Seven Nominations, One Ask: Vote for Us in Kansas City Favorites 2026
The American Jazz Museum, The Blue Room, and the Gem Theater need your vote. It's free, it takes a minute, and you can vote every day through April 17.
Seven Nominations. One Ask.
The American Jazz Museum, The Blue Room, and the Gem Theater have been nominated in seven categories in the 2026 Kansas City Favorites contest. Voting is open now, it’s free, and you can vote once per day, every day, through April 17.
Last year, more than 270,000 votes were cast. Imagine what happens when the jazz community shows up.
What Your Vote Is For
The American Jazz Museum isn’t just a building at 18th & Vine. It’s the living room of Kansas City jazz — a place where Charlie Parker’s saxophone lives next door to a stage where new voices play every single week.
The Blue Room is one of the last dedicated jazz clubs in America operating inside a museum. Every Friday, Saturday, and Monday, musicians walk onto a stage that legends played decades ago. Your Indigo Hour happy hours, your Saturday night sets, your Monday Night Jams — they happen because this community shows up.
The Gem Theater has been the crown jewel of 18th & Vine since 1912 — hosting everyone from Count Basie to today’s emerging artists on one of the most storied stages in American music.
Winning Kansas City Favorites tells the whole city that these places matter — that people show up for jazz, for 18th & Vine, for the culture this neighborhood has carried for over a century. It costs nothing but a minute of your time, and it’s one of the most powerful things you can do for us this year.
Where We’re Nominated
American Jazz Museum
Best Attraction
Best Family Attraction
Best Museum
The Blue Room
Best Live Music Venue
Best Date Night Spot
Best Specialty Cocktails
Gem Theater
Best Live Music Venue
The Blue Room and the Gem Theater are both nominated for Best Live Music Venue — which means 18th & Vine could take that category!
How to Vote
Voting is free, takes less than a minute, and requires no account or purchase.
Start here: votekc.com
Once you’re on the site, you’ll find us in two sections:
Under “Things to Do”:
Attraction — American Jazz Museum
Family Attraction — American Jazz Museum
Museum — American Jazz Museum
Live Music Venue — The Blue Room and the Gem Theater
Under “Eat & Drink”:
Date Night Spot — The Blue Room
Specialty Cocktails — The Blue Room
You can vote in every category. Vote once today, then come back and do it again tomorrow. And the day after that.
Need help finding us on the voting site?
These step-by-step guides show you exactly where to click. Open any of them and follow along.
Things to Do
Eat & Drink
Vote Every Day Through April 17
This is the part most people miss: you can vote once per day, every single day, until April 17 at 5:00 PM. One person voting daily for 17 days is worth more than 17 people voting once.
Bookmark the page. Set a phone reminder. Make it a thing.
Spread the Word
Know someone who loves the Blue Room? A friend who brings out-of-town guests to the museum? A coworker who still talks about that Saturday night set? Forward this email. Share the voting link. Post it on social. Every vote counts, and every share multiplies.
Results will be announced on KansasCityFavorites.com and in the print magazine on July 12, 2026.
Thank you to everyone who visits the museum, catches a show at the Blue Room, fills a seat at the Gem, or tells a friend about what’s happening at 18th & Vine. These nominations belong to you as much as they do to us.
Now let’s go win them.
The American Jazz Museum is located at 1616 E 18th St, Kansas City, MO 64108. Learn more at americanjazzmuseum.org.