Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024 Announces Lineup

by | Feb 19, 2024

Cheltenham Jazz Festival will return this spring featuring some of the biggest names from the worlds of jazz, soul, blues, pop and beyond. One of Europe’s biggest jazz festivals with over 55,000 music fans in attendance across the week, 2024’s event will take place from Wednesday May 1 to Monday May 6 incorporating a carefully curated mix of international jazz icons, up-and-coming new artists, unique one-off performances, world premieres, masterclasses, family-friendly shows, industry talks, free events and lots more.

 With a cross-generational theme that brings together jazz legends with the very latest new artists, the Festival will play host to a string of world-class artists including the legendary 100 million-selling US vocalist Dionne Warwick; Grammy-winning singer Gregory Porter – who will perform twice at the Festival, in a very special solo show and a collaboration with Blues House of Fame inducteeBettye LaVette and the Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra; English dance-pop star Sophie Ellis-Bextor, whose 2001 hit song Murder On The Dancefloor recently made a return to the Top 10 following its inclusion in cult film Saltburn; multi-platinum-selling reggae royalty UB40, who’ll perform a career spanning set; powerhouse South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo; the distinctive, soulful singer-songwriter Jack Savoretti; electronica/trip hop pioneers Morcheeba; Fun Lovin’ Criminals frontman and BBC 6 Music presenter Huey Morgan; and acid jazz and funk group the Brand New Heavies who’ll be joined onstage by players from the London Concert Orchestra. In a major tribute to British blues, a luminary of the scene, Robert Plant, will also perform a set that mixes his latest music with old favourites. 

The Festival will once again host the most exciting and revered artists from across the contemporary jazz scene including New York collective Snarky Puppy, US piano giant Brad Mehldau, one of the most celebrated British jazz musicians of all time Courtney Pine – who’ll be marking his 60th birthday with a special edition of his Caribbean themed, dance-inducing House of Legends project – Grammy-nominated American trumpeter Theo Croker, genre-defying Scottish multi-instrumentalist and producer corto.alto, the hotly tipped saxophonist and bandleader Lakecia Benjamin, New Zealand-Australian singer-songwriter Jordan Rakei, and a double bill featuring 10-piece afro-jazz outfit Nubiyan Twist and West Africa’s iconic dance band Orchestra Baobab.

Dedicated to making a positive contribution to the ongoing music festival gender divide, Cheltenham Jazz Festival is signed up to the Keychange programme and aims for an equal gender balance across the breadth of its line-up. This year’s programme is notable for its a huge array of boundary-pushing female vocalists including Malian singer and guitarist Fatoumata Diawara, MOBO award-winningZara McFarlane, the bold Newcastle-born singer songwriter Nadine Shah, much-loved UK singer and broadcaster Clare Teal, multi-Grammy Award-winning Dee Dee Bridgewater, distinguished singer and actress Elaine Delmar, rising jazz/soul star CHERISE, Brit jazz mainstay Liane Carroll, one of America’s finest vocal talents Bettye Lavette, the multi-talented Allysha Joy, and one of the all-time great jazz singers Norma Winstone. The Festival’s commitment to talent development is at the centre of the programme, with this year’s annual Showcase event featuring rising stars Amahla and Ruta Di. 

 2024 will also see the return of the Parabola Arts Centre programme, which is dedicated to new, innovative music from around the world. Gracing the stage this year will be British saxophonist Trish Clowes performing alongside US trumpeter Dave Douglas, rising Brit jazz pianist Sultan Stevenson, the National Youth Jazz Orchestra and Nikki Yeoh together present “Speechmik Ex-Ploration”, free jazz virtuoso Charlotte Keeffe, and Mercury Music Prize nominee Kit Downes who will perform a special set with Norma Winstone 

Festival Director Ian George: 

 “We’ve worked incredibly hard for this year’s programme to reflect the full breadth of the jazz spectrum. We have jazz legends and crossover stars nestled between an incredible array of up-and-coming talent and it could well be our broadest line-up to date.” 

