Monroeville Jazz fest to feature 4 acts

Going strong for more than 15 years, the Monroeville Jazz Festival returns this month with four jazz acts, food trucks, craft beer and wine at the Tall Trees Amphitheater for the 17th annual gig.

The free festival, sponsored by the Monroeville Foundation, kicks off at 2:30 p.m. Aug. 17 at Monroeville Community Park West.

The Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra (PJO) will headline the festival, hitting the stage from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

PJO’s mission, according to its website, “is to celebrate Pittsburgh’s rich jazz history in the here and now by uniting local jazz musicians to perform the broad scope of jazz styles in the orchestral format.”

The festival will feature local food trucks, beer from Pittsburgh’s Full Pint Brewing Company and wine from the Strip District’s R Wine Cellar. The event’s MC will be WESA’s Bob Studebaker.

Here’s the festival’s full lineup:

• Kind of Blue: 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. The band is a group of young Pittsburgh jazz musicians playing originals.

• Steeltown Horns featuring Lyndsey Smith: 4 to 5. The eight-piece band plays instrumental funk jazz. Vocalist Lyndsey Smith will join Reggie Watkins on trombone, Rick Matt on saxophone and JD Chaisson on trumpet — the band’s touring horn section.

• Benny Benack Band: 5:30 to 6:30. The band plays jazz, swing, big band and Dixieland.

• Pittsburgh Jazz Orchestra: 7 to 8:30.

For more information, visit the event website at MonroevilleJazz.org.