The Wilson Jazz Festival began in 2023 when Wilson native, Trey Thomas, decided a New Orleans “second line" march was an experience Wilson, NC absolutely needed, and soon. On September 16th, “Fat Mouth”, of Wilson, set the tone at Iconostar on Goldsboro Street. As the crowd swayed to the dynamic tunes of the band’s last song, a saxophone echoed in the distance. Riffs were met with riffs as the crowd turned their heads to locate the dancing notes. The call and response continued until mystery morphed into reality and sounds collided. Raleigh’s “Peter Lamb and the Wolves” united with “Fat Mouth” and the end became the beginning.  As the applause died down, the first notes of Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marching In” bellowed from Peter’s sax, hovering above it all. Movement married music and the marching began. Horns in hand, the band led the crowd in a revelrous march downtown ending at Downtown Public House where they exploded into a full set. 

The spirit of that night was one of merriment, soul, connection, and freedom. We decided it wouldn’t suffice to become a memory alone, but its end should also become a beginning. And thus, The Wilson Jazz Festival was born with the death of that epic night and the march of the saints.