Open Fest is now called the Bennett Alliance Music Fest. The jazz and folk festival is held annually in Rochester, New York

Rochester, New York

Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...

. Open Fest was formed in the summer of 2003 by saxophonist Daniel Bennett, Andrew Cloninger, and Rich Oppedisano. The vision of Open Fest was to create a platform for diverse musical groups to perform. From traditional Taiwanese

Taiwanese people

Taiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or Taiwan Area which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...

 performer Yi Chen Chang, to synth pop guru Joy Electric

Joy Electric

Joy Electric is the brand label for a series of electropop/synth pop productions by Ronnie Martin. Martin began producing music under the Joy Electric name in 1994, after the demise of Dance House Children, a band Ronnie was in with his brother Jason Martin of Starflyer 59. Starflyer 59 bass player...

, Open Fest quickly became a format for new music. Other artists to grace the Open Fest stage have been saxophonist Daniel Bennett

Daniel Bennett (saxophonist)

Daniel Bennett is an American saxophonist who lives in Manhattan. Daniel Bennett is best known for his "folk jazz" music. Bennett contends that his music is "a mix of jazz, folk, and twentieth century minimalism." Jon Garelick of the Boston Phoenix wrote, The music has given them a broad...

, national recording artist George Collichio, and folk sensation Courtney A Streb.

Bennett Alliance

Bennett Alliance

Bennett Alliance is a Boston-based record label and music production company serving Massachusetts and New York since 2003. Bennett Alliance was founded by saxophonist Daniel Bennett in the spring of 2003. The Bennett Alliance Music Fest is a national jazz and folk fest held in Rochester, New York...

 is a record label that operates mostly in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 and Boston

Boston

Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...

. It is operated by full time performing artists. Bennett Alliance was created by saxophonist Daniel Bennett in the spring of 2004. In 2006, Bennett Alliance began an important collaboration with California-based Velvet Blue Music

Velvet Blue Music

Velvet Blue Music is an independent record label founded in 1996 by Jeff Cloud . They are a label that has prided itself on a completely independent nature and DIY ethics while also living up to these same qualities...

. Velvet Blue Music is one of the fastest growing independent record labels in America. Velvet Blue Music is operated by veteran musician Jeff Cloud

Jeff Cloud

Jeff Cloud is a former bass guitar player for rock band Starflyer 59. He joined the band after the album Americana had been recorded, and remained a member until after the recording of the album I Am the Portuguese Blues. From 1996 until 2002, Cloud was member of the electropop/synth pop group...

, who has released albums for groups such as Richard Swift

Richard Swift (musician)

Richard Swift is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, producer and short-film maker...

, Stavesacre

Stavesacre

Stavesacre was an American rock band from Huntington Beach, California formed in 1995. The band was composed of vocalist Mark Salomon, guitarists Jeff Bellew and Ryan Dennee, bassist Dirk Lemmenes and drummer Sam West....

, Soul-Junk

Soul-Junk

Soul-Junk is an experimental genre-hopping Christian rock / hip hop group from San Diego, California.-Background:The roots of Soul-Junk began in 1993 when Glen Galloway began experimenting while touring in Europe with his rock band Trumans Water...

, and Starflyer 59

Starflyer 59

Starflyer 59 is an alternative rock band from Riverside, California that was founded in 1993 by Jason Martin, brother of Ronnie Martin of Joy Electric. While Jason Martin has written nearly all of Starflyer 59's songs, the band has included a number of different musicians over the years, including...

. Bennett Alliance continues to team up with organizations like Velvet Blue Music in order to bring musical artists from across America to Open Fest.