All-women night headlines P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival

P.E.I.'s Catherine MacLellan, Halifax's Reeny Smith and Toronto's The Beaches will take charge of the stage for an all-women Saturday night show at this year's TD P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival.

"Festivals should be sensitive to the gender bias that exists when planning their program. This special evening featuring women who are the best in artistic talent is simply about featuring the best of artistic talent who happen to be women!" said festival chair Jim Power in a news release.

The festival will feature 140 musicians, including an afternoon of Indigenous art, music and culture on the Sunday. The Indigenous culture presentation is set to become an annual event.

Grahame Rhodes was announced at the Doug Riley artist, an annual award for a P.E.I. musician named after the keyboard player known as Dr. Music who chose the Island as his home.

The 15th anniversary of the TD P.E.I. Jazz and Blues Festival will run at venues around Charlottetown, with the main stage at Confederation Landing, from June 27-30.

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