 Cheltenham Jazz Festival takes place in a tented Festival village in the town centre’s Montpellier Gardens, which features the Big Top stage, Jazz Arena, Free Stage, a programme of family activities and events and street food traders. The Festival also stretches beyond the central public gardens and across the town, bringing jazz to venues throughout the day and late into the night including Cheltenham Town Hall, Cheltenham Ladies’ College, Parabola Arts Centre, Hotel du Vin and the vibrant, fun, and – in an exciting new partnership for the Festival – in the unique urban woodland atmosphere of Cotswolds favourite, Dunkertons Tap Room. 

The full line-up for this year’s Festival is below. 

Cheltenham Festivals is signed up to the Keychange programme which aims for a 50:50 gender balance across the Festival line-up. 

Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2024 

WEDNESDAY 1 MAY 

Dionne Warwick Big Top 

Elaine Delmar Hotel Du Vin 

 

THURSDAY 2 MAY 

Jack Savoretti Big Top 

Toby Lee Arena 

Gabriella Liandu Hotel Du Vin 

 

FRIDAY 3 MAY 

Brand New Heavies with the London Concert Orchestra Big Top 

Nubyian Twist + Orchestra Baobab Town Hall 

Alice Russell Arena 

Sultan Stevenson Parabola Arts Centre  

Nikki Yeoh & NYJO present Speechmik Ex-PlorationParabola Arts Centre  

Atila Hotel Du Vin  

Giacomo Smith & Lucy-Anne Daniels. The Music of Lester Young & Billie Holiday Dunkertons Tap Room 

 

SATURDAY 4 MAY 

Bettye LaVette feat Gregory Porter with Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra Big Top 

Jordan Rakei Big Top  

Saving Grace with Robert Plant & Suzi Dian Big Top  

Brad Mehldau Trio Town Hall  

Dee Dee Bridgewater Town Hall  

Nadine Shah Town Hall  

The Showcase: Amahla and Ruta Di Arena  

Allysha Joy Arena  

Lakecia Benjamin Arena  

Cherise Hotel Du Vin  

Jo Harrop Hotel Du Vin  

Giacomo Smith featuring Joplin Parnell Dunkertons Tap Room 

Jazz Babies! Discovery Space  

Namvula Discovery Space  

Aga Serugo-Lugo Discovery Space 

Conservatoire & Siena Exchange Parabola Arts Centre 

Charlotte Keeffe: Right Here, Right Now, Quartet Parabola Arts Centre  

David Ola and The Lucumí Project Parabola Arts Centre  

Kit Downes and Norma Winstone Parabola Arts Centre  

Dave Douglas & Trish Clowes Parabola Arts Centre 

 

SUNDAY 5 MAY 

Snarky Puppy Big Top 

Morcheeba Big Top  

Sophie Ellis-Bextor Big Top 

Fatoumata Diawara Town Hall  

Courtney Pine Town Hall 

Huey Morgan Town Hall 

Zara McFarlane Presents the Music of Sarah Vaughan Arena  

The Royal Scammers Arena  

Theo Croker Arena  

Julien Durand’s DREAMSCAPES Parabola Arts Centre 

Sam Eastmond and John Zorn’s Bagatelles  Parabola Arts Centre 

un.procedure plus Parabola Arts Centre 

Liane Carroll Hotel Du Vin  

Jay Rayner Sextet Dunkertons Tap Room 

Jazz Kids! with Richard Foote Discovery Space 

Family Sing! with Sara Colemon Discovery Space 

Hotclub of Jupiter Discovery Space 

 

MONDAY 6 MAY 

Ladysmith Black Mambazo Big Top  

UB40 Big Top  

Gregory Porter Big Top  

Tobago and D’Lime Arena 

The Clare Teal Seven Arena  

Corto.alto Arena 

Alim Kamara: From Djeli to Rap! Discovery Space 

Discover Flamenco! – with Ana García Discovery Space 

 

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Feature Image Photo Credit: Supplied By Baxter PR

Some shows are already on sale. Tickets for the newly announced acts go on general sale on Wednesday March 6. All tickets available from cheltenhamfestivals.com/jazz. 

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