Great news:JZ Spring Festival is back this May holiday from April 30-May 5, which means six days of live jazz, mostly along the West Bund waterfront, with over 150 musicians and 100 performances. Crucially, all of the outdoor shows (i.e., most of the fest) are free. There's just a few bigger ticketed events happening indoors.
This is the 22ndyear for JZ Festival, and they're doing this one in collaboration with the Brazilian Consulate, so they've got a bunch of Brazilian acts playing, including headliner Ivan Lins. JZ fest is always a good time, and you really can just roll up, wander around, and discover some great live music for free – no need to think or plan too much here unless you're going for some of the ticketed events.
We marked theWest Bund Theatre as a good taxi dropoff spot for all this, as there are multiple outdoor stages nearby along the waterfront. The afterparties and a few events (includingBrazilian Day from 11am-7pm on May 2) are happening downtown at Hengshan 8, which is whereJZ Club is.
For easier navigation, save the map and schedule below to your phone so you can figure out who's playing and when, and when you discover someone rad, hey, maybe support them by following their socials and buying some of their tunes on Bandcamp. Enjoy!
PS: We are selling tickets for some of the headline shows on SmartTicket. Those includeEdmar Castañeda Quartet (May 1),Kenny Barron Quartet (May 2),"Six Strings, Infinite Worlds" (May 3), and鹤The Crane (May 4).
