Steve Lucky and the Rhumba Bums were busy "shooby-doo-wop-bopping" on stage. Meanwhile, a woman with a black halter dress, a chic A-line haircut and flashy white sunglasses jitterbugged with the man in the suit. The couple was eye-catching. They were not only good dancers, but they were an older couple.

This Memorial Day weekend marks Sacramento's 36th Jazz Jubilee. If you have never been to the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee, or JazzFest (they are referred to interchangeably), a consistent observation has been the strong presence of an "older" crowd. This can be attributed to the festival's traditional Dixieland appeal, an appeal that some patrons said is beginning to fizzle out.

Volunteer John Shannon, who said his parents had continually brought him to the festival since he was two years old, acknowledged the claim made by some that the JazzFest's recent shift in music "takes away" from the festival.

"But you can't take the fun out of jubilee," he responded.

"You could sit all day and listen to traditional [Dixieland]...but you have to have different genres to sustain something this large," Shannon said.

Jazzfest artists now perform genres such as blues, zydeco and swing, in addition to Dixieland.

Volunteers explained that the JazzFest is trying to appeal to a younger demographic to compensate for the older generations that are passing on.

"[There are] a lot more bands [and] different types of music to appeal to the younger generations, and it's working," said volunteer Betty Paul as she stood outside the crowded performance of the Benny Goodman Centennial Tribute Band. Paul has attended the festival since it first began in 1974.

Naturally, the "Next Generation" sites at the festival also draw some younger audience members, since they host bands consisting of teenagers and high school students.

Some volunteers and festival patrons expressed their disappointment with the changes of the festival.

"What the JazzFest used to be is a jubilee. They're trying to get younger people to come [and] the older population has dwindled," said John McDaniel, who has volunteered for 35 years.

McDaniel also noted the absence of RV parking and the lacking presence of foreign bands, two attractions that have drawn festival-goers in the past.

While there were teenagers scattered throughout the festival and occasionally young adults perusing the crowds with beers in hand, the older generation, some bravely adorned with fancy hats and studded sunglasses, was nonetheless predominant and looking to have a good time.

Bands like Tom Rigney and the Flambeau, a versatile San Francisco-based band, and Billy Mata and Texas Tradition, a band that incorporates sounds of swing and country, were both big hits with the older crowds Friday.

Volunteer Lewis Mutschler, wearing an oversized "Grumpy" hat, relaxed on the grass with his wife, who wore a headband with sparkly star antennas, as they sat and watched the high school swing and jazz band Santa Clara Swing.

"If they can draw a younger crowd and keep it from dying out it's a good thing," said Mutschler . 

All photos courtesy of Anthony Bento. You can visit his website here: http://hatlesslincoln.com/photography/v/bento/