The cool, the blue, the trad and the funk; the hard bop, the Big Band and the simply melodious—in other words, all colours and flavours of the jazz rainbow— will soon descend on Rotterdam, the Netherlands, for the 50th anniversary North Sea Jazz Festival.
Whether you’re a seasoned jazz vet or a jazz’n’blues newbie, you’ll be wowed by the three jam-packed days and 150+ multi-stage performances of this top European music festival.
Topping the NSJ50 lineup are Burna Boy, Grammy-winning Nigerian superstar, Hiromi’s Sonic Wonder, wild and inventive jazz rock fusion led by Japanese pianist-composer Hiromi and Diana Krall, Canadian singer and pianist extraordinaire.
Other hotly anticipated artists include influential bassist-great Christian McBride, “Afrofuturists” Sun Ra Arkestra, ‘bringing the house down’ since the mid-1950s, and hugely gifted musician, actor and activist John Legend, who will be performing solo.
One of NSJ50’s biggest draws is sure to be Cécile McLorin Salvant, the stunning French-American vocalist and pianist. For good reasons, she’s been compared to legendary vocalists like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan and Ella Fitzgerald. As this year’s Festival Artist in Residence, Ms. Salvant will play four different sets over the weekend, including songs from her 2025 album Oh Snap, and just-released first orchestral album, With Every Breath I Take.
British talent is present in force at the landmark event. This includes London trailblazers Kokoroko and Joe Armon-Jones, multi-instrumentalist SHABAKA, and saxophone sensation and chromesthete Emma Rawicz. Conductor-composer Jules Buckley leads the vibrant Metropole Orkest in Somni, a dream-inspired collaboration with Snarky Puppy.
Special Festival projects celebrate the centenaries of two jazz geniuses, the late, great Miles Davis and John Coltrane, born within a few months of each other in 1926. Top musicians Terence Blanchard and Ravi Coltrane, John Coltrane’s son, perform their Miles/Coltrane Legacy, while legendary bassist Marcus Miller, who worked with Miles, presents a moving tribute to his unforgettable music and spirit in We Want Miles!
But NSJ50 is much more than a chance to revel in a rousing feast of music and hear the best jazz in your life. You’ll also find workshops, artist signings, talks, open stage events and a ‘50 years of NSJ’ photography exhibition. There’s a world of mouthwatering food and drink on sale, from sushi to satay, falafel to flammkuchen, crepes to Dutch croquettes and beyond. And if you’re not exhausted after all that, feel free to boogie the night away at DJ-led jazz afterparties.
North Sea Jazz Festival 50: 10-12 July 2026 at AHOY, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
For further information and tickets click here.
And for a free and fun listen to 50 years of North Sea Jazz, you’ll find playlists from every Festival year since 1976 here.
Cover Image by Wouter Vellekoop. All images courtesy Baxter PR, special thanks to Joe & Pauline