History, Jazz & Blues: The Joy of Live Music at Fort Mose

This February, Fort Mose Historic Park will be the host of the inaugural Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series. To honor the history and celebrate the cultural significance of Fort Mose, the Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series will comprise of six unforgettable performances over three weeks from some of the biggest names in their respective genres.

Confirmed performances for the inaugural Fort Mose Jazz & Blues Series include: two-time Grammy Award-winning jazz artist Gregory Porter, the legendary 18-time Grammy Award-winning Count Basie Orchestra, New Orleans jazz-funk art.ist Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, breakout Americana and roots singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah, and New Orleans’ deep-grove R&B and jazz group Tank and the Bangas.

Proceeds from this series will support the construc.tion of an on-site fort representation and develop.ment of additional interpretive resources. The original fort was destroyed during the Battle of Bloody Mose in 1740.

Forst Mose is the site of the first legally sanctioned free African settlement in what is now the United States. In 1738, an estimated 100 Africans made Fort Mose their home and sanctuary in seeking liberation from English enslavement amidst a large-scale power struggle between European powers in the New World. Pulling from Native American, Spanish and English cultural customs, the found.ing residents of Fort Mose created a new cultural community. In 1994, Fort Mose was designated as a Historical National Landmark and was listed on the National Register of Historical Placess.

To learn more about the event, celebrate history and freedom, and enjoy live music, visit their website at

www.discoverfortmose.com