miles Davis and John Coltrane, whose appearances at Newport helped put both musicians and the festival on the map.
Smith will also perform at the festival on Saturday, Aug., 1, as will Richmond’s Butcher Brown, a jazz quintet featuring VCUarts music alumni and instructors. More than 50 other artists will perform throughout the weekend, including Herbie Hancock, Vulfpeck, Jonathan Batiste Trios, Thundercat, Gary Clark Jr., and Lake Street Dive.
In a recent Q&A with the New York Times, Smith talked about his own experiences playing at Newport, his expectations for the role, and how the field of jazz is changing.
“There is an enormous history and legacy to this festival and to the music itself. But I do think that as we see our masters aging, passing away, and as we have new masters sort of stepping in to take the mantle, grab the torch, there are going to be shifts,” he told the Times. “It makes sense that there’s a shift in the leadership, too, and people who are kind of helping to shape what the experiences are going to be for the fans and for the artists.”
Smith recently scored two Grammy Awards for his 2025 jazz album LIVE-ACTION. He was a graduate student in the VCUarts Music Department before leaving to join Dave Holland’s jazz band in 2003.
Photo credit: Tyler Scheerschmidt
