manchester jazz festival 2025
Johnny James, Managing Editor
Jazz lovers rejoice – manchester jazz festival is back with a bumper edition in 2025, as the festival celebrates its 30th anniversary.
Lighting up venues across the city, mjf2025 will sees hundreds of northern, national and international jazz musicians descend on Manchester, showcasing the genre’s leading lights alongside its most exciting emerging talent.
mjf was first staged in the summer of 1996, hosting nine bands in one venue over the course of a single day. Who could have known that this would mark the start of what is now Manchester’s longest running music festival, sprawling across the city for 10 whole days each year. And yet for all it’s grown, mjf’s spirit remains the same, rooted in the joyful celebration and genuine support of the contemporary jazz world’s diverse artists.
The newly announced line-up features some incredible musicians, with headliners including John Helliwell’s Super Big Tramp Band, ganavya, Small Print (Winstone/Iles/Walker/Watts), Yazz Ahmed Quartet, Richard Iles, Alice Zawadzki, James Pearson Trio, Emma Rawicz & Gwilym Simcock, Camilla George Quartet, Mammal Hands, Sylvain Rifflet, Elliot Galvin and Steam Down.
But what we really love about this festival is the light it shines on emerging artists, while also making these shows incredibly accessible. Enter the opening weekend, which is entirely free.
Located in the vibrant neighbourhood of First Street, mjf2025 will kick off with a celebration of the depth and breadth of Manchester’s home-grown talent (including bands emerging through mjf’s artist development programmes) alongside national and international acts. You’ll also find a host of family-friendly activities, a sneak-peek food & drink offer from First Street’s forthcoming House of Social food hall, and all-round lovely festival vibes.
After that, the pace quickens as stages around the city light up – including a few newcomers for mjf2025: Aviva Studios, Low Four Studios, Flawd and Stage & Radio. As in previous years, there’ll also be nightly gigs at jazz institution Matt & Phreds and many, many shows at RNCM, Stoller Hall, Forsyth Music Shop, St Ann’s Church and The Carlton Club.
Each year, the festival hosts an ‘mjf originals’ commission, with northern artists responding to a call-out for contemporary, boundary-pushing new work. This year’s commission has been awarded to Richard Iles’ Miniature Brass Emporium, whose New Futures II revisits mjf’s first ever commissioned work from 25 years ago. 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.
Another new work comes courtesy of sound artist Verity Watts, who’s performing as part of the PRS Foundation’s 2025 New Music Biennial. Airing at mjf, Bradford UK City of Culture and South Bank Centre, her radical work City of P E A C E uses turntables, spoken word, bassline improv and archive audio samples to ask us what peace sounds like in 2025.
Towards the end of the festival, the action condenses around Band on the Wall for a weekend-long closing party, with an all-new afternoon showcase of international debuts at Aviva Studios. Giving you a taste of the finest artists from across the continent, performers include Sylvain Rifflet’s We Want Stars (France), Nabou (Belgium) and Sanem Kalfa’s Miraculous Layers (The Netherlands).
You should also keep your eye out for activities surrounding the much-loved, city-wide piano trail, which sees mjf and Forsyth Music Shop install 15 pianos around the city, for anyone to play. From 20 March to 30 May, they’ll be the focus of a competition for the title of Manchester’s best street pianist, with a Yamaha electric piano just one of many prizes.
There are over 60 free and ticketed events taking place this year – a huge line-up, which you can explore in full by hitting the ‘Book now’ button below.
