Imagine you’re lying on a picnic blanket in the grassy field of Pritzker Pavilion. The sweet sound of saxophones fill the air, you can practically feel the bass in your bones, the cool Chicago breeze grazes your face, and you don’t have a care in the world. That’s the Chicago Jazz Festival. During this annual event in Millennium Park, Chicago becomes a celebration of jazz, even more so than it already is. Rife with talented performers, aspiring young musicians, and enthusiastic audiences, the festival has an undeniably vibrant, inviting atmosphere. And did I mention that it’s free?

Ever since the Great Migration, which brought New Orleans-style jazz to urban cities like Chicago and New York, Chicago has been an essential part of jazz culture. Producing icons like Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, and Herbie Hancock, it’s no secret that Chicago is a great place to be for jazz-lovers.

However, students who are passionate about jazz—or just enjoy live music—often struggle to find accessible venues. Many of Chicago’s most renowned jazz clubs have strict age restrictions, usually requiring guests to be at least 18 or even 21. This is primarily because most venues serve alcohol and are classified as bars, limiting their ability to allow minors.

For those unable to attend jazz clubs, the Chicago Jazz Festival is a great opportunity to listen to smooth, soulful and swingin’ live music. Entirely free of charge, the three separate venues within Millennium Park are open to families, young children and music enthusiasts alike. This lively event showcases some of the greatest jazz musicians in the world. The acclaimed headliners and featured artists—such as Esperanza Spalding and Ernest Dawkins—are known for their innovative approaches and talented musicianship.

This Chicago tradition began as tribute to iconic composer, bandleader and pianist Duke Ellington. Following his death in 1974, Chicago jazz musicians held an unofficial festival in Grant Park in Ellington’s honor. Now, since its first official festival in 1979, Chicago Jazz Festival has become one of the largest free jazz festivals in the world, hosting crowds of up to 30,000.

Although I could only visit the festival once this year, I’m still glad I had the opportunity to attend. I got to see Jamaican-American pianist Monty Alexander with a few of my friends and had a great time. Alexander’s Jamaican-style renditions of classic jazz standards like “Summertime,” “So What,” and more were inexplicably groovy and intricate.

But I have to say, the highlight of the night was when Alexander began to play the melodica: a wind-powered, keyboard instrument that’s sort of like a cross between a harmonica and a piano. To see this unconventional instrument played live was an exciting experience in itself, but the way Alexander took advantage of the melodica’s unique qualities—such as reverb, vibrato, and bright tone—in his solo was particularly delightful. I certainly think the rest of the audience appreciated the unexpected twist as much as I did—everyone was swaying and cheering along, completely caught up in the moment.

Between the readily available transportation system and the free admission, the Chicago Jazz Festival is not only one of the grandest, but also most accessible major music events in the country. Anyone with a free Labor Day Weekend sometime in the future, I urge you, consider paying the Chicago Jazz Festival a visit.