NYCVintageTrain2024 underground swing & jazz festival!

In a nutshell: The FREE 2024 NYC Vintage Train Jazz and Swing Festival, featuring 7 world-class vintage-style jazz bands, will appear on the platform level of the north end of the 96th St. Q station (2nd Avenue line) on Sunday Dec. 8, with continuous music from 10:30am to 6pm. WHAT'S HAPPENING? On Sunday, Dec. 8, hundreds of jazz musicians, swing dancers, vintage clothing enthusiasts, photographers, families, commuters, and subway/railroad buffs will converge on the 96th St. Q train station for a full day of music, dance, and happiness — totally FREE with subway entry. Think of it as highly organized, pro-level busking all day. Dancing is welcome and encouraged! This volunteer-driven grassroots gathering is one of the absolute highlights of the winter season for a certain subculture of jazz and vintage lifestyle fans — and the general public is welcome! Please RSVP so we have an idea how many guests we should prepare for, thank you! Note: This is a totally UNOFFICIAL gathering, completely separate from any official New York Transit Museum or MTA events. PRESS WELCOME Journalists, bloggers, photogs, documentarians, etc. are absolutely welcome to come and cover the event! We just ask that everyone please share or post your reports/posts/broadcasts here or online with the hashtag #NYCVINTAGETRAIN2024 so we can enjoy them later. Post any query here or on the NYC Vintage Train page. MUSIC SCHEDULE We will present 7 excellent early/midcentury-style jazz bands playing continuously, 10:30am–6pm. 10:30-11:40 = The Scooches Venmo @nick-russo-13 11:45-12:40 = Molly Ryan and Manhattan Premier Venmo @Molly-Ryan 12:45-1:40 Glenn Crytzer and Mike Davis Venmo @Mike-Davis-27 1:45 - 2:40 Tal Ronen Trio Venmo @Tal-Ronan 2:45-3:40 Charlie Roman Hot Club Venmo @Charlie-Roman-Castelluzzo 3:45-4:40 = Grand St. Stompers Venmo @Gordon-Au 4:45-5:40+ = Rafael & the Rhythm Ruckus Venmo @rafael-castillo-halvorssen We will also share other music opportunities and afterparties — this is an incredibly jazzy day and we want to support our featured artists plus all the wonderful hardworking musicians that we can! TIP THE BANDS! These great bands are willing to play solely for tips, so please do tip each and every band! The event is free, and run entirely by volunteers, but these professional musicians are working for their living. Digital tipping options are available, or bring a stack of small bills. :) Giving $2-5 per band, per set is a nice start! Please be generous to all our bands over the course of the day. Buy their CDs or digital downloads. Thank you in advance for your generosity! If you would like to support the festival overall, or easily tip all the bands at once, venmo increments of $7 (7, 14, 28, 35, 42, 70, 140...) to @amywinns. Every dollar goes to the musicians! WHERE TO GO The Train will start and end its journeys at the 2nd Ave. F stop Uptown platform, but the festival will be based at the north end of the 96th St. Q stop, where the Train turns around. It's about a 30-minute ride between these two points. All the bands we're organizing will be playing in the 96th St. station, at its north end. The Train will be traveling between 2nd Ave. F stop and 96th St. (changing tracks at the 63rd & Lexington F/Q stop), so you can join the party anytime, anywhere along the route. In other words: Train route is on the F line from 2nd Ave to 63rd/Lex; Q line between 63rd/Lex and 96th St. in both directions, making all local stops. Anyone is welcome to join the festival at 96th St. from anywhere in the system... riding the Vintage Train not required! TRAIN TIMETABLE Uptown: Train departs 2nd Ave. F station Uptown platform at 10am, 12pm, 2pm, 4pm. (It returns to the downtown 2nd Ave station at approximately 5:30pm, only to discharge passengers before returning to garage.) You can view and photograph the Train for approximately 15 minutes before each scheduled departure. Downtown: Train departs 96th Ave. Q station (single platform) at 11am, 1pm, 3pm, 5pm. (The 5pm trip is *one-way* to drop off passengers at 2nd Ave and will not return to 96th St.) There will be only very short pauses in this station so as to minimally interfere with normal Q service. It's about a 30-minute ride between these two points. SAFETY FIRST! We do expect a large crowd. Please watch out for others while photographing, dancing or getting close to the stairways or edges of the platform as this is a fully operational station. DRESS CODE This is a participatory public happening! Dress in vintage if you've got it. We recommend matching the period of the cars: 1920s to 1960s. Or be creative and mix it up, share your own style or interpret the swing era and midcentury fashion. Think of it as a transit-flavored Gatsby party. But if you're not a clotheshorse, we still invite you to please come as you are and enjoy the fantastic music. PLEASE SHARE PHOTOS! Please share here, and tag all photos and videos you post online (Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Youtube, FB, Tiktok, etc.) with #NYCVINTAGETRAIN2024, so we can all enjoy them! (Always be sure to give credit to the photographer if it's not yourself!) Cover photo: Byron Hon, NYCVintageTrain2017 (also at 96th St!) MORE INFORMATION NYC Vintage Train Page https://www.facebook.com/NYC-Vintage-Train-1649405368667693/ Official site for holiday season appearances by MTA's historic trains and buses: http://www.nytransitmuseum.org/holidaynostalgiarides/ Photos from previous event at this location: https://www.facebook.com/events/149650205667595/