Lancaster Jazz festival announces 2019 line-up

Mercury Prize nominated Led Bib are one of three headliners at this year's festival.

Lancaster Jazz Festival is now considered one of the most exciting festivals on the UK jazz circuit and this year’s showpiece will be the most ambitious yet with 115 artists in 38 performances across the city.

Camilla George, now a firm fixture on the London jazz scene, will bring her hypnotic blend of hip hop and jazz to the first headline slot in Lancaster Brewery on Friday September 13.

She will be followed by the forward-thinking UK trio Vula Viel on Saturday night at The Dukes Theatre, followed by Led Bib who will close the festival with their boundary stretching rock and jazz in the same venue on Sunday September 15.

Nishla Smith is an exceptional jazz vocalist.

Following a festival launch performance from Leeds based quartet Vipertime at Lancaster Brewery on Wednesday September 11, and the annual Youth Jazz Night on Thursday September 12, the festival will for the first time host Jazz North’s prestigious northern line showcase. The showcase, which will take place in Sun Square in the heart of Lancaster city centre on Friday September 13, will feature some of the most exciting artists currently representing the northern jazz scene: Nishla Smith Quintet, Not Now Charlie, Rafe’s Dilemma, SogoRock, freesetrio, John Pope Quintet and Beyond Albedo.

Saturday and Sunday will feature a host of artists performing across a range of city centre venues including two world premiere Lancaster Jazz Festival commissions.

Artful Leeds based MC Weezy Jefferson will for the first time team up with a band of five jazz musicians for a brand new set of original music especially for Lancaster Jazz Festival.

The festival will also continue its tradition of supporting up and coming jazz musicians with the annual Youth Jazz Commission, which this year has been awarded to West Yorkshire’s Jacky Naylor from The Royal Academy of Music in London.

Locally based Maja Bugge, an internationally acclaimed composer and cellist, will present ‘Northern’, a stunning collaboration with filmmaker Adam York Gregory and sound designer Hervé Perez in partnership with Lancaster Arts.

There will be further performances throughout the weekend from the likes of Casper Hatlestad, Tebu Project, Kinkajous, Serendip, Vicente Magalhães Quartet, Sloth Racket and Awalé among others.

Lancaster Jazz Festival’s artistic director, Matt Robinson, said: “We are so excited to be able to announce this amazing line-up of artists in what will once again be our most ambitious festival yet.

“We’ve got an incredible range of musicians and the line-up features a blend of special commissions, up and coming musicians, local and international artists and of course three sensational headline acts. September really can’t come quick enough.”

The 2019 festival will feature a mixture of free and ticketed events with full details about the line-up and how to book tickets at lancasterjazz.com.