Now in its fourth year, Celebrate AMERI’KANA is a celebration of the myriad backgrounds, cultures, languages, and sounds that have shaped American music, bringing Grammy-winning artists to Kansas City to perform at the FREE festival alongside youth performers from the Art as Mentorship’s year-round mentorship programs.

Following the migration of American music from the port cities of the Gulf of Mexico and up the Mississippi river, Celebrate AMERI’KANA showcases the diversity and cross-pollinated nature of American music—the particular alchemy of blues, zydeco, gospel, rock ‘n’ roll, jazz, and son jarocho. The festival is both a celebration of our shared musical lineage and a reminder, in this time of division, that music transcends all barriers and boundaries.

Celebrate AMERI’KANA supports Art as Mentorship, a Kansas City non-profit that empowers young artists to write their own success stories.