This Week at the Blue Room: Jazzy Jazz Miyagi, Divas Night Out, Darryl White + Memorial Day Jam
Fri Indigo: Jazzy Jazz Miyagi. Fri headliner: Divas Night Out with Delynia Jannell & Erin Jones. Sat: Darryl White. Mon Memorial Day Jam: David Watson. May 22-25
This Week at the Blue Room
May 22–25, 2026 · The Blue Room · 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City
A Memorial Day weekend at 18th & Vine — four Blue Room shows across three nights, with the rest of the district celebrating around them. The City cuts the ribbon Friday morning on two new pieces of the Jazz District. The Walk of Fame inducts Herbie Hancock at the Gem on Saturday. Inside the Blue Room, four working musicians take the stage.
This Week’s Lineup
Friday, May 22 — Indigo Hour 5:30 PM — Jazzy Jazz Miyagi (free)
Friday, May 22 — Headliner: Divas Night Out 8:30 PM & 10 PM — Delynia Jannell & Erin Jones
Saturday, May 23 — Headliner 8:30 PM & 10 PM — Darryl White
Monday, May 25 — Memorial Day Jam 7 PM — David Watson (free)
Friday Indigo Hour: Jazzy Jazz Miyagi
Born in Okinawa, Jazzy Jazz Miyagi came to the United States on a full scholarship to the New England Conservatory of Music and continued her training at Berklee College of Music, studying flute under Lois Schafer — piccoloist for the Boston Pops and Boston Symphony under Seiji Ozawa. That classical foundation runs through everything she does, but what she builds on top of it is what makes her shows unforgettable.
She’s worked as a studio musician for motion picture soundtracks and shared stages with Miroslav Vitous (founding bassist of Weather Report), Herbie Mann, Chaka Khan, Joe Sample, and Mannheim Steamroller. Her instruments range from flute and classical guitar to alternative flutes and the Japanese koto. She was chosen as a soloist for the grand opening of the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts and has appeared at the Carmel Jazz Fest and Monterey Jazz Festival.
A truly global musician who calls KC home. Free admission and drink specials.
Friday Headliner: Divas Night Out — Delynia Jannell & Erin Jones
Divas Night Out is one of the Blue Room’s most popular recurring series — a night where Kansas City’s best vocalists share the stage and trade songs, stories, and the kind of energy that only comes from friends who love what they do. This edition spotlights two powerful voices.
Delynia Jannell has been singing since she was two years old, starting on the church pews of Bethel Church of God in Christ in Kansas City, Kansas. A vocal music scholarship to Washburn University expanded her range from gospel into R&B, jazz, blues, neo-soul, and opera. She sang background for Shania Twain on the Kansas City tour, was featured soloist in “This Little Light of Mine” at Carnegie Hall, and has provided vocals for Tech N9ne, Krizz Kaliko, Stevie Stone, and Kelley Hunt. She leads the Delynia Jannell Ensemble and holds residencies across the city.
Joining Delynia is Erin Jones, a Blue Room favorite whose soulful delivery and warm stage presence have made her a sought-after performer in Kansas City’s jazz scene. Together they deliver an evening of songs from the Great American Songbook, R&B classics, and modern standards.
Two sets.
Saturday Headliner: Darryl White
Darryl White is a trumpeter whose career bridges the classroom and the bandstand. A native of Warren, Ohio, he’s been playing trumpet since the age of nine — a path that took him from a Bachelor of Music at Youngstown State University to a Master’s at Northwestern, and on to a Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of Colorado.
Today Dr. White is an associate professor of trumpet at the Glenn Korff School of Music at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Before that, he taught at the University of Denver’s Lamont School of Music, where he was Instructor of Trumpet and performed with the Aries Brass Quintet (in residence at Lamont) and the Faculty Jazz Quintet.
The Darryl White Quartet has become a Blue Room favorite, with multiple appearances since 2023. Whether playing the straight-ahead tradition or pushing into more modern territory, Dr. White brings the kind of tone, phrasing, and command that only comes from a lifetime dedicated to the trumpet. Two sets.
Monday Memorial Day Jam: David Watson
The Blue Room is open on Memorial Day — and the music is on.
David Watson is a veteran Kansas City–based jazz singer and bandleader. Originally from Florida and raised in Philadelphia, he’s been in the music all his life. He started singing in elementary school and first fell in love with jazz as a child when he heard Ella Fitzgeraldscatting. That early influence never left him.
David is a singer, songwriter, and drummer; a composer and record-label founder; and the founder of the Sonoma Valley Jazz Society, a nonprofit supporting jazz education and performance. His 89th birthday lands the following Saturday — a quiet milestone for a working musician who’s been on the bandstand his whole life.
Monday Night Jam features a 45-minute featured set followed by an open jam — bring your instrument, come listen, or both. FREE admission.
Also at 18th & Vine This Weekend
Friday, May 22 at 11 AM — the City of Kansas City cuts the ribbon on the Jazz District Parking Garage at 1819 Lydia Avenue. Come out and celebrate this new part of the neighborhood!
Saturday, May 23 — the American Jazz Walk of Fame inducts Herbie Hancock as its 2026 honoree at the Gem Theater, 1615 E 18th St. The induction ceremony begins at 6 PM, followed at 7 PM by a concert featuring Ruben Studdard and Kim Waters. Tickets at americanjazzwalkoffame.org. Darryl White takes the Blue Room stage right after at 8:30 PM — a full Saturday night on 18th Street.
See You at 18th & Vine
The Blue Room 1600 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108 americanjazzmuseum.org/blue-room