The Charles River Jazz Festival is making a big move, taking the festival from Herter Park Amphitheater in Allston where it has run for five years to the Hatch Memorial Shell on the Esplanade.

It’s also growing, adding a second stage, expanding youth programming and bringing in more food and beverage vendors. The community-oriented festival is produced by the Boston Jazz Foundation and focuses on gathering folks for a free cultural experience. Now it has an even larger platform to reach Bostonians.

Seba Molnar, Boston saxophonist and artistic director of the Boston Jazz Foundation and the Charles River Jazz Festival, founded the event in 2021 to rebuild community in the wake of the pandemic. The festival provides free access to music and culture for audiences and an equitably paid opportunity for musicians. Last year more than 5,000 people attended.

“Moving to the Hatch Shell is a huge moment for the Charles River Jazz Festival,” Molnar said. “This festival began as a grassroots effort to bring people together around music, community and shared responsibility. To see it grow into a free festival on one of Boston’s most visible stages feels both surreal and deeply meaningful.”

Jazz, hip-hop and funk fusion band Ghost-Note and Haitian American vocalist Tyreek McDole are the headliners of the 2026 festival. Audiences will also hear Zahili Zamora, BT ALC Big Band, Roella Oloro, Molnar himself and others.

Having more space will allow the festival to expand programming as well. The Next Gen Stage, located near the Hatch Shell, will focus on emerging Boston talent and young musicians studying at Berklee College of Music, the New England Conservatory and other regional institutions.

A local food court will offer a range of options, including Vietnamese, Nepalese, Haitian and other cuisine with more than 10 small businesses total. Attendees can also order alcoholic beverages and toast to the summer in the on-site beer garden.

This year’s festival takes place on Aug. 8 from noon to 8:30 p.m. at the Hatch Shell on the Esplanade. General admission is free; VIP ticket experiences and sponsorships are available.

For Molnar, this festival is more than just an opportunity to enjoy music. It’s an example of the power that organizing and the arts can have on a community.

He says, “It shows what can happen when artists, neighbors, volunteers, sponsors and audiences invest in one another.”

ON THE WEB

Learn more about the festival at bostonjazzfoundation.org/crjf