Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival returns in 2025
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival [EJBF] returns in 2025, ready to electrify the city with ten days of world-class music. From Friday 11 to Sunday 20 July, the capital will come alive as venues across Edinburgh host an incredible line-up of jazz and blues artists from around the globe. Whether you're a festival regular or a first-time visitor, prepare for a genre-spanning celebration - from bebop to boogie-woogie, funk to soul, trad to techno, swing to searing blues-rock. There’s something for every musical mood in this year’s programme.
From Fri 11 – Sun 20 July, the festival will feature:
- More than 100 events taking place across the city
- A return to The Famous Spiegeltent in St Andrew Square
- Edinburgh Festival Carnival – Edinburgh’s largest multi-cultural event
- Edinburgh Napier University Jazz Summer School
- A host of interactive events including workshops, kid's events, masterclasses and a talk
No other festival covers jazz and blues, across all the styles, with such depth and quality, and with so many unique events. Acclaimed American guitarist Julian Lage, leading lights of the British and Irish blues scene Elles Bailey and Muireann Bradley, mesmerising singer Anaïs Reno and the techno brilliance of LBT are highlights of the programme. These names join the previously announced gigs from world-renowned singer Curtis Stigers, American blues star Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Scotland's own Colin Steele and corto.alto.
EJBF prides itself on promoting live events all over the city with highlights including award-winning blues artist Stacy Mitchhart in Oxgangs, Luxembourg quartet Saxitude in Murrayfield, and a jazz party at The Pitt Street Food Market.
This year’s international showcases introduce some exciting new names to the festival as we collaborate with partners in Poland and Luxembourg.
- Our Polish Jazz Focus shines the spotlight on compelling mix of voices including visionary pianist Joanna Duda, trailblazing all-women ensemble O.N.E., vocalist Aga Zaryan’s trademark. intimacy and nuance and Pawel Kaczmarczyk Trio, an unmissable piano trio. Acclaimed saxophonist Marta Wajdzik joins Alan Benzie in a Polish/Scottish musical meeting. Finally, the stellar Maciej Obara presents a masterclass whilst Piotr Smith talks about the history.
- Our SPARK programme presents the best in jazz from Luxembourg with a programme curated in association with Kultur | lx – Arts Council Luxembourg. We will welcome a host of new generation of artists who are making waves across the European modern jazz scene. We look forward to introducing Veda Bartinger, Maxime Bender Trio, Michel Meis and Joel Metz (who performs with Scotland’s Brodie Laird-Jarvie) to Edinburgh audiences.
Scottish artists are the beating heart of our programme, and we feature an array of new and exciting bands, projects and commissions including Nathan Somevi’s Afro-jazz playlist, Emma Smith’s tribute to carers and Paul Harrison pays homage to Keith Jarrett’s legendary Köln Concert. Collaborations include Martin Taylor, who performs with Sweden’s Ulf Wakenius and Mathew Kilner with German drummer Gerwin Eisenhauer. We also give a voice to the new wave of Scottish jazz including Unoma Okudo, TAO and Gaia Jeannot.
As part of a series of interactive events, the festival presents digital music making workshops from Stu Brown, as well as two shows for young music fans with Jazz For Kids and Sound Explorers, both courtesy of Sue McKenzie, as well as talks, masterclasses, jam sessions and more.
The Edinburgh Festival Carnival, Scotland’s largest and most flamboyant multicultural event, returns to the city centre on Sunday 13 July with over 750 participants from across the globe and from the heart of Edinburgh. The Carnival programme will be released on Thursday 12 June.