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Three bands, two stages, one weekend: Ryan Grist to takeover Blues and Jazz Festival

May 28, 2026   ·   0 Comments

By Sam Odrowski

Ryan Grist has been part of the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival since nearly the beginning — and this weekend, he’ll be hard to miss, performing across two stages with three different acts.

As artistic director of the Orangeville Jazz Society Big Band, he’ll be paying tribute to the legendary Frank Sinatra-Count Basie collaborations with pianist Nicholas Mustapha and vocalist John Amato at the TD Main Stage on Sunday, June 7, starting at noon.

“It’s got that nostalgic vibe of just the swing era of big band — when Frank was at the height of his powers,” said Grist. “I grew up on Sinatra — my dad always had him on, so I know the music really, really well.”

Later in the afternoon, he’ll perform with Soul Collective on the TD Broadway Stage at 3:30 p.m., trading big band swing for classic soul. The sounds of Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, and the stylings of Scary Pockets, among others, will drive the set.

And on Saturday, he’ll sit in with Becky Lynn and the Felicity Alliance as a guest, performing on the TD Broadway Stage at 2 p.m.

“We’re really lucky, really privileged to have these gigs and have them in town,” said Grist.

But more than anything, he hopes the music stays with people.

“I hope that it just helps people breathe — that they can take a breath, maybe a reset, and feel a little better when they walk away,” he said.

A Humber College graduate in jazz and commercial music, Grist spent 18 years balancing music with carpentry before a 2018 shoulder injury forced a change. He returned to school, earning a full scholarship to York University, where he completed a master’s in ethnomusicology. He is currently in the final stages of a PhD.

A longtime saxophone teacher, he has since expanded to flute and clarinet — studying under noted woodwind doubler Andy Ballantyne on a Canada Council for the Arts grant — and has added pit orchestra work to his resume.

Grist isn’t just another performer on the lineup – he has been involved with the Orangeville Blues and Jazz Festival (OBJF) since its second year.

He served on the festival’s board of directors for numerous years, and he still remembers what those early days felt like as a young musician.

“It was exciting to be on stages with city performers – more established, well-known artists that I didn’t have to drive to the city to hear anymore. They were coming up to Orangeville, and some of them were like coming up and playing with me. It was pretty exciting to have that opportunity.”

Grist’s connection to the festival has only deepened over the years.
He has watched it grow into one of Ontario’s top 100 events, and credits festival founder Larry Kurtz’s programming and organization for its great reputation among artists.

“You go to other festivals and maybe things aren’t as organized, or you can’t trust the process. Being a musician, sometimes it can get a little sketchy,” said Grist. “For the [OBJF] it’s been really solid — just the operational aspect of it, it’s reliable.”

Grist’s upcoming performance with the Orangeville Jazz Society Big Band builds on momentum from a similar show last year.

The band played the same Sinatra-Basie tribute at the Orangeville Opera House last year to a near-sold-out crowd, which caught Kurtz’s attention.

“Larry was there and said, ‘I want to put you guys on the main stage,'” Grist said. “We were like, ‘okay, let’s do it.’”

Tickets to see Grist perform with the Orangeville Jazz Society Big Band at the TD Main Stage on Sunday are available online for $10 as a Sunday-only pass. A full weekend festival pass is also available for $40.

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