Cheltenham Jazz Festival Unveils Star-Studded Line-up for 2025

More than 50 artists from across the jazz, blues, pop and soul spectrum confirmed for one of Europe’s most celebrated jazz festivals.

Lulu • Tom Walker • Corinne Bailey Rae • Jools Holland • Lisa Stansfield • Beverley Knight • David Gray • Roger Daltrey • Curtis Stigers • Macy Gray • Nubya Garcia • Katie Melua • Amadou & Mariam • Keyon Harrold • Emeli Sandé • Joe Armon-Jones (Ezra Collective) • Buena Vista All Stars • Maya Delilah & Ni Maxine • Billy Cobham • Claire Martin •  Misty in Roots and many more.

“Each year, the festival manages to serve up something for everyone.” 
The Telegraph

Image (left to right) Beverley Knight, Curtis Stigers by Marina Chavez, Flight Call.

Cheltenham Jazz Festival returns this spring with an expansive line-up of international stars, emerging talent and celebrated UK acts. Marking a special milestone as part of Cheltenham Festivals’ 80th anniversary – the charity behind four world renowned Jazz, Literature, Music and Science Festivals and talent and outreach programmes – the Jazz Festival will run across six days from 30 April – 5 May 2025 with a programme that once again reflects the far-reaching jazz landscape, offering music from a broad spectrum of styles and celebrating sounds from all corners of the globe.

World Class Performances in the Big Top 

Since launching in 1996, Cheltenham Jazz Festival has built a reputation for hosting world class acts spanning jazz, blues, pop, soul and beyond, and will this year present globally celebrated performers including legendary Scottish singer Lulu whose “Champagne with Lulu" show is inspired by her life during the 1960s; co-founder and lead singer of The Who and Rock And Roll Hall of Fame inductee Roger Daltrey who performs the final date of his UK tour; one of the all-time great soul singers Beverley Knight; British pop singer Katie Melua with a special jazz-themed Festival show; the US soul star Macy Gray with her Cheltenham Jazz Festival debut; chart-topping Scottish singer-songwriter Tom Walker; soul-inspired three-time BRIT award winner Lisa Stansfield; multi-GRAMMY-award-winning Corinne Bailey Rae with the Ronnie Scott’s Orchestra; revered pianist and broadcaster Jools Holland; and multi-million-selling British singer-songwriter David Gray who recently released an acclaimed new album Dear Life.

The Festival continues its long-standing partnership with the BBC and will this year present a special edition of its Soul Jazz Summit show presented by the Guy Barker Big Band and BBC Concert Orchestra with special guests Emeli Sandé, Vanessa Haynes, Lisa Stansfield, Lulu, Tommy Blaize, Lucy Anne Daniels and Curtis Stigers.

Image (left to right) Byron Wallen by Urszula Tarasiewicz, Lucía by Cuervo Studio, James Brandon Lewis Trio by Shervin Lainez​​​​​​​.

Global Music Stars and Contemporary Jazz Icons

An array of contemporary jazz luminaries from across the globe will once again descend on Cheltenham including GRAMMY-nominated trumpeter Keyon Harrold, Miles Davis collaborator and the quintessential fusion drummer Billy Cobham, blistering US saxophonist James Brandon Lewis, and multi-million-selling US singer and saxophonist Curtis Stigers, along with the Buena Vista All Stars featuring original members of the multi-million-selling Buena Vista Social Club project, legendary gospel group Blind Boys of Alabama, and the thrilling Malian duo Amadou & Mariam.

Championing and Celebrating the Finest UK Jazz

The Festival underlines its continued commitment to championing emerging and established homegrown talent with performances by the trailblazing saxophonist Nubya Garcia, Leeds based seven-piece jazz electronica group Submotion Orchestra, the Neil Cowley Trio, who return after eight years to perform music from their new studio album Entity, London-based afrobeat octet KOKOROKO, boundary-pushing Ezra Collective pianist Joe Armon-Jones, singer/songwriter and Blue Note recording artist Maya Delilah with award-winning British neo-jazz singer Ni Maxine, rising star blues singers Elles Bailey & Alice Armstrong, the consummate vocalist Claire Martin, neo-soul singer Elli Ingram, and local saxophonist Kim Cypher featuring Ashley Slater from 80’s jazz big band, Loose Tubes.

Image (left to right) Lulu, Blind Boys of Alabama by Cole Weber, Alan Broadbent & Georgia Mancio by Tatiana Gorilovsky.

Parabola Arts Centre: Innovation and Talent Development

Under new leadership this year, the Parabola Arts Centre (PAC) programme will continue its legacy as a cornerstone of the Festival. With a strong focus on the Festival’s year-round Talent Development programme, which fosters emerging talent and serves to develop the careers of both up-and-coming and established jazz artists, PAC’s inclusive ethos and diverse programming offer audiences an opportunity to experience jazz in its purest and most innovative forms. Its cutting edge performances this year include National Youth Jazz Orchestra performing The Fire Next Time (a tribute to James Baldwin), trumpeter and bandleader Mark Kavuma, Mercury-nominated and Ivors Academy Award winning Cassie Kinoshi and her six-piece project Brown Penny, BBC Jazz Award winning trumpeter Byron Wallen performing Peter Shenai's ‘Hurricane Bells’, Tomorrow’s Warriors alumni Daniel Casimir and his Big Band, fast-emerging London-based trumpeter Poppy Daniels, Iberian-born pianist Marco Mezquida, duo Alexander Hawkins & Sofia Jernberg performing tracks from their album Musho, newly-formed vocal trio Flight Call (Georgia Cécile, L.A. Daniels & Pete Horsfall), the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire with Siena Jazz-Accademia Nazionale Del Jazz Ensembles and composer and bandleader Olivia Murphy who was recently appointed Resident Musical Director for NYJO.

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Image (left to right) Neil Cowley Trio, Kokoroko, Maya Delilah.

Nurturing the Talent of Tomorrow

Cheltenham Festivals – the charity that powers Cheltenham Jazz Festival – marks its 80th anniversary in 2025 with a mission to provide 80,000 children with access to arts and culture. As part of its year-round talent development and outreach programmes, this year’s Jazz Festival will feature a variety of family-friendly shows, including Jazz It Up on the Free Stage, a Family Concert and a Jazz Concert for Schools. 

As part of the Festival’s wider commitment to talent development and local arts scenes, across the week emerging and local talent will play in venues across Cheltenham including folk multi-instrumentalist Catriona Borune, singer-songwriter Erica James and local performers from The Music Works. 

Taking place in the Festival Village in the town’s central Montpellier Gardens, Cheltenham Jazz Festival 2025 presents an array of special one-off performances, free events, group workshops, family-orientated shows, late-night jams and more. The Festival is also set to pop-up across the town, incorporating several additional venues including Cheltenham Town Hall, Parabola Arts Centre, Dunkerton's and late-night jazz jams held at Hotel Du Vin.

View the full lineup on the Cheltenham Festivals website.