... at the last minute.

Yeah.

So parts of it were being canceled earlier than, you know, the, the opening night.

And I think as, uh, folks will remember...

You know, first let me just say, um, I'm heartbroken, uh, devastated in many ways, and we've had a lot of wins.

We've had a lot of wins.

We've had a lot of incredible productions, and it's, it's always difficult to have that big loss.

Some, you know, maybe there is a protective factor.

What kind of, have you got a team? Is there a selection committee? Where do you go?

Yeah.

Well, let me say we're still raising the money.

And so anybody that's out there in earshot of this great podcast, you know, please reach out to us through our website.

We need partners.

We're a long ways away from being financially secure, but we were able to bring on an investor.

We were able to bring on Airbnb as title sponsor, gave us the fuel to get the plane off the runway successfully.

Do you think that the whole festival will be at a point now where you think it will be able to be an annual event at the least? Yeah.

How do you avoid becoming just another entertainment event instead of become part of the cultural identity of Los Angeles?

Beautiful question.

Starting with, I think, what we're doing.

To your early point, we didn't just go book one of the big music halls.

We didn't go just book one of the new fancy arenas.

We intentionally are opening in Leimert Park.

Leimert Park is the cultural center of LA's African-American community.

If a festival succeeds beyond your expectations, how will L.A. be different because it existed?

It's not something you think of on Tuesday and on Wednesday you put up a sign.

No, absolutely.

And look, I think anybody out there who's ever launched a business or a corporation, I mean, your own station, you know, with Tavis, everything he put in behind this.

And it's a struggle.

It's a challenge.

So the idea 15 years ago really hit me when I realized, you know, I was just sort of stunned by what we had here in L.A., Growing up in a music town, growing up in a social justice-focused town, Oberlin was one of the last stops on the Underground Railroad.

So if you were an enslaved human being and you could get to Oberlin by sunup, you'd sleep in the basement of the homes that still exist in Oberlin, and you had a one-night run to Lake Erie.

So what is LA special legacy of jazz? Yeah.