The Arts Council of York County has postponed its fall Blues & Jazz Festival. In 2025 the Old Town crawl filled nine Rock Hill venues on Oct. 3.

Last checked Oct. 12, 2026. Updated each year. Facts on this page come from the Arts Council of York County’s Blues & Jazz Festival page. Arts Council box office: 803-328-2787.

The Blues & Jazz Festival is the Arts Council of York County’s annual fall celebration of “the roots of modern music”: a free kickoff concert, then two nights of bands in the restaurants, bars and courtyards of downtown Fort Mill and Old Town Rock Hill. The 2025 festival was the 21st, produced by Bobby Plair Jr.

The 2026 festival has been postponed. The Arts Council’s festival page says “The Blues & Jazz Festival has been postponed. Watch this space for updates.” No new dates have been posted. We will update this page when they are.

Blues & Jazz Festival at a glance

  • 2026: postponed; no new dates yet
  • Last held: Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, 2025
  • The big night: the Old Town Crawl, 7 to 10 p.m., nine Old Town venues on one wristband
  • Tickets: Arts Council festival page, 803-328-2787, or the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St.
  • Organizer: Arts Council of York County

How the festival worked in 2025

The Arts Council ran three events:

Event When Where Cost
Kickoff concert (Groove Masters) Saturday, Sept. 27, 2 to 5 p.m. FARMacy Community Farmstop Free
Downtown Crawl Thursday, Oct. 2, 7 to 10 p.m. Downtown Fort Mill Ticket
Old Town Crawl Friday, Oct. 3, 7 to 10 p.m. Old Town Rock Hill Ticket

The kickoff was weather permitting, with limited seating; the Arts Council suggested lawn chairs and blankets and sent drivers to park at the Emmett Scott Community Center, 801 Crawford Road. Both crawls were rain or shine.

The Old Town Crawl

The Rock Hill night spreads across Caldwell Street, East Main Street, East White Street and Southern Street. The box office was in the side yard of the Tom S. Gettys Center, 201 E. Main St. The 2025 lineup, from the Arts Council’s page:

Band Venue Address
Matt Walsh Rock Taco 122 E. Main St.
MonaLisa Musiq Rock Hill Coffee 139 E. Main St.
Plair, with Judith Porter Jazz opening The Gathering Space 135 E. Main St.
Mellogroove Caldwell Courtyard entrances from 147 and 153 E. Main St. and Caldwell Street
Weekends Tom S. Gettys Center Courtroom 201 E. Main St.
Mike Faulkenberry Blues Project Rock Hill Brewing 121 Caldwell St.
JazzGroupProject The Flipside Restaurant (7 to 9 p.m.) 129 Caldwell St.
Jimmy Jay “The Blues Thriller” Rogers The Mercantile 153 E. White St.
Bowman-Hill Experience Hoppin’ 110 Southern St.

The Fort Mill Downtown Crawl

The Thursday crawl covers Academy Street, Clebourne Street, Main Street and Tom Hall Street in downtown Fort Mill, about seven miles north of Rock Hill. In 2025 the box office was in front of the old Kimbrell’s at 232 Main St., and five venues had bands: LOOM Co-Working, Gallery & Event Space, 120 Academy St.; Amor Artis, 204 Main St.; Olive’s Mud Puddle, 229 Main St.; Luca Studio & Gallery, 105 Clebourne St.; and Untamed Waters, 415 Tom Hall St.

Tickets

The Arts Council sells crawl tickets through the Get Tickets links on its festival page, by phone at 803-328-2787 and in person at the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St. Buyers who pay ahead collect a wristband at the venues; the wristband is what the door staff check. The Arts Council has not posted prices for a 2026 festival.

What to know

  • Volunteers work the box office and venue doors in shifts from 5:30 p.m. In 2025 each got a festival T-shirt and a wristband good for both crawl nights. Sign-up runs through the festival page.
  • Parking for the crawls is not listed by the Arts Council. In Old Town, see the parking notes in our Old Town Rock Hill guide.
  • More music: the Come-See-Me Festival’s Moonlight Jazz & Blues night at Winthrop Lake each April, and our live music and nightlife guide for the rest of the year.

For everything else on the calendar, see things to do in Rock Hill and things to do this month.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Rock Hill Blues & Jazz Festival in 2026?

The Arts Council of York County says the festival has been postponed and will post updates on its Blues & Jazz page. No new dates have been announced.

What is the Old Town Crawl?

It is the festival’s Rock Hill night: bands play from 7 to 10 p.m. in restaurants, bars and courtyards across Old Town, and one wristband gets you into all of them. In 2025 it was Friday, Oct. 3, at nine venues.

How do I get Blues & Jazz Festival tickets?

Online through the Arts Council’s festival page, by phone at 803-328-2787 or in person at the Center for the Arts, 121 E. Main St. On crawl night there is a box office at the Tom S. Gettys Center, 201 E. Main St.

Does the Blues & Jazz Festival happen if it rains?

The crawls are rain or shine. The free outdoor kickoff is weather permitting.