After selling a record-breaking 41,000 tickets and welcoming thousands more people to the festival village in Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham Jazz Festival has declared 2026 its most successful year to date.
The festival marked its 30th year with an eclectic lineup including big names in pop like James Morrison, Jessie J, 10CC, Joss Stone and Jack Savoretti, alongside jazz greats like Ronnie Scott's Jazz Orchestra and Guy Barker Big Band, as well as the most exciting artists in contemporary jazz, blues, soul and world music like Georgia Cécile, Lady Blackbird, Tinariwen, Ladies of Midnight Blue and Emma Jean-Thackray.
With more tickets sold than previous years, alongside a programme of free entertainment which saw the festival village packed out across the sunny bank holiday weekend, and live jazz brought to venues across town including Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel Du Vin, The Wilson Art Gallery & Museum, The Brewery Quarter and Parler, Cheltenham Festivals says this year 'reaffirmed' the event's place 'as one of Europe's leading music festivals'.
This was the first year with new guest curator, Corinne Bailey Rae, at the helm, signalling what Cheltenham Festivals calls 'the beginning of an exciting new chapter with a shared vision centred on creativity, opportunity and nurturing the next generation of talent.'
The Grammy-winning artist spent some time with participants of the Jazz It Up programme – one of Cheltenham Festivals' initiatives to bring music to schools and communities across Gloucestershire – which saw young musicians performing to big crowds on the Free Stage.
Corinne said: 'The festival does so much great work. It does work in [the] community; it does work with young people and says how can we get music to people who wouldn’t necessarily walk through these doors.
'[The Festival] reminds me of what music has been for me through my life, how so many people encouraged me as a teenager to get involved with music and I’m really happy to see it’s still happening and that you can see young people growing and blossoming when they’re performing on stage.'
The weekend was filled with standout performances, from Corinne's own Big Top show, Jessie J's rousing performance, Guy Barker Big Band and the BBC Concert Orchestra's reimagining of Miles Davis's iconic Kind of Blue, to Jack Savoretti's mesmerising, stripped-back closing set featuring just guitar, voice and grand piano.
Speaking to the audience about his affection for Cheltenham Jazz Festival, Jack said: 'Look after your local community, this is where it all happens. How often do you get together like this without arguing? It's pretty magic.'
Plans are already underway for next year's Cheltenham Jazz Festival, which takes place from Wednesday 28 April until Monday 3 May 2027.
