It’s an evening of great, live music and fun, friendly competition as seven area high school jazz bands compete for the chance to open for RiverJazz headliners.

Following four preliminary rounds, seven area high school jazz bands have advanced to the finals of the 2017 SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Showcase presented by King, Spry, Herman, Freund & Faul, LLC.

On the line this year is the chance to open for the 2017 headliners at ArtsQuest’s RiverJazz festival at SteelStacks. The showcase’s first-place winners will open for Dirty Dozen Brass Band May 26, 8 p.m., the Musikfest Café, while the runners-up will open for the Cherry Poppin’ Daddies May 23, 7:30 p.m., in the Café. The showcase and its finals will also be featured in an hour-long television special April 1, 8 p.m., on 69-WFMZ-TV.

The 2017 SteelStacks High School Jazz Band Show case featured a record 20 high school bands from Pennsylvania and New Jersey performing in preliminary rounds Feb. 12 and 19.

The complete list of bands advancing to the finals is:

Bernards High School Jazz Band – Bernards, N.J.
North Penn High School Columbia Jazz Band – Lansdale, Pa.
North Penn High School Navy Jazz Band – Lansdale, Pa.
Upper Moreland High School – Willow Grove, Pa.
Easton Area High School – Easton, Pa.
Kutztown High School – Kutztown, Pa.
Quakertown Community High School – Quakertown, Pa.

During the finals, each band will perform a 20-minute set before a live audience and the judges. The event will also include the official awards presentation for the competition’s top soloists and sections. While the judges will announce each band’s rating during the finals, both students and audience will have to tune in to the WFMZ television special to discover who the overall winner is.

The Finals are Sunday, March 19, starting at 4 p.m. at Musikfest Café, ArtsQuest Center at SteelStacks, 101 Founders Way, Bethlehem, PA 18015

Tickets can be purchased by clicking here