PHOTOS: Massive crowds get a taste of Lewiston at Northwest Jazz Festival

The Northwest Jazz Festival welcomed one of its largest audiences of all time over the weekend, as patrons enjoyed hot weather and even hotter musicians.

The largest outdoor jazz festival in Western New York returned to Center Street in Lewiston to celebrate the “Great American Songbook” on the Main Stage, and some of the most acclaimed regional artists on a series of side stages.

On Friday evening, the celebration started with the Pete Malinverni Trio for a set, then a pairing of Malinverni with emerging jazz vocalist star Anaïs Reno and renowned jazz guitarist Peter Bernstein. On Saturday, Jazz at the Ballroom, one of the nation’s foremost organizations sustaining the legacy of the “Great American Songbook,” offered an all-star ensemble presenting programs including “Get Out of Town,” “Flying High” and “Accentuate the Positive.”

In addition to the rocking roster of performers, many of Lewiston’s restaurants were represented with food tents, seating and samplings from their menus. The Jazz Fest also had a jewelry market on South Fifth Street.

PHOTOS:

Anaïs Reno and her talented band of all-stars headlined the main stage on Friday night. (Photo by Joshua Maloni)

Center Street was jam-packed on Friday night at the Northwest Jazz Festival in historic Lewiston. (Photo by Joshua Maloni)

“Accentuate The Positive” on Saturday night. (Photo by Wayne Peters)

Northwest Jazz Festival Board Chairwoman Carol Calato presents longtime Jazz Festival volunteer Jeff Jordan with the Jazz Festival Ambassador Award. (Photo by Wayne Peters)

This year’s Northwest Jazz Festival sponsors. (Photo by Wayne Peters)

Around the Jazz Festival