Jazz Road Tours

Detailed Program Description

Jazz Road: Jazz & Human Connection – January 2026 Cycle

Jazz Road is a national initiative from South Arts supporting jazz artists through touring and residency grants that bring jazz into new places, strengthen artist careers, and build deeper connections with communities. Rooted in the African-American tradition, jazz thrives on connection—and this cycle is all about just that.

This February, South Arts is pleased to introduce a unique Jazz Road Tours cycle dedicated to rural communities nationwide. South Arts will take an active curatorial role, collaborating directly with artists to develop and shape tours that serve rural regions.

We’re inviting Letters of Interest (LOIs) from:

• Jazz artists based in rural areas or nearby urban centers;
• Artists with personal ties to underserved communities—through family, history, or shared cultural connection.

If bringing your music to one of these places would be meaningful to you—and impactful for the community—we want to hear from you.

Important Dates & Deadlines

Submit an LOI between February 10 and March 10 

Application Cycle Opens for Invited Applicants March 23 and Closes April 15

Awardees notified in early May

Jazz Road contains two grants programs, Jazz Road Tours and Jazz Road Creative Residencies, with regularly recurring deadlines.

Update for New Applicants

As of January 2024, South Arts has added childcare as an eligible expense that can be requested as part of the available $2,500 available for non-musician personnel expenses. Refer to the guidelines and eligibility information below for additional details about expenses that may be supported by a Jazz Road Tours grant.

#guide

Program Guidelines

While preparing your Jazz Road Tours Grant application, please refer to the following guidelines.

Program Priorities

1. Providing jazz artists financial assistance for performances/tours that increases their ability to earn income by connecting with a variety of communities in traditional and non-traditional venues
2. Giving artists business development tools to advance their careers beyond subsidies and grants. The goals are rooted in equitable pay and artist-centric programming as core values. South Arts believes that artists should receive fair pay for their time, work, and expertise, and that allowing artists (as opposed to venues/agents) to control engagements offers a unique level of creative autonomy and ownership; these goals are discussed below as well as in the Supplemental Questions document uploaded with this application. 

Application Process & Requirements

• Letter of Interest (LOI): Artists must submit a Letter of Interest between February 10 – March 10 to be considered for invitation. Please use the LOI Guide found on our resource page to ensure all required information is included.
• Invitation Notification: Artists will be notified of their invitation to apply by March 23  
• Application Deadline: Invited applicants must submit a full application by April 15

Application Materials

In addition to standard identification information, applicants will be required to submit:

• Minimum of three (3) artistic samples that reflect your current creative work and the sound/instrumentation of the proposed project. You may submit more than one project if the instrumentation differs (e.g., a quintet and a duo).
• Artist bio
• Current band photo
• At least one reference from a venue outside your home region
• Artist statement
• Information about the artists you propose to tour with. If a submitted video features a different musician than the one you plan to tour with on the same instrument, please provide information for the touring musician. 

Eligibility

Eligible artists will have a meaningful connection to a rural area in the United States or its territories and must be an awardee or be recommended by an awardee, or staff from a Regional Arts Organization, or State Arts Agency. Tours are awarded to individual artists as opposed to Organizations (Artists as an individual, an artist-led nonprofit organization, or an artist-led corporation are eligible) In addition an eligible artist is:

• A professional jazz artist, working solo or working with a composer-led or collective jazz ensemble which consists of up to 10 musicians;
• Age 18 or over and not currently a full-time student;
• Based in the U.S. or its territories, and is a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.  
• Not be a convicted felon
• Not owe any back child-support 

Eligible Venues

While we will be booking the tour, artists understand that eligible venues include but are not limited to:  

• Nonprofit and commercial established jazz presenters and clubs
• Performing arts centers, theaters, and concert halls
• Universities, colleges, and institutions of higher education
• Schools
• Jazz festivals
• Local arts agencies/councils
• Radio station live segments
• Artist spaces
• Community centers
• Churches, synagogues, mosques and other places of worship
• Embassies
• Galleries
• Museums
• Listening rooms and libraries
• House concerts
• Open-air markets
• Retail and civic/municipal events
• Social scene hotspots

Tours will likely also include educational components. 

Panel Review Process

Applications for Jazz Road Tours will be reviewed by panels comprised of experts in the jazz field from across the U.S. Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

LOI Review Criteria

Your Letter of Interest (LOI) is your opportunity to share how your music—and your story—can create meaningful connection in a rural or underserved community.

We will review LOIs based on the following:

• Connection to Place & Community: Does the artist have a clear, personal, or cultural connection to the proposed community (e.g., rural hometown, nearby region, family ties, cultural resonance)?
• Artistic Alignment: Is the artist’s style and ensemble configuration well-suited to the identified community or region?
• Potential for Impact: Does the proposed tour or engagement show potential to create meaningful artistic and/or social impact for both the artist and the community?
• Readiness & Clarity: Does the artist clearly articulate their goals and show readiness to execute a tour with the proposed collaborators and configuration?
• Authenticity & Artist Voice: Does the LOI reflect a strong artistic identity and authentic desire to connect through jazz?

Use the LOI Guide to help shape your submission and make sure you touch each of these areas.

Work Sample Review Criteria

Your work samples should showcase your current sound and creative voice. We’ll use these materials to understand your artistic identity and assess your potential fit for curated opportunities in specific regions.

We will review your work samples with the following in mind:

• Artistic Quality: Do the samples reflect strong musicianship, creativity, and a clear artistic perspective?
• Current Representation: Do the samples reflect where you are creatively right now, and the sound and ensemble you plan to tour with?
• Clarity of Identity: Is there a strong sense of who you are as an artist or ensemble?
• Potential for Community Resonance: Does the music have the potential to connect with a range of audiences, particularly those in rural or underserved areas?
• Technical Clarity: Are the recordings clear enough to evaluate the performance (we don’t require studio-level quality, but clean, listenable recordings are essential)?

