Lichfield Blues & Jazz Festival

Back again for it’s sixth year in the city centre, the festival will offer blues and jazz fans a varied programme of top class national musicians and our excellent regional bands in our delightful Cathedral City.

This festival offers blues and jazz fans a varied programme of top class national musicians and excellent regional bands in our delightful Cathedral City.

This year jazz fans can enjoy music from Some Kinda Wonderful with Noel McCalia & Derek Nash, Dennis Rollins with the Nick Dewhurst Band, Walsall Jazz Orchestra, The Tommaso Starace Quartet, Brass Monkeys, The Ben Holder Band, The Apex Jazz & Swing Band and many more to be announced.

Click here to download a quick guide to who’s on and where

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To all Lichfield Arts volunteers, sponsors, supporters and audiences

We hope that you, your family and friends are staying well and keeping safe in these extremely difficult and challenging times. In circumstances like this, our reliance on music and song to lift our spirits and bring us together is all the more apparent.

We want to be ready to bring you live music as soon as we can after restrictions are lifted, because we appreciate the significance to the health, wellbeing and spirit of our community that our events have. So we’re meeting regularly to review our options and make contingency plans while complying with Government and NHS guidelines on ensuring everyone’s health and safety.

You’ll have seen that we’ve postponed The West Coast Eagles and King Pleasure and the Biscuit Boys until September. We’ve also postponed May’s Blues and Jazz Festival and are constantly monitoring official announcements to decide whether/how we can run July’s Fuse and October ‘s L2F Festivals. Hopefully things will be clearer later this month.

For the latest news please check our website www.lichfieldarts.org.uk and our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts:

Lichfield Arts Facebook
Lichfield Arts Twitter
Lichfield Arts Instagram

As a charity, we’re extremely grateful for your support and goodwill, which keeps us going. So we’ll try to thank you by using our social media to give you music we like and artists we’ve booked – and if you can support them by buying music or merchandise, that would be brilliant.
Also, if you see anything you think our Lichfield Arts community would enjoy, let us know and we’ll try to share it.
In the meantime, look after yourselves and stay safe.

It seems only yesterday that the idea of a blues and jazz festival was suggested back in 1990 and now 30 years and at least 300 bands later we still offer blues and jazz fans a varied programme of top class national musicians and excellent regional bands in our delightful cathedral city.

This year it is no different. Jazz fans can enjoy music from traditional, gypsy jazz to swing plus funk and big band to the wonderful music of Sevie Wonder. Blues fans can enjoy the popular and distinctive rocky blues of the Rebecca Downes Band, good time blues from The Goodfellas, the mind-blowing soulful blues of rising star Georgia van Etten and everyone’s favourite, the Emma Jonson Band. Sunday will see a more acoustic day with the evergreen Steve Ajao plus Blue Void and to finish off the more rocky, local favourites Alfi Romeo Band. Main venues for the festival will again be Lichfield Guildhall and the Cathedral Hotel.

So come along for the whole weekend, a day or a single concert. Simply relax and enjoy!

Thursday 28th May 2020

Walsall Jazz Orchestra

We open the festival with a dedication to the memory of John Hughes who founded this wonderful big band some forty years ago.

Friday 29th May 2020

Rebecca Downes Band

Get ready for a great night of blues performed by one of the Midlands finest bands.

Dennis ‘The Creative Menace’ Rollins & Nick Dewhurst Band

These two very funky musicians first met in 2005 when the Netherstowe School Big Band had a two day workshop with the master trombonist.

Saturday 30th May 2020

Emma Jonson Band

Since her first appearance at the festival some years ago this, much-in-demand, talented pianist has been wowing audiences across the UK, Europe and beyond.

Georgia van Etten

Australian born Georgia has wowed audiences from Australia to all the major European festivals.

GoodFellas Blues Band

This five-piece Staffordshire band play fiery and guitar based blues from a varied pallete of material by the likes of BB King, Blues Breakers, Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa plus their own original music.

The Brass Monkeys

What’s in a name? This is an eclectic, brassy band whose influences include jazz, blues, reggae, soul and much more.

Roy Sainsbury’s Rhythm Chiefs

This band comprise some of the Midlands finest musicians who play music from the era of Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald to the sounds of the Count Basie Band.