The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival, the brainchild of banjo-player and guitarist – Mike Hart, is the biggest of its kind in Britain. Conducted annually, this year the festival will be held from 15th July to 24th July in the capital city of Scotland. The programme features 170 concerts in a time period of 10 days.
Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival by Ken Windsor CC BY
For the participants of the fest, there’ll be lots of music, ranging from 1920s traditional jazz to all shades of blues. Not only this, they’ll be entertained by the festival favourites Davina and the Vagabonds, a vintage jazz party with Bratislava Hot Serenaders, Italian super-charged brass from Bandakadabra, and classic Dixieland with Batchelors of Jazz. Some of the past performers include Warren Vache, Buddy Tate, Hot Antic Jazz Band and The Black Eagles Jazz Band. There’ll be 140 gigs at 13 venues around the city. International travellers who have an ardent love of music (…and jazz specifically!) shouldn’t miss this awesome celebration.
Themes
The amazing fiesta reveals all styles of jazz and blues. Music will be from 1920s to the music churned out by emerging artists of the current times. The themes are Brass & Crimson, Cross The Tracks, Europe Jazz Summit, Festival Residencies, Festival theatre Concerts, Firsts, Scottish Jazz Expo, and The Blues.
The Special Feature
European Jazz will be the special feature of the festival. The ‘Europe Jazz Summit’ comprises of concerts headlined by John McLaughlin and Jan Garbarek – the two prominent personalities of the European Jazz from the last five decades. There’ll be musicians from Denmark, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Netherlands and Sweden.
Carnival
The incredible carnival includes more than 700 performers from around the world. On 17th July, the carnival parade starts at 2:30 PM from the Mound proceeding towards the West End of the Princes Street. Participants get to observe colourful performances in Princes Street, Princes Street Gardens and the Grassmarket from 2:30 PM to 5:00 PM. The music, dance, circus acrobats and puppetry are just super-attractive!
Multiple Venues
The Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival is planned to be held across different venues such as The Queen’s Hall, The Jazz Bar, and Princess Street Gardens. For the first time, Spiegeltent in St Andrew and George Square, Festival Theatre, La Belle Angele and City Art Centre will be hosting the events of the festival.
Tickets
Interested individuals can buy tickets online from the official website and collect them later at the venue. Those intending to purchase tickets in person should head to the Hub Tickets, Castlehill Edinburgh EH1 2NE. Tickets are available at other locations as well. Communication for the same via phone is possible too. Kids under 16 years of age are permitted to attend the concert free of cost at the Queen’s Hall and Spiegeltent, if accompanied by an adult.
