Live Music

Lindy Focus puts music first. Simply put, the best music creates the best dancing. We hold nothing back in bringing you quite literally the best swing music we believe is possible. It starts with the bandleaders, but continues with the individual musicians (each all-stars in their own right) and continues with meticulous song selections, transcriptions, and rehearsals. The commitment to produce the highest quality swing music is what makes Lindy Focus one of the most celebrated events worldwide.

Main Dances

As always, the focus here is in giving you five nights of historic big band music and modern classics, featuring tributes to the greatest bandleaders and arrangements of the era and today. In past years, each night has been dedicated to a specific classic bandleader: Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Chick Webb, Erskine Hawkins, and more. This year: each bandleader is selecting their own special theme to present each night. The members of The Lindy Focus Orchestra are hand-picked from around the World to join our one of a kind swing orchestra, providing you with 3 full sets of swingin’ classics the evenings of December 27th-31st.

This year’s music themes are:

• December 27: Michael Gamble Presents: The Swing Sounds of the Midwest

  • Bandleader Michael Gamble wants to explore styles and textures of Big Band swing that stand apart from LA & NYC, not antagonistically, but joyously. We will explore leaders and arrangers whose signature sound was sculpted in places like Kansas City, Alabama, Ohio, Memphis and Chicago, through such artists as Mary Lou Williams, Charlie Barnet, Jimmie Lunceford, Sy Oliver, Count Basie, Erskine Hawkins and more. Gamble believes that by highlighting these on the map, a diverse and freshly celebratory sound will emerge: come see if he's right!

• December 28: Laura Windley and Lucian Cobb Present; The Swinging Sound of the Southeast

  • A dive into the swing era Carolinas and branching out into other parts of the southeast, featuring famous and lesser known musicians, bandleaders, arrangers and songwriters with regional roots.

• December 29: Jonathan Stout Presents: The Music of The Earl Hines Orchestra

  • Almost 10 years in the making, we are incredibly pleased to announce the BRAND NEW transcriptions of the Earl Hines Orchestra. Our transcriber team is hard at work already listening to the old recordings and bringing these classic arrangements back to life. Team Hines rejoice!

• December 30: Keenan Mckenzie Presents: Modern Classics pt. 3

  • This has become one of our favorite recent traditions. After spending a week celebrating the greatest musicians of the past, it’s such a joy to celebrate the musicians on stage and the new music they are creating for swing dancers of today. This year Keenan is collecting a lot of brand new tunes to debut with this year’s orchestra, as well as bringing back some "Modern Classics classics” from years past.

• New Year's Eve: Jonathan Stout Presents: The Lindy Focus Orchestra

  • New Year's Eve is a time of remembrance and tradition. And it just wouldn't feel traditional at Lindy Focus without Jonathan Stout ringing in the new year. The host with the most, the biggest band yet, and the best party of the year all come together.

Late Nights Bands

These bands are still designed to create the atmosphere and sound of historical dance bands, but here we focus often on looser, smaller groups for a more intimate (if no-less-thrilling) set of shows.  Expect to see around 8 musicians on our late night stage, providing two amazing sets of live tunes during the wee late hours of December 27th-30th. (technically the wee early of the 28th-31st)

The Lindy Focus Late Night Bands are:

• December 27: Jonathan Stout Presents: The Music of Freddie Green

  • Freddie Green was the longest serving member of the Count Basie Orchestra, from 1937 until his death in 1987, and his name is literally synonymous with four-to-the-bar swing rhythm guitar. Freddie also wrote and arranged for the Basie band, but during his long career, he recorded only one album as a bandleader, 1955's "Mr. Rhythm," which featured his own compositions and arrangements. 

    Following a meetup with Michael Petterson, who maintains freddiegreen.org, Jonathan was given scans of the original charts from that session by Freddie's son (and biographer), Al Green. Padding out the night will be other notable compositions of Freddie's, as well as other notable small group tunes Freddie played on. 

• December 28: Michael Gamble Presents: The Music of Eddie Condon

  • A pioneer of the early “Chicago Style” of jazz in the 1920s, Eddie Condon’s is a central figure through much of swing history. After his time in Chicago, he moved to New York and was a mainstay in the NYC clubs for the next 50 years, even owning his own Jazz club. His discography includes a who’s who of collaborators, side-musicians, and chance encounters that led to some of the most iconic swing sounds of the era.

• December 29: Keenan Mckenzie and Mark Wells Present: The Swinging Hammond Organ

  • The Hammond Organ holds a special place in the history of 20th century music; a staple of many different musical styles, we are taking a ‘swing’ at bringing the Organ to Lindy Focus. Played by Fats Waller, Count Basie, Oscar Peterson and many many more, the Organ’s legacy in swing music is undeniable, and we can’t wait to bring it the late night stage.

• December 30: Chloe Feoranzo’s Trad-Jazz All Stars

  • Chloe Feoranzo, joy-Factory of the Lindy Focus orchestra, takes charge of the bandstand as the band gets to let loose on some traditional and early Jazz tunes.

Your Lindy Focus ‘26 Musicians

Coming SOON!