By Madeline Orton
Correspondent
Cape May has always felt like home to jazz booking agent Michael Kline, so when the former New Orleans resident needed to escape Hurricane Katrina, he returned to his childhood weekend retreat. And when the city’s long-running jazz festival ended, Kline stepped in to replace it.
“It kind of got me angry because I didn’t want to lose a successful festival for my artists to work in,” says Kline.
Kline wanted to ensure that one of the city’s favorite arts events wouldn’t disappear. He founded the Exit 0 International Jazz Festival. For those in Cape May, seeing the return of a jazz festival to the city is music to their ears.
“Typically, we do fill [the hotel] every weekend that we’re open here, which is year-round, but a festival like this is the reason we do fill,” says Curtis Bradshaw, Co-Managing Partner of Cape Resorts Group, which owns the Congress Hall Hotel.
Kate Hathaway, a summer resident of Cape May, is also pleased to see the festival return. “I think it really puts us on the map. This is world-class jazz entertainment down here,” she says.
Blues musician Frank Bey had been a staple of the previous Cape May Jazz Festival. For artists like him, performance opportunities mean work and exposure.
“With the economy, clubs and festivals have been shutting down constantly—one right behind the other,” explains Bey. “So to see this one come back, man that’s a great thing. And Cape May needs it!”
Festivals like Exit 0 offer a unique opportunity for emerging artists as well.
“It combines the up-and-coming artists with the well-established artists, and it’s just an environment of inspiration for us,” singer Alicia Olatuja says of the festival. “It also gives us an opportunity to bring our art to a different audience.”
Unfortunately for Kline, the festival also brought with it a familiar challenge in its first year—another mega-storm.
“After Sandy, all bets were off for us and so the pressure was off because whatever got done got done,” explains Kline. “It’s karma or something, I have no idea, but I’m really tired of hurricanes, you know?”
Now, one year later, the festival is in full force. And for those surprised to learn the Victorian shore town is a jazz haven, Kline hopes Exit 0 will introduce new audiences to Cape May’s music scene.
“People might be surprised to know that,” says Kline, “But I think after our first couple of festivals, they won’t be surprised anymore.”
Kline plans to expand the festival with a second event this spring, bringing the music outdoors for a new generation of summer weekenders to enjoy.