The Edinburgh Jazz and Blues Festival 2026 will bring over 100 concerts and live events to the city between Friday 17 to Sunday 26 July.
The first in the city’s major summer festivals, EJBF26 spans a mix of genres, countries, and ages: from bebop to boogie-woogie, funk to soul, trad to hip-hop, swing to searing blues-rock.
Highlights include acclaimed American saxophonist Immanuel Wilkins, the innovative The Bad Plus, Louisianan blues star D.K. Harrell, Italian singer Simona Parrinello and French guitarist Nguyên Lê.
The Queen’s Hall series covers many bases with gigs from New Orleans’ Tuba Skinny, bluesy Davina and The Vagabonds, Depression-era blues from Jerron Paxton (see above), a celebration of world music in an Afrobeat Party, and a tribute concert to Edinburgh pianist Brian Kellock.
Mari Gras and Carnival
As always, the EJBF’s opening weekend gets festival season in swing with the popular free music events Mardi Gras in the Grassmarket and then the following day the Edinburgh Carnival in Princes Street Gardens, with over 800 participants from across the globe.
Home-grown Artists
The Scottish line-up includes Seonaid Aitken’s follow up to her award-winning Chasing Sakura; Fergus McCreadie playing a series of duo gigs with his musical heroes, and Konrad Wiszniewski celebrating his Scottish and Polish roots.
The festival will also see new projects from GAÏA, Norman&Corrie, Mantis Ensemble, Finlay Mackenzie and Matt Carmichael, supported by Creative Scotland through the Scottish Government’s Festivals EXPO Fund.
The EJBF gigs are mainly at central venues George Square Spiegeltent and Piccolo tent, St Bride's Centre, and The Jazz Bar, but look out too for Canadian singer Michelle Willis in Meadowbank, award-winning blues guitarist Martin Harley in Oxgangs, and a jazz party at The Pitt in Granton.
Dutch connection
This year, the festival focusses on jazz from the Netherlands through its SPARK showcase.
The programme varies from the introspective piano of Harmen Fraanje to the genre-blurring duo of Jesse van Ruller and Maarten Hogenhuis, the cross-cultural sound of Peter Somuah, and the theatrical energy of Ponga.
Vocalist Carolina Gemmell and pianist Evan van der Feen centre their partnership on improvisation, while new collaborations highlight the power of artistic exchange, with Femke Mooren joining Ali Watson, Greg Irons and Simon Herberholz.
Edition Records
Founded in 2008 by Dave Stapleton, Edition Records has attracted international acclaim for a catalogue that spans a spectrum of contemporary jazz.
As part of its partnership with the record company, the EJBF will be showcasing three Edition artists: guitarist Rob Luft, Belgian trombonist Nabou Claerhout, and pianist Sultan Stevenson, alongside a talk exploring the music of Norwegian trumpeter Nils Petter Molvær.
Kids' jazz
As part of a series of interactive events, the festival will also present Sue McKenzie’s Jazz For Kids workshops and Tenement Jazz Band for Kids interactive shows, as well as talks and jam sessions.
Tickets
Tickets can be bought from the EJBF web site and range in price from £10 for the Friday night Jam Session at the Jazz Bar to £33-£79.75 for Jools Holland at the Usher Hall.