Grant Awards & Payment

Grant contracts will be issued to the lead applicant (or their business entity) on behalf of the ensemble.

• Applicants must provide documentation verifying U.S. citizenship or permanent resident status.
• Grant funds are considered taxable income. Grantees are responsible for complying with all relevant local, state, and federal tax laws.
• Grantees are fully responsible for managing the tour, including disbursing funds and completing all required reporting.
• Award letters will outline the payment schedule and process in detail. 

 All grant applications must be submitted online using the Salesforce system. We recommend that you visit the site early to create your account and become familiar with the system.

Letter of Interest (LOI) Guide

2026 Cycle | Jazz & Human Connection 
For Previous Jazz Road Awardees

Purpose of the LOI 

This Letter of Interest helps South Arts and Jazz Road understand who is interested in participating in a curated rural tour and why your lived experience, relationships, and perspective make you a strong fit for this model. Artistic quality is already established; this LOI focuses on connection to place and community readiness.

Length: 500–650 words (approximately 1 page)

Artist Information

Lead Artist Name: 
Ensemble Name: 
Primary Home Base (City/State): 
Email Address: 

1. Your Connection to Rural or Underserved Communities

(Why these places are familiar to you)

Describe your personal, cultural, or lived connection to rural or underserved communities. This may include:

• Where you were raised or currently live
• Family roots or long-standing ties
• Communities you’ve consistently returned to outside of touring
• Cultural, regional, or socioeconomic experiences that shape how you show up in these spaces

Focus on relationship and understanding, not performance history. 

2. Why You Are a Strong Fit for a Curated Rural Tour

(Why you, in this context)

This round of Jazz Road Tours will be curated by South Arts and Jazz Road, with presenters and regions selected in advance. Artists are not responsible for booking or routing.

Explain why you, as a bandleader and person, are well-suited for this curated model. Consider addressing:

• How you navigate unfamiliar or resource-limited settings
• How you communicate with presenters and community members
• Your comfort working within shared goals and collective logistics
• Your openness to responsiveness, flexibility, and listening

This section should help panelists understand how you show up, not what you play.

3. Your Ensemble & Community Readiness

(Why this band works for this work)

Briefly describe why your current ensemble is a good match for rural and underserved touring. You may touch on:

• Shared values or backgrounds within the group
• Experience working together in intimate, non-traditional, or community-centered settings
• Interpersonal dynamics that support adaptability and care

No musical descriptions are needed—focus on people and process.

4. Understanding of Place & Potential Impact

(What meaningful connection could look like)

Without naming specific venues, describe the types of rural regions or communities where you believe your presence could be most impactful (for example: Appalachian counties, Delta towns, border regions, agricultural communities, tribal lands, etc.).

Explain:

• What you understand about these places
• What kind of exchange or connection feels possible there
• Why jazz—and your presence specifically—could resonate

This is about insight and intention, not outcomes or metrics.

5. Why This Opportunity Matters Now

(Why this moment)

Share briefly why participating in this unique round of the Jazz Road cycle feels meaningful to you at this point in your life or career. This may relate to:

• Artistic maturity or perspective
• A desire to return to or reinvest in certain communities
• A sense of responsibility, curiosity, or reflection

Authenticity matters more than ambition here.

6. General Availability

(High-level only)

Please share your general availability beginning July 2026 onward. Broad timeframes are sufficient.

Optional Closing Reflection

(2–3 sentences)

If you wish, close with a short reflection on what Jazz & Human Connection means to you personally.

Sample LOI - Jazz Road: Jazz & Human Connection

Lead Artist: Barnaby Jones 
Ensemble: Sax Man Jones Trio 
Home Base: Tucson, AZ 
Email: Saxmanjones@email.com

I’m writing to express my interest in the upcoming Jazz Road Tours cycle focused on Jazz & Human Connection. As someone raised in Sierra Vista—a rural military and farming town in southern Arizona—this theme speaks deeply to my personal and artistic roots. Though I’m now based in Tucson, I maintain strong ties to my hometown through family, mentorship, and music gatherings. These experiences taught me that connection is often built offstage—through shared meals, conversations, and showing up consistently.

This curated model feels like an ideal fit for the kind of work I care most about. I’ve performed and facilitated rural schools, border towns, and community centers where resources are limited, but the appetite for connection runs deep. In these spaces, flexibility, presence, and responsiveness matter as much as performance. I approach each setting with humility, asking questions and adjusting based on what I hear—whether that’s changing a setlist or listening first before offering a note.

My trio has worked together for over four years. Beyond our musical cohesion, we share a commitment to adaptability and care. One member is from a Central Valley farm-working family, and another taught in Mississippi public schools. We’ve collaborated in community centers, libraries, and faith spaces, always shaping our work in the context we’re entering. That shared ethic makes us well-prepared for this model of relational touring.

I believe our music could be especially resonant in regions like the Arizona-Mexico borderlands, tribal communities in the Southwest, or agricultural towns across the Delta or Plains. These are places where jazz rarely arrives, but where it can speak volumes when it does—especially if approached with respect and care. I don’t see myself bringing a performance to these communities; I see myself participating in an exchange, one rooted in listening and shared presence.

This opportunity also feels timely for me. I’m entering a new chapter in my career—one where I’m more focused on the why behind the work. I’m no longer trying to prove myself; I’m trying to give back, stay grounded, and build something that lasts. Jazz has always been about dialogue. This cycle offers a way to deepen that conversation with communities that are often overlooked but rich with culture and possibility.

I’m generally available for touring between September and December 2026, and available again all March 2027. Thank you for considering my application.

Sincerely,
Barnaby Jones