"Every genre that is born from America has Black roots associated with it, from rock 'n' roll to blues to disco. The fingerprints of Black creators are all over what makes American music so unique."

Sidney Madden of NPR

Legacy Music Festival

Legacy Music Festival

The Legacy Music Festival (LMF) gives Black musicians based in the Chattanooga area a platform for their music, as too many gifted Black performers have voiced that they are rarely hired to perform at local events. With this festival we aim to demonstrate the diversity of musical talents that exist in our community from classical to reggae, rock and hiphop, soul, R&B, gospel, country, and more.

As the Chattanooga Festival of Black Arts & Ideas celebrates the extraordinary contributions of today's artists of African descent, it is vital that we look back and pay tribute to those artists who revolutionized Black music in America and beyond. For this reason, we ask that all musical acts that perform for the festival play music by those musicians in their genre that paved the way. From the African drummers whose beats formed the bases of American music rhythms, to the rock and rolling of Sister Rosetta Tharpe and Little Richard, the influence of Black music can be heard just about anywhere you listen.

Festival Schedule

Legacy Music Festival – Tribute to the Harlem Cultural Festival, “Summer of Soul”

June 18, 2022

Various Days

Legacy Music Festival – Tribute to the Harlem Cultural Festival, “Summer of Soul”

Join your community at Miller Park for an outdoor screening of “Summer of Soul”, an incredible documentary about The Harlem Cultural Festival of 1969. Local musicians will pay homage to artists that performed at the event such as Nina Simone, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson and others.

3rd Annual Black Dads Matter Father’s Day Gospel Jazz Brunch

June 19, 2022

Various Days

3rd Annual Black Dads Matter Father’s Day Gospel Jazz Brunch

Celebrate the dads in your life with delicious food, fun, jazz, and joy. This event crescendos with the awarding of the Extraordinary Father of The Year Award.