Yazz Ahmed, Rawicz/Simcock and Mali Hayes help Manchester Jazz Festival celebrate 30th anniversary
Mike Flynn
Monday, March 31, 2025
The northern powerhouse jazz festival marks its third decade with a bumper line up of top gigs across the city
The Manchester Jazz Festival returns for a busy 10-day line-up around the city from 16 to 25 May celebrating its 30th anniversary with a bumper programme. Once again the event celebrates the latest up-and-coming talent from across the North, and the best names in contemporary jazz. Headliners this year include Yazz Ahmed Quartet; Ganavya; Small Print – Norma Winstone/Nikki Iles/Mike Walker/Steve Watts; Richard Iles; Alice Zawadzki; James Pearson Trio; Emma Rawicz & Gwilym Simcock, Camilla George Quartet; Mammal Hands; Sylvain Rifflet; Elliot Galvin; Steam Down; John Helliwell’s Super Big Tramp Band; and many more.
Building on the success of last year, Manchester Jazz Festival (mjf) begins with a free-entry opening weekender at the vibrant neighbourhood, First Street (under the banner, mjf @ First Street) from 16 – 18 May, and is supported by funky student food hall and accommodation, House of Social. This will feature three event stages: House of Social Main Stage, Ask Garden Stage and HOME stage, each celebrating the breadth and individuality of the local home-grown scene and beyond. Featuring bands emerging through mjf’s artist development programmes alongside a host of northern success stories, artists appearing including singer Mali Hayes, trumpeter Olivia Cuttill and saxophonist Phil Meadows.
Four new venues are added to the mjf performance spaces this year and include Aviva Studios, home of Factory International; Low Four Studios, Flawd and Stage & Radio, alongside regulars St Ann’s Church, Matt & Phreds, RNCM, Forsyth Music Shop, The Stoller Hall and The Carlton Club.
The festival closes with an extended weekend-long party at Band on the Wall, with an afternoon showcase of international debuts at Aviva Studios. The festival also presents a new ‘mjf originals’ commission in the form of Richard Iles’ Miniature Brass Emporium: New Futures II – revisiting the festival’s first ever commissioned work from 25 years ago, in which Iles profiled established and then-emerging players. Reinvented for 2025, this performance brings together players from the original line-up with emerging players of today, supported by Granada Foundation and PRS Foundation.
The festival was first staged in the summer of 1996, hosting nine bands in one venue over the course of a single day. Few involved expected this would mark the start of what is now Manchester’s longest running music festival, that radiates out across venues around the city for 10 days each year.
Commenting on the 30th edition Steve Mead, mjf CEO and Artistic Director, said: “Reaching a milestone anniversary is always cause for celebration, and the 30th mjf looks both back and forwards: we’ll celebrate some of the key players over the years, present the very best of jazz today from Manchester and the wider world, and preview the next generation of creative artists. It’s also a good time to reiterate the core values that have been at the heart of every mjf since 1996: championing new music and northern talent, reducing barriers for audiences and bringing debut performances to Manchester from around the world.”
For full line-up details and tickets visit www.manchesterjazz.com
