The NN North Sea Jazz Festival, the world’s largest indoor music festival, has announced the first wave of artists for its hugely-anticipated return to the Ahoy Centre in Rotterdam this July. From Friday 12th to Sunday 14th July 2024, this year’s event will present a line-up bursting with huge international stars from across the worlds of jazz, blues, soul, pop and beyond.
The festival will present several special projects, including a new quartet featuring tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, pianist Brad Mehldau, bassist John Patitucci and drummer Johnathan Blake, and Something Else! with Vincent Herring, Binker Golding, Jeremy Pelt, David Kikoski, Paul Bollenback, Essiet Essiet and Lewis Nash. Cuban pianist and composer Chucho Valdés celebrates the 50th anniversary of his Afro-Cuban jazz company Irakere, and Shai Maestro performs with the Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw.
Amongst 60 artists announced today are some of the world’s most celebrated jazz artists including Joshua Redman, Jamie Cullum, Cécile McLorin Salvant, Walter Smith III, bassist Avishai Cohen, and French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf.
Several emerging artists will make their North Sea debuts this year including Amaro Freitas, D.K. Harrell, Kymara, Lander & Adriaan, Laura Misch, Lawrence, and Veronica Swift.
Reaching all corners of the jazz and soul spectrum, the festival’s broad line-up will also feature record-breaking Brit Award nominee Raye, GRAMMY-winner Corinne Bailey Rae, Jamaican-American singer and saxophonist Masego, Mercury Prize winner Sampha, boundary-pushing US rapper and poet Noname, the legendary Sting and much more.
Welcoming around 80,000 music fans each year, the North Sea Jazz Festival has built an incomparable reputation since its inaugural year in 1976 hosting a string of musical icons over the years from Miles Davis and Count Basie to Amy Winehouse and Adele. This summer the festival expects more than a thousand musicians, with over 150 performances on fifteen different stages. Less than an hour’s plane ride away, a direct train from London St Pancras or a ferry ride, the North Sea Jazz Festival is easily accessible from the UK and perfectly suited for a weekend retreat.
NN North Sea Jazz Festival 2023 – Rotterdam Ahoy Centre
The Line-up so far:
Friday 12 July: Amaro Freitas Trio; Avishai Cohen Bande Iroko; Brittany Howard; Chucho Valdés: Irakere 50; corto.alto; D.K. Harrell; Emily King; Henri Texier ‘An Indian’s Life’; Jamie Cullum; Kinga Głyk; Kurt Rosenwinkel Quartet ‘The Next Step Reunion Tour’; Kymara; Laufey; Lehmanss Brothers; Myra Melford – Fire & Water Quintet; PotterMehldauPatitucci*Blake; Raye; Reuben James; Smino; Vulfpeck
Saturday 13 July: Anouk & Metropole Orkest; Christone ‘Kingfish’ Ingram; Corinne Bailey Rae presents Black Rainbows; Ibrahim Maalouf and the trumpets of Michel-Ange ; Joel Ross Good Vibes; John Ghost; John Scofield & Dave Holland; Joshua Redman Group ft. Gabrielle Cavassa ‘where are we’ Tour ; Joss Stone; Laura Misch; Lawrence; Lizz Wright; Maite Hontelé & Nationaal Jeugd Jazz Orkest; Marisa Monte; Masego; Quique; Something Else! ft. Vincent Herring, Binker Golding, Jeremy Pelt, David Kikoski, Paul Bollenback, Essiet Essiet, and Lewis Nash ; Sungazer Plus; Tems; Veronica Swift
Sunday 14 July: Bamba Wassoulou Groove; Benjamin Clementine; Black Pumas; Cécile Mclorin Salvant; Darcy James Argue’s Secret Society ; Dave Douglas Gifts Quintet ft. James Brandon Lewis, Rafiq Bhatia, and Ian Chang; Faada Freddy; Jimetta Rose & The Voices of Creation; Knower; Lander & Adriaan; Mahalia; Noname; Sampha; Shai Maestro & Jazz Orchestra of the Concertgebouw; Sting; Sylvie Courvoisier Chimaera; Vicente Amigo; Walter Smith III
