I Can't Wait for Christmas -- Berks Jazz Fest Holiday Kickoff

*Start the day with the Berks Jazz Fest Arts Advocate presale at the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading. In-person ticket sales begin at 9 am and online ticket sales begin at 12 pm noon.

*Slide into an afternoon wine tasting from wineandjazz.com hosted by Mindi Abair & Eric Guerra, scheduled for 3 pm in the DoubleTree by Hilton Reading Amphitheater. Be sure to stop by Cheers restaurant after the tasting to grab your dinner before the evening concert!

*Continue the evening at 7 pm at the Miller Center for the Arts in an energetic holiday kickoff concert you do not want to miss!

Holiday Kickoff Concert: $69 + fees Wine Tasting (add-on): $29 per ticket 2 Nights at the DoubleTree (add-on): $299 per room

During her remarkable 21-year recording career, saxophonist/ vocalist Mindi Abair has garnered 2 GRAMMY nominations, recorded with some of the biggest names in music, and built a substantial following among jazz and blues audiences with her soaring melodies and powerhouse style. In 2014, Mindi received her first GRAMMY nomination in the Best Pop Instrumental Album category for Summer Horns with Dave Koz, Richard Elliot and Gerald Albright, followed by a 2015 GRAMMY nomination for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album for her solo LP Wild Heart featuring the late Gregg Allman, Joe Perry, Trombone Shorty, Booker T. Jones, Keb’ Mo’, and Max Weinberg.

You might know her as the featured saxophonist on American Idol, sitting in with Paul Shaffer on The Late Show with David Letterman and The Roots on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, or from moonlighting on tour with Duran Duran or Aerosmith. As a solo artist, she has consistently topped the Billboard Contemporary Jazz and Blues charts. In 2018, Mindi Abair and The Boneshakers won 8 Independent Blues Awards including Artist of the Year, and an Independent Music Award for Best Blues Song Fan Award for “Pretty Good For A Girl” featuring Joe Bonamassa. They won the 2019 LA Critics Award for Best Holiday Album for All I Got For Christmas Is The Blues. And in 2019, 2020 and 2021 Mindi was nominated by the Blues Music Awards as the Best Instrumentalist: Horn.

Her newest album Forever was released March 18, 2022 and debuted #1 on the current Contemporary Jazz Album Chart and features performances by Steve Perry, Rick Braun, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Eric Bazilian, and Raul Malo.

As creator, designer and owner, Mindi launched www.wineandjazz.com in 2019 as a lifestyle concept that brings together the worlds of wine and music through members-only exclusive wines paired with personally curated music playlists, label art and branded wine and music worldwide adventures and festivals.

Mindi has toured and/or recorded with: Aerosmith, Joe Bonamassa, Smokey Robinson, Joe Perry, Trombone Shorty, Booker T. Jones, Gregg Allman, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Fantastic Negrito, Waddy Wachtel, Bobby Rush, Keb’ Mo’, Teena Marie, Lee Ritenour, Adam Sandler, Duran Duran, Bill Champlin, Richard Elliott, Jimmy Webb, Max Weinberg, Dave Koz, Peter White, Gerald Albright, Mandy Moore, Lalah Hathaway and the Backstreet Boys.