Jazz Road Tours

Jazz Road Tours is sponsored by South Arts. Grants supporting jazz artists through touring and residencies to engage communities and advance careers.

Jazz Road Tours | South Arts See All Grants & Opportunities Detailed Program Description Jazz Road Tours supports three- to six-site tours at an array of venue types, often in rural communities and other areas traditionally underserved by the genre.

This artist-centric grant program—designed to support approximately 50 tours each year—is made possible with funds from the Doris Duke Foundation with additional support from the Mellon Foundation. Artists may apply for grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000 to cover eligible expenses. This may include $2,500 for various non-musician personnel as outlined in the eligibility section below.

Note : Grant funds are taxable. Grantees must comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws when reporting grant income. Important Dates & Deadlines Check back for upcoming grant cycles.

While preparing your Jazz Road Tours Grant application, please refer to the following guidelines. Providing jazz artists financial assistance for performances/tours that increases their ability to earn income by connecting with a variety of communities in traditional and non-traditional venues Giving artists business development tools to advance their careers beyond subsidies and grants.

The goals are rooted in equitable pay and artist-centric programming as core values. South Arts believes that artists should receive fair pay for their time, work, and expertise, and that allowing artists (as opposed to venues/agents) to control engagements offers a unique level of creative autonomy and ownership; these goals are discussed below as well as in the Supplemental Questions document uploaded with this application.

Key components of Jazz Road Tours An artist may apply for a three-to-six site tour comprised of connected (contiguous) dates at an array of venue types anywhere in the U. S and its territories.

Jazz Road believes that through a logical route of tour dates, the artists will experience the continuity and momentum of repeat engagements, solidify developing music, and establish band identity/sound through working with the same personnel over the course of the tour.

Jazz Road also will prioritize applications that include engagements in rural areas or that reach typically underserved communities, especially those that lack opportunities to present live jazz. Applicants that make a compelling case for how the tour will impact their careers in new ways are more competitive.

Eligibility Please note that previous Jazz Road Tours grantees are only able to reapply for tours with a funding deadline that take place at least one year from the previous grant's project end date ( please see the FAQ for an example ). A key Jazz Road Tours objective is to award a large and diverse pool of artists across the U.S. for new tour experiences.

Only individual artists (as an individual, an artist-led nonprofit organization, or an artist-led corporation) may apply to this program.

An eligible artist is: A professional jazz artist, working solo or working with a composer-led or collective jazz ensemble which consists of 2-10 musicians; Age 18 or over and not currently a full-time student; Based in the U.S. or its territories, and is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident (non-residents may participate in a tour, but not be paid with Jazz Road Tours funds) Eligible tour routing will span three to six sites on contiguous dates.

Funds are for artists to stay on the road and not return home. Funds are not for one-offs. Flexibility is possible around three-day spreads in between dates, or to avoid shows on Monday/Tuesday (slow evenings), if the band remains on the road.

The tour must reach three to six sites, and either cover a total distance of at least 250 miles or more or reach at least one site which is 250 miles from the applicant’s home base. Tours must occur within the designated dates for each grant cycle. Eligible tour dates must take place in the U.S. or its territories.

Tours can be within one state, cross state-lines, and/or travel to multiple regions. The tour request can be for a portion of a larger tour, so long as all dates are in the U.S. or its territories. Engagements must be for public performances.

Shows can require admissions, suggested door amounts, or be free. Engagements can be for multiple nights so long as at least three separate venues are included in the application. All presenters—regardless of size or financial contribution to the tour—are expected to make significant efforts in promotion and/or create other opportunities to attract new audiences and fill rooms.

Performance fees: the equitable amount the artist/ensemble will normally charge for a touring engagement fee such as the one planned. Fees for a road/sound/tour manager can be included. Backline equipment for artists which the presenter is not providing.

In addition, up to $2,500 may be used for non-musician personnel to support artists on tour.

This may include but are not limited to: Audio and/or video personnel Eligible venues include but are not limited to: Nonprofit and commercial established jazz presenters and clubs Performing arts centers, theaters, and concert halls Universities, colleges, and institutions of higher education Local arts agencies/councils Radio station live segments Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship Listening rooms and libraries Retail and civic/municipal events If you have an idea for a venue not listed above, please contact the Regional Arts Organization in your area .

Budget The application includes a Tour Budget Summary which requires the applicant to total all eligible artist fee’s & expenses. Please upload a PDF of your tour budget for the shows you are seeking funding for. You may use your own or use the template found on our Resources and FAQ page.

Applications for Jazz Road Tours will be reviewed by panels comprised of experts in the jazz field from across the U.S. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: Artistic excellence & merit of the applicant and or ensemble, as demonstrated by work samples. Quality and clarity of overall artist-presenter planning as evidenced in the Tour Summary.

Impact of tour on artist/ensemble’s professional and/or artistic development at this time; (What would this tour mean to you?)

Variety of organizations/venues involved (type, size, geographic areas served); The tour’s ability to engage new jazz listeners through touring in underserved, rural, and isolated areas or in collaboration with venues newer to jazz programming; Evidence of the capacity to carry out the project including potential dates, appropriate budget, and community and/or presenting partners. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

South Arts contracts with the applicant artist or his/her business entity on behalf of his/her ensemble. The applicant must provide government-required documentation showing his/her U.S. citizenship or Permanent Resident status. Grant funds are taxable income; grantees must comply with all applicable city, state, and federal laws, ordinances, codes, and regulations affecting the project.

The grantee is solely responsible for the management of the tour and disbursement and reporting of the grant income. Grant award letters will include the Jazz Road payment process and schedule. All grant applications must be submitted online using the Salesforce system.

We recommend that you visit the site early to create your account and become familiar with the system. Have a question about the guidelines or priorities above, or need assistance to resources to help assemble a tour/application? It may be addressed in our Jazz Road Resources and FAQ section.

Where are Jazz Road artists heading next? Catch a live performance from these talented jazz artists. Where have Jazz Road artists been?

Look through the recent history of Jazz Road Tours to see where artists have toured their work. Thank You to Our Sponsors For further information about any of the Jazz Road initiatives, contact Drew Tucker.