Red Line Jazz Festival

Performance Run Time: Approximately 2 hours, including intermission. Curated by Fareed Haque, acclaimed guitarist and Mandala Artist-in-Residence, the Red Line Jazz Festival is the culminating performance of the Red Line Jazz Project, a five-month public arts initiative showcasing live music and cultural programming at CTA Red Line stations and community spaces across Chicago. The festival features project artists Butter Chicken Brass Band, Luciano Antonio, The Windy City Ramblers, members of the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra, the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians, and the Mandala Dance Ensemble, led by Raji Venkat and Greer Hutchinson. Blending jazz improvisation, global musical influences, and dance, the performance celebrates Chicago’s rich cultural landscape and the communities connected by the Red Line corridor, from the North Side to the South Side, highlighting the city’s longstanding tradition of artistic innovation, cultural exchange, and community engagement. About Manda South Asian Performing Arts Mandala South Asian Performing Arts is an award-winning, Chicago-based nonprofit that preserves, presents, and reimagines South Asian performing arts within contemporary American civic and cultural life. Led by Founder and Artistic Director Pranita Nayar, Mandala creates community-rooted programs in music, dance, storytelling, and collaborative performance that foster cross-cultural exchange and make South Asian art forms accessible to broad public audiences. Now in its 11th season, Mandala centers the diverse voices of the South Asian diaspora through performances, educational initiatives, and public arts projects. The organization collaborates with transcultural artists, educators, and community partners across disciplines and communities to strengthen civic life, deepen community engagement, and advance artistic excellence.