ARTS IN THE HEART OF AUGUSTA 2025
FESTIVAL INFO
about the 2025 FESTIVAL
SEPT. 19- 21: Friday 5pm – 9pm; Saturday 11am – 9pm; Sunday 11am-6pm
Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival relocated back to the Savannah River this year! The award-winning Festival was located on the Augusta Common, Reynolds Street and by the River on September 19 – 21st this year. The festival is presented by the Greater Augusta Arts Council, City of Augusta and Powered by Amazon.
Music was a big focus again this year at the festival with a great lineup of performers all weekend. Saturday evening the Global Stage featured Leon and the Peoples, an award-winning Reggae Soul band from NYC, led by internationally acclaimed performer, singer-songwriter, movie & TV actor Leon Robinson and Soul Asylum.
The Jazz Stage located at 8th Street Market Area Entrance to the Riverwalk featured the Pop and R&B Queen Niki Haris, former backup vocalist for Madonna who has performed with jazz greats like Stanley Turrentine, Red Holloway & Ray Charles. The popular Soul Suite Stage will be located inside the Augusta Marriott Hotel on the Riverwalk (a major sponsor of this year’s festival) and viral sensation Comedian Kerwin Claiborne.
On the Community Stage, located at the Amphitheater on the river, Urban Guitar Legend Elliot Holden performed. Holden recently appeared in the Tyler Perry film “A Jazzman’s Blues”. The Family Stage will have lots of great family-friendly performances including Piccadilly Puppets from Atlanta.
Festival stages were booked with remarkable talent all weekend long including dance, cultural, reggae, soul, spoken word, rock, pop, country, theatrical performances and more. Niki Haris are funded in part by a grant from Destination Augusta.
The festival featured over 150 juried Fine Arts and Crafts artists with artists coming from all over the United States. The global food village is famous for its authentic taste of global cuisine and will tempt food lovers with 19 authentic cuisine booths. Food booths include China, Greece, Germany, India, Ireland, South Sudan, Sudan, Thailand, Vietnam, Korea, Lebanon, Trinidad, Philippines, Latin America, Jamaica, Turkey and Samoa.
The large Family Area was packed with interactive children’s activities, street performers, public art, and a Young Artists Market.
Soul Asylum to Perform at Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival
Arts in the Heart of Augusta will be rocking this Fall with Grammy winning band Soul Asylum on the Global Stage Saturday, Sept. 20th at 7:30pm on the Augusta Common. Soul Asylum are known for their raucous and emphatic combination of punk energy, guitar-fueled firepower, and songs that range from aggressive to heartfelt. They continue to be one of the most inspiring and hardworking bands in the rock scene, having broken through commercially with the double-platinum 1992 album Grave Dancers Union, which contained the Grammy-winning Billboard Hot 100 Top 5 hit “Runaway Train” and No. 1 Modern Rock smash “Somebody to Shove.” Their latest album, “Slowly But Shirley” includes frontman Dave Pirner, drummer Michael Bland, lead guitarist Ryan Smith, bassist Jeremy Tappero and was produced by Steve Jordan, drummer for the Rolling Stones. Soul Asylum is funded in part by a grant from Destination Augusta.
Opening for Soul Asylum on Saturday night at 6pm will be Leon & the Peoples, an award-winning Reggae Soul band from NYC, led by internationally acclaimed performer, singer-songwriter, movie & TV actor Leon. Their latest album’s debut single “Love Is A Beautiful Thing” charted #3 on Billboard’s Hot Singles Sales.
Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival is September 19 – 21st. The festival is presented by the Greater Augusta Arts Council, City of Augusta and Powered by Amazon. For more information visit artsintheheartofaugusta.com and the festival social media pages on Facebook and Instagram.