Rallying cry from jazz festival low on funds

Organisers of a jazz festival struggling for financial support have described a one-night fundraising event as a "rallying cry".

Bristol Jazz Festival was forced to take a year off in 2025 after failing in its latest bid for Arts Council funding. Organisers said it was also "still recovering from Covid".

Hoping to help to keep the festival going from 2026, Bristol groups such as The Jazz Defenders and The Good Stuff Gospel Choir are playing at the fundraiser on 28 May.

"Losing funding hasn't dimmed our fire, it's made us louder," said festival director Katya Gorrie.

She said: "This night is our love letter to Bristol, to the artists who've graced our stages, the audiences who've filled our rooms, and the city that's embraced jazz as its own. But it's also a rallying cry.

"We really want to keep the vibrancy of the festival and the music happening."

The pay-what-you-can fundraiser will be held at The Mount Without, a 900-year-old former church next to St Michael's Hill and will also feature performances from Rebecca Nash, Raph Clarkson and The Brass Junkies.

Bristol Jazz Festival, which has charity status, has been running since 2013 and has been raising funds through membership schemes, sponsorships and events – as well as Arts Council grants.

The festival's chairman of trustees, Nigel Evans, said while it was "heartbreaking" to take the year off, organisers are determined to "keep it alive".

"We try and make the festival as accessible as possible, we try to keep ticket prices low, we run workshops for young people," he told Claire Carter on BBC Radio Bristol.

"It's all about bringing world class music to Bristol so it's more than just a festival," he added.

"This is something special and it's worth keeping going."

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