Dancers kicked up their heels to the tunes of the Melbourne-based Miles High Jazz Orchestra at the community stage in Reid Street on Saturday afternoon.

Among them was Sydney’s Rachelle Desille, who had travelled to Wangaratta with her partner, who was teaching swing dancing at the festival.

“It’s diverse — there’s a huge variety,” Miss Desille said of the jazz event.

“It attracts so many people ... jazz is universal, it’s only one language.”

Later that afternoon, the Ari Hoenig Quartet drew a crowd at the city’s new $8 million performing arts centre.

David Bray and Louise Freckelton, also of Sydney, were among the lucky ones near the front of the queue, which snaked along the street outside the venue as festival-goers waited for the chance to see the act.

As the pair sheltered from the sun underneath an umbrella, Ms Freckelton joked the news story of the day would become: “Heat wave wipes out jazz fans”.

Festival manager Kay Richardson said the quartet had been one of the top acts, along with trumpeter Charles Tolliver.

Festival ticket sales have been consistent with last year, drawing between 25,000 and 30,000 to the city, while patronage at the free Reid Street stage on Saturday night was a stand-out.

“We had 2000 chairs — not one chair was empty and there were more people standing than there were sitting,” Ms Richardson said.

“Certainly from all accounts — volunteers, people who have been here for 20 years — this has been one of the biggest years for that community area.”

Ms Richardson said next year, organisers hoped to run buses around the North East.

“We think it’d be a great idea to run buses from Albury and around the region to bring the day trippers to the festival,” she said.