The red carpet’s out on 18th & Vine, and jazz is coming to the Crossroads | Opinion
The historic 18th & Vine Jazz District has been on a roll this year — that is, in rolling out the red carpet to honor Black excellence, celebrate milestones and show off new construction. It proposes to transform the iconic area into a pedestrian plaza sure to become an attractive Kansas City tourist destination.
I can’t imagine there’s anyone who doesn’t know this, but just in case: From the 1920s to the 1940s, the area around 18th Street and Vine Avenue was an epicenter for music, and fostered such legends as Charlie “Bird” Parker, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and many more. No, jazz wasn’t born in Kansas City, but as I’ve heard KC natives say, it grew up here.
Lately, happenings in the district have been coming one after another, and this past weekend, two big events took place there, along with a couple of long-awaited announcements. Then, on Wednesday, the pedestrian plaza was opened, and Mayor Quinton Lucas said investment in the historic district will continue.
For months, 18th Street south from Paseo Boulevard, where the district begins, to Woodland Avenue has been shut down to vehicular traffic during this transformation.
The notable moments began with a bit of struggle when a group of local artists challenged Kansas City officials who had selected finalists for an art installation on the wall of the Lydia Street Garage at the entrance of the historic district. Artists, upset that none of the finalists selected were people of color from Kansas City, won a big victory when the city changed the installation bid criterion and later tapped a local Black artist for the job.
Then, in February, an intimate setting of community members came together at the Black Archives of Mid-America to honor Shawn Edwards, a local film critic for Fox 4 News, and to sneak a glimpse of exhibits that will live at the Black Movie Hall of Fame, which he has championed. The hall was set to open in the Boone Theater, which at the time was being restored in the heart of the district.
Last month, iconic U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn visited 18th and Vine and spoke at the historic YMCA on Paseo Boulevard, which — it was recently announced — will be the new home of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in two years.
On May 1, Kansas City’s Historic Boone Theater celebrated a grand opening, where special thanks were given to civic leaders, investors and developers who have been working for years to revitalize the district. Special thanks were extended to U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, who helped secure millions of dollars supporting the $8.7 million redevelopment project to turn the nearly century-old theater into a multipurpose venue for performances, events and creative programming.
Then on Saturday, Kansas City dignitaries and community members filled seats set on the newly designed 18th and Vine pedestrian plaza in front of the American Jazz Museum to witness the unveiling of the medallion inducting Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist and composer Herbie Hancock into the Jazz Walk of Fame. Hancock, who wasn’t present at the weekend ceremony, is visiting Kansas City on Aug. 6 to perform a concert at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts.
During the induction, 3rd District Councilwoman Melissa Patterson Hazley announced the completion of the Lydia Street garage, which will make parking convenient for the many visitors expected to come and stroll the plaza in the future. The induction was followed by a concert by R&B and gospel singer Ruben Studdard, the “Velvet Teddy Bear,” at the Gem Theater, right across the plaza from the museum.
On Sunday, an audience filled the Gem again, this time for the second annual Honors Awards presented by the 18th & Vine Arts Festival Foundation to recognize outstanding leaders and organizations that have been shaping the city’s creative community for years. Marquez Beasley, director of the foundation, said he started the Honors Awards because so many people helping to grow the arts culture and supporting it were behind the scenes and needed to “get their flowers while they are alive.”
This year’s honorees are film critic Shawn Edwards, musician Lonnie McFadden, radio personality Sean Tyler, R&B vocalist J. Leroy Beasley, poet Mary Moore, vocalist Sosha Oshaye, spoken word artist and storyteller Simeon Taylor, ICE Studios School of Dance, gospel singer Isaac Cates and music director and producer Jason Betts.
The district isn’t done yet. Expect a huge celebration next month to recognize Juneteenth. Then coming soon are new housing units, a hotel, new eateries and other businesses, more newly restored historic sights, and just a few blocks away, the city broke ground last week on a new outdoor roller skating rink going in at Blues Park.
Off The Vine
Below are stories about culture and identity from communities in the Kansas City metropolitan area. Go here to find more from Star reporter J.M. Banks.
- When the World Cup games come to Kansas City, visitors will see culture being embraced in Missouri and Kansas. Banks wrote that Johnson County is partnering with JuneteenthKC on a public art and transit project that’s putting Juneteenth-themed designs on buses and bus shelters throughout the Kansas county.
- Local native Tech N9ne honored Kansas City doing the finale leg of his national tour in his hometown. Banks was at the concert and wrote about the rave reviews it got from fans.
Around The Vine
- A two-day event called the Kansas City Culture Festival is May 29 and 30 under the historic Jefferson Bridge, 2130 Jefferson St. Organizers promise to fill the bridge with live music, cigar vendors, food trucks, artists, boxing and after-parties.
- Kansas City can celebrate Juneteenth at KC Jazz in the Garden with live jazz and food, hosted by Global One Urban Farming Community Garden at 3 p.m. June 6, at 4409 Cypress Ave., Kansas City.
- Then hold on to your guts laughing at the KC Black Comedian Crown, a comedy competition from 7:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. on June 19 at The Bird Comedy Theater, 103 W. 19th St., Kansas City. The show benefits The Walker Foundation, a nonprofit that provides free custom wigs, hair education and grooming services to children facing hair loss from medical conditions.
Vine Picks
- This sounds like a great combination: jazz and good food. Cafe 333 is a new jazz club in the Kansas City Crossroads and it has another special feature that reporter Jenna Thompson writes about here.
- A church from outside Kansas City is helping the Missouri Black student group defunded by the University of Missouri to avoid ticking off the Trump administration, which sees funding minority student groups as DEI. Reporter Jack Harvel wrote about where the help comes from.
- Now that a new grocery store is open on Prospect Avenue and 31st Street for residents in that area, see what the city is doing to help the people who hang around there who are plagued with mental illness and homelessness.
- Men charged with burglarizing the homes of a number of NFL players, including Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce, have been arrested in Argentina. Reporter Pete Grathoff has the details.
- Locations in Johnson County have been identified where people are accused of selling THC to kids — one’s a market, and the other is a vape shop. Find out where.
Your voice matters to us. What local issues do you want to hear discussed in On The Vine? Let me, Mará Rose Williams, The Star’s senior opinion columnist, know directly at mdwilliams@kcstar.com. Thank you for reading. Support our local journalists with a subscription.
This story was originally published May 28, 2026 at 7:45 AM.
