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A 501(c)(3) Arts Nonprofit - Inspiration is what we do!
PRESENTING OUR 2026 NEW SPIRIT CAFÉ SERIES, JAZZ & MORE,
AT ATLANTIC CENTER FOR THE ARTS’ JOAN HARRIS THEATER.
ALL 2026 SHOWS. TABLE SEATING $35. THEATER SEATING: $30
New Spirit Café is an artistic partnership of Positively Florida & Atlantic Center for the Arts.
March 21, 7-9 p.m.
SIZZLING SPEAKEASY JAZZ AND JUKEBOX BLUES
Sybil Gage & Her Merry Band of Royal Catahoulas
If you’ve never seen Sybil Gage in a jazz club “listening house” atmosphere this is a night not to be missed. Her New Orleans roots run deep with a turn through New York City before settling in Florida. Every Sybil Gage performance is unique, and her ability to entertain is 2nd to none. Sybil is a songwriter, singer and bandleader and appears with a classic jazz quintet featuring piano, bass, saxophone, and drums.
Her song list spans the years, offering a mix of jazz and jazzy blues favorites, sprinkled with her originals. I always hear a few songs I might not have heard before but am happy I have heard now. Sybil and her “Royal Catahoulas” have appeared on PBS’s Sunshine Blues, at the Blue Bamboo Art Center in Winter Park, and headline regularly at Heidi’s Jazz Club in Cocoa Beach.
May 23, 7-9 p.m.
HOT & SWEET CONTEMPORARY AMERICANA
Mary James & the Mean Mary Band
Mary earned acclaim as a child prodigy playing on the streets of Nashville and went on to become a modern phenomenon with 38 million views of her YouTube videos. An award winning musician and songwriter, her music combines blues, folk, and country, with a hint of bluegrass and a note of Celtic. She keeps the house expecting the unexpected as she sets the pace on banjo, fiddle, and guitar. Mary appears with a trio that includes her brother Frank James, a noted guitarist in his own right, and delivers a show that’s feel-good, full of surprises, and steeped in rhythm and story. Called a “startling talent” by the Tennessean, Mary James has performed as a headliner at over 4000 festivals and concerts.
September 19, 7-9 p.m.
JAZZ LOVERS, THIS IS FOR YOU
The Jeff Rupert Quartet
Jeff Rupert leads the way on saxophone with this classic jazz quartet featuring piano, drums and upright acoustic bass. If you love smoky jazz club jazz without the smoke, this one is a must. Jeff is also a record producer, recording artist, freelance tenor saxophonist, full-time professor. He is Director of Jazz Studies for the University of Central Florida, and has shared stage and studio with many renowned icons of American jazz like Benny Golson, Maynard Ferguson, and Kevin Mahogany, to name a few. Jeff has toured with jazz singers Diane Schuur, Mel Tormé, Veronica Swift, T-Bone, and Ernestine Anderson. He is a featured soloist on Benny Carter’s Grammy winning album Harlem Renaissance and his 11 recordings as a bandleader have all charted on Jazz Week.
November 14, 7-9 p.m.
JAZZ IS ALWAYS RIGHT FOR THE SEASON
The Kelly/Scott Jazztet
Downbeat Magazine award winning vocalist Lisa Kelly and bandleader J.B. Scott bring their Jacksonville Jazz Festival Hall of Fame band back to New Spirit Café for an evening of great jazz, including familiar jazz classics and a bit of holiday music, jazz style. Expect an artful evening of exceptional acoustic jazz described as “classic swing to New Orleans,” and featuring a repertoire of Great American Songbook standards, traditional favorites, modern jazz, and New Orleans influenced grooves. Lisa Kelly is an eight-time Downbeat Magazine award winner for her vocals and arrangements. Trumpet and flugelhorn player JB Scott is the University of North Florida’s Coordinator of Jazz Studies. He formerly led the world-famous Dukes of Dixieland in New Orleans and has performed with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra, Al Hirt, Arturo Sandoval, and other name bands.
New Spirit Café . . . “A Time and Place to Relax, Listen, and Let Life be Sweet!”
Inspired by jazz clubs he visited in Chicago and here in Florida, Gary Broughman designed New Spirit Café as a “listening house,” not a place to chat it up while music plays in the background. Florida is rich with top rate professional musicians, and we are working to bring the best to the Café and ACA. Hope you’ll join us for one of our quarterly, Saturday evening shows. While we specialize in jazz, we love many genres, including the Broadway show we featured in 2025 and authentic Americana we have coming up in May with the Mean Mary Band. Seating at 4-top and 2-top tables creates a warm jazz club atmosphere. BTW, we are not a restaurant, but we do offer a beverage bar with light snacks.