Brick Lane Jazz Festival announce first wave of artists for 2027
Today, Brick Lane Jazz Festival announces the first wave of artists for its sixth edition, taking place from 22nd – 25th April 2027. Since its modest debut across four venues in 2022, the festival has grown in just three years into a 12-stage extravaganza spanning Brick Lane and Shoreditch. Named #1 Best London Festival by The London Standard in 2024, it has earned plaudits from the likes of The Guardian, Metro, NOTION, Clash, The Line Of Best Fit, Jazzwise, All About Jazz, UK Jazz, Elle, Wonderland, Time Out, Jazz FM, Rinse FM, One Jazz, Worldwide FM and many more.
Since 2024, the festival has also taken its programming year-round with BLJF Presents, a series of events showcasing the UK's most exciting artists, record labels and parties. It has sold out shows in Manchester, Brighton, London, Bristol, Glasgow, Brussels and beyond. Before the series closes for the year, there are still shows to come from Audrey Powne, John Carroll Kirby, Finn Rees, Rachel Kitchew, Kotoa and Tanhai Collective. There will also be the regular Lobby Lates takeovers, which spotlight the city's finest selectors, and the much-anticipated annual Christmas party.
Now firmly established as a cornerstone of East London's musical landscape, Brick Lane Jazz Festival is known for spotlighting local artists and emerging trailblazers from the city's thriving underground scenes, while honouring the jazz legends who came before them. The 2026 edition carried that tradition forward and sold out. Always looking for new ways to support the next generation of talent, the festival launched its conference programme last year, giving attendees access to talks, workshops, exhibits and exclusive performances.
In 2027, the festival once again brings together an eclectic range of genre-defying artists against the backdrop of some of the capital's most renowned cultural hotspots. Every venue is a short walk from the central hub at the iconic Truman Brewery on Brick Lane, and every April the site and surrounding streets become a vibrant hive of gig-hopping. This year the festival also expands to a fourth day, adding a Thursday at Village Underground.
The first wave is the festival's most exciting and diverse line-up to date. It brings together trailblazing iconoclasts spanning jazz, experimental electronica, grime, Arabic psych pop, Thai funk, Afrobeat, tropicália, neo-soul, R&B, garage, house, bedroom indie and more. At the top of the bill are the festival's first two headliners. Emma-Jean Thackray is a Mercury Prize 2025-shortlisted experimental jazz mainstay. MRCY are a rapidly rising Dead Oceans duo, nominated as a Rising Star at the Rolling Stone Awards and named in DIY's Class of 2025. Between them, they've collaborated with everyone from Little Simz and Liam Gallagher to Obongjayar, Joy Crookes and Olivia Dean. Joining them are 2018 Mercury Prize-shortlisted rapper Novelist, MOBO Award-nominated Jamaican-Irish MC Jayahadadream, groundbreaking multi-award-winning flugelhorn player and Radiohead collaborator Yazz Ahmed, much-hyped Brooklyn duo Dana & Alden, and many more.
The full line-up so far is as follows:
Emma-Jean Thackray • MRCY
Dana & Alden • Novelist • I Am An Instrument • The Vernon Spring & Ari Balouzian • Yazz Ahmed & BODUR • Jayahadadream • Marie Dahlstrøm • Arp Frique & The Perpetual Singers • Sambroso All Stars Present The Buena Vista • Auntie Flo (live) • Joe Webb Trio • P Wavey (live) • The Five Points Project • Kotoa • Nathanial Young • Akina Eman • Danitsa • Gayance • Kazdoura • MURPHY • Jesa
Festival founder Juliet Kennedy says:
"Every year I'm blown away by the talent coming out of this city and this country. There's a generation of musicians who have rewritten what jazz can be, and Brick Lane has always been where that energy spills out onto the streets. Emma-Jean Thackray and MRCY sum up the spirit of UK jazz for me: homegrown artists who've each built a sound that's completely their own. That's what Brick Lane Jazz Festival is all about. I love this scene, and I can't wait to bring it home to Brick Lane in April."
In 2027 the festival once again partners with Jazz re:freshed and Tomorrow's Warriors, two vital community organisations nurturing emerging talent in UK jazz. As always, people without tickets can enjoy free-entry spaces across the site, including The Brick Lane Tap Room, The Big Chill, 93 Feet East and Café 1001
Early bird tickets are on sale now, with day passes from just £19.50.
Tickets and more info are available at www.bricklanejazzfestival.com/tickets
