A Night of Jazz, Joy, and Generosity

On Tuesday, April 8, Arts+ hosted its third annual Night of Jazz at Middle C in Uptown Charlotte. With nearly 200 people in attendance, the venue was buzzing with excitement for good music and a good cause.

Event Highlights

To kick off the night, guests were greeted by Arts+ staff and signature cocktails, including an Improv Old Fashioned (one of Adrian Crutchfield’s favorites!).

Arts+ Executive Director, Devlin McNeil, started the festivities by introducing Wes Smith, Director of Music Programs. Two student performers showed off their talents.

Adam Refaey, 13, has been taking Cello lessons with Victoria McLaughlin since he was five. He performed Scherzo and Budapesto.

Lucia Delgado-Rojas, a high school junior, has been taking voice lessons since she was nine. She sang Stand By Me. By the end, everyone was clapping along!

The event featured Adrian Crutchfield, a world-renowned saxophonist and Arts+ alum. Adrian has headlined every Arts+ Jazz event, and it is always an incredible evening when he and his band take the stage. Adrian’s former instructor, James Curry, was proudly in the audience.

About halfway through the performance, Adrian invited Alex Kounousos to the stage. Alex and his family, originally from Greece, recently moved to Charlotte. When Alex, 13, started at Socrates Academy two years ago, he started playing the saxophone. In that short amount of time, Alex has excelled at the instrument and was awarded a Tosco Music Scholarship earlier this year. Once on stage, Adrian encouraged Alex to riff with him. By the end of their time together, Adrian gifted Alex his saxophone.

We ended the night with more incredible music from Adrian and his band.

A Standing Ovation for our Supporters

Of course, A Night of Jazz is about more than just a fun night out with good music. Together we raised over $140,000. Contributions from the event are helping to make the arts more accessible in Charlotte by supporting our robust financial aid program and our beloved outreach programs, including ArtsReach and Project Harmony.

A Night of Jazz was made possible by our generous sponsors:

We will be thinking about what fun we had for a long time! If you joined us at the 2025 Night of Jazz with Arts+, thank you! If you couldn’t make it, there’s always next year!