Activities

This year, from 22–25 April, jazzahead! will celebrate its 20th edition in Bremen. The jazzahead! showcase festival is considered the world’s largest jazz industry event, bringing together active professionals and talents from across the field – musicians, record labels, agencies, festival organisers, programmers, and media representatives.

Sweden has been invited as the partner country for the 2026 edition, with the aim of strengthening collaboration and international exchange between the Swedish and German jazz sectors. Partners include the Swedish Arts Council, Göteborg Artist Center (GAC), Musikcentrum Sweden, Svensk Jazz, Export Music Sweden, and STIM. The jazzahead! Festival has also expressed interest in future collaboration with the Baltic countries.

Since 2006, jazzahead! has taken place in Bremen, Germany, combining a trade fair, conference, and showcase festival. Jazz professionals and talents gather to build networks, exchange ideas, participate in conferences and panel discussions, and experience 38 official showcase concerts, alongside the CLUBNIGHT programme. In 2025, the festival hosted around 3,300 professionals from 66 countries and 23,000 general visitors. From Estonia, Kadri Voorand and Mihkel Mälgand performed in the CLUBNIGHT programme, while the Estonian-Swedish project Tuulikki Bartosik & Svante Söderqvist Trio – The Rocket appeared in the main programme.

Estonian programme 2026:

Friday, 24 April
15.00–16.00
Reception: Baltic Hour
jazzahead! conference centre, Baltic stand

Friday, 24 April
20.15–21.00
Petros Klampanis Trio, with Kristjan Randalu (GR, EE)
Sendesaal

Saturday, 25 April
16.15–16.45
Britta Virves Trio (SE, EE)
Kulturzentrum Schlachthof

Saturday, 25 April
19.30–20.15 and 21.00–21.45
Tuulikki Bartosik & Svante Söderqvist: The Rocket (SE, EE)
Klimahaus Bremerhaven