DAY 2 Emerging Artist Festival feat. Ulysses Owens Jr. and Gen. Y
November 8
Saturday, November 8, 11:00 – 5:00 PM, Student Performances & Free Clinic (4 PM) with Ulysses Owens Jr. (details TBA): VJC teams up with area schools to feature additional student groups from area high schools and colleges. Daytime activities will culminate in a no-cost clinic offered by three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer Ulysses Owens Jr. to area youth and older aficionados. This year, we’re thrilled to feature student groups from Vermont Academy, PVPA Charter School, Northfield Mt. Hermon School, the Putney School, Amherst College, UMass Amherst, and the Emily Margaret Ensemble.
Saturday, November 8 at 7:30 PM: Headliner Concert Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y Ensemble
Three-time GRAMMY™ Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader Ulysses Owens Jr. is a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation” (New York Times). He is one of the most dynamic and multifaceted artists of his generation. As a multifaceted artist, Owens is equally at home behind the drum set, directing large ensembles, authoring acclaimed educational books, and building community through the arts.
Cost:
Friday and Saturday Daytime Events: Free
Saturday Evening Concert: $25+
Saturday, November 8, 7:30 PM Concert with Ulysses Owens Jr. & Generation Y Band:
Three-time Grammy Award-winning drummer, composer, and bandleader Ulysses Owens Jr. is a drummer who “take[s] a back seat to no one,” and “a musician who balances excitement gracefully and shines with innovation” (New York Times). As a multifaceted artist, Owens is equally at home behind the drum set, directing large ensembles, authoring acclaimed educational books, and building community through the arts.
Owens has appeared on multiple Grammy Award-winning recordings with Kurt Elling and the Christian McBride Big Band, and received his third Grammy in 2023 for his work with Steven Feifke, Bijon Watson, and the Generation Gap Jazz Orchestra. As a bandleader, his acclaimed albums Songs of Freedom, Soul Conversations, and A New Beat have received honors from Rolling Stone, DownBeat, and Jazziz, with A New Beat topping the JazzWeek charts for eight weeks in 2024.
He is the founder and drummer of the Ulysses Owens Jr. Big Band (named DownBeat’s 2022 Rising Star Big Band) and Generation Y, a group of emerging artists who recently toured globally and gained viral attention for their Nirvana cover “Heart-Shaped Box,” reaching over five million views.
A respected educator, Owens serves on the jazz faculty at The Juilliard School and is the inaugural jazz drum instructor for Drumeo’s global platform. He has published three books on jazz drumming and career development, and regularly contributes to DownBeat, JazzTimes, and The New York Times. He is also the Artistic Director of “Don’t Miss a Beat,” a nonprofit organization using the arts to empower youth in his hometown of Jacksonville, Florida.
For this performance, Owens leads his Generation Y ensemble. Like the legendary drummer, Art Blakey, Owens pays close attention to the leading young artists of our time and asks them to join his powerful ensemble. For this performance he will be joined by Anthony Hervey on trumpet (performed at VJC with Endea Owens), Erena Terakubo on alto saxophone (Mingus Big Band, Kenny Barron Quartet), Liya Grigoryan on piano (Thelonious Monk Competition finalist) and Guillermo Lopez on bass (first prize winner of the Scott LaFaro Prize at the 2025 International Society of Bassists).
—The New York Times
