Grammy-nominated artist Thana Alexa was the headlining act of the 2022 Winona Lake Jazz Festival. InkFreeNews photos by Liz Shepherd.

By Liz Shepherd
InkFreeNews

WINONA LAKE — Music reverberated around Winona Lake, echoing out of the Winona Heritage Room as multiple jazz groups performed on Saturday, July 23.

Four bands were a part of the 2022 Winona Lake Jazz Festival, an annual, free event for the community to enjoy.

The headlining act was Thana Alexa, a Grammy-nominated and Downbeat cover artist, vocalist, composer, arranger and producer. Alexa’s band features her husband, Antonio Sánchez, a multi-Grammy award-winning drummer.

Alexa’s album, “ONA,” was released in March 2020. A tour for the album was postponed until this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “ONA” means “she” in Croatian.

“The whole idea behind this album came when I went to the 2017 Women’s March on Washington,” said Alexa. “It was a very powerful experience for me and it really changed me and it changed the way I see music. The one thing that kept sticking out to me, more than anything, at the march was what preceded the march and that were speeches, talks, women telling their stories, women’s voices.”

Prior to Alexa taking the stage, the Truth in Jazz Big Band, Brath/Tardy Quintet, and John Moulder Quintet, all performed.

Alexa and her band perform for the audience in the Winona Heritage Room.