Thank you, Cincinnati Music Festival

With the current state of the pandemic, the organizers of the Cincinnati Music Festival decided it was best to postpone the festival until July of 2022. But for Joe Santangelo, who has worked as the festival’s promoter since it began in 1962 as the Ohio Valley Jazz Festival, the safety and well-being of his guests and artists are his primary concern. CMF really is a family affair to Santangelo, as his daughter Fran Santangelo DiBattista, is the festival’s director of marketing.

Not only does CMF bring incredible music to Cincinnati—recent headliners have included Frankie Beverly, Ohio Players, Fantasia, Mary J. Blige and Usher—but a recent study conducted by the UC Economics Center and commissioned by the Cincinnati USA Convention & Visitors Bureau shows the Cincinnati Music Festival presented by P&G provides a $107.5 million economic impact to the region, making it the largest annual driver of tourism in the tristate.

Though the in-person festival won’t happen this year, organizers are offering a virtual event in July, to celebrate the heritage of the Cincinnati Music Festival with historic footage of performances dating back more than 50 years.

Santangelo and the festival organizers are already working to confirm the 2021 acts for next year, including multi-talented singer-songwriter Janet Jackson, Snoop Dogg and Charlie Wilson, ensuring this Cincinnati music heritage event continues for years to come.