site.bta27th Bansko Jazz Festival Ends

On Saturday's last - eighth evening of the 27th Bansko Jazz Festival, an enormous crowd in the town's central square enjoyed performances by Alune Wade of Senegal/France, Indonesia's Vertigong, and US trumpeter, composer, producer and singer Theo Croker. Young talents of the Fest's Jazz Academy also took part.

Between August 3 and 10, as many as 135 performers from 18 countries staged 23 concerts in aggregate. Another 21 daytime concerts involved 45 participants from three countries.

"With its scope and varied programme, the event drew thousands of jazz lovers from Bulgaria and abroad. As a highlight, the festival combined modern sound making with traditional motifs, which made it fresh and innovative and attracted both younger audiences and more conservative connoisseurs. The performers displayed enviable creativity and technical skills," Bansko Municipality said in a press release. It described the Festival as "one of the most memorable musical events in Bulgaria's cultural calendar".

The Bansko Jazz Academy, organized for a third time in a row, enabled young musicians to enhance their knowledge and skills, to meet and learn from local and foreign jazz masters, to make new contacts and partnerships and demonstrate their talent to the festival audiences.
 
True to its tradition, the Festival unveiled something new this year, too: a Jazz Alley, with the first sculptures made during a plein-air titled Music in Stone. The works, paying tribute to Bulgaria's most outstanding jazz figures, including the founder of the festival, Dr Emil Iliev, are already part of the town's identity in the centre of Bansko.

Other sideline events included afternoon jam sessions, Jazz in the City, Jazz BBQ, and Meet the Audience.

Bansko Mayor Stoycho Banenski invited chiefs of diplomatic missions accredited to Bulgaria to the Festival, town hall said. At meetings with the Mayor, Ambassadors Yosef Levi Sfari of Israel (who was present at the official opening), Natasha Bergelj of Slovenia, Agneza Rusi Popovska of North Macedonia and Noni Bogananta of Indonesia discussed potential initiatives for cultural exchange to augment Bansko's cultural calendar and boost ties between the two and their respective countries. All participants in the talks agreed that Bansko has a potential to attract ever more tourists thanks to its unique natural settings and rich cultural heritage.

Formally closing the event, Banenski noted that "the beautiful power of music can bring together and inspure, that music speaks in a language that people of every age and nationality can understand."

Festivals in Bulgaria Association President Iliana Shtereva said that this year's edition of the Festival has been a success. In her words, the Festival is growing and evolving, adding new elements that are well received by the audience.

The Bansko Jazz Fest is organized by Bansko Municipality and the Festivals in Bulgaria Association. BTA is a media partner of the event.

The 28th Bansko Jazz Festival is scheduled for August 2-9, 2025.