An Uncertain Future for Jazz Festivals....

George Wein, the jazz pianist and impresario who invented the large outdoor jazz festival, is searching for sponsors to support the 55th annual Newport Jazz Festival. Wein recently announced that he would be attempting to stage the festival without the help of either Festival Network, the company that bought his own Festival Productions in 2007, or JVC U.S.A., which has been a major underwriter for jazz festivals worldwide for 24 years.
Festival Network pulled out of the 2009 Newport Festival, which became the first of its kind in 1954, amid reports of financial trouble. While Wein searches for sponsors for Newport, the fate of other large festivals, including New York's JVC Jazz Festival, remains uncertain.
http://jazz.about.com/b/2009/03/19/an-uncertain-future-for-jazz-festivals.htm