Makaya McCraven at Higher Ground | April 26, 2026
If you have been meaning to see Makaya McCraven live and keep putting it off, here is your reason to stop doing that. He plays the Higher Ground Showcase Lounge in South Burlington on Sunday, April 26 — doors at 7:30, show at 8:00 — and the Showcase Lounge holds 300 people. That is not a lot of room for a musician the New York Times called “one of the best arguments for jazz’s vitality.”
About Makaya McCraven
McCraven is a drummer, composer, and producer who grew up in Massachusetts and has been based in Chicago since 2006, where he became a central figure in the city’s contemporary jazz scene. His signature approach — what he calls “organic beat music” — starts with live improvisation and ends up in his studio, where he edits, loops, and layers the recordings the way a hip-hop producer works a sample. Jazz and hip-hop, it turns out, have a lot in common when someone is willing to blur the line between them.
His 2022 record In These Times was his most ambitious project to date — orchestral and polytemporal, built with Jeff Parker, Brandee Younger, and Joel Ross. His most recent release, Off the Record (October 2025, International Anthem / Nonesuch), collects a decade of live recordings across four EPs, each one built around a different configuration of collaborators and reworked in his Chicago studio. The whole thing starts to make a different kind of sense once you see him perform.
Burlington jazz fusion quartet EVNGwear opens. They are releasing their debut album Family Night the day after this show, which is a good enough reason to get there by 7:30 and actually catch the support set.
About the Venue
The Higher Ground Showcase Lounge is the venue’s intimate room — 300 capacity, at 1214 Williston Road in South Burlington. It is about a two-hour drive from Albany via I-89. If you are making the trip, leave yourself enough time before doors. This show has every reason to sell out.
Tickets & Pricing
Tickets are $28 in advance. This is an all-ages show. Buy tickets →
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