site.btaPlovdiv Jazz Fest Launches First Spring Edition with Concerts, Workshops, and Citywide Celebrations

The first spring edition of Plovdiv Jazz Fest will take place from March 21 to 25 in Plovdiv, organizer Blue M s announced Thursday.

The festival will now be held three times a year, with the inaugural Spring Edition bringing together an international and Bulgarian lineup that includes Gretchen Parlato, Mike Stern, Leni Stern, Taylor Eigsti, David Linx, Petar Slavov, the Academic Jazz Band, Acoustic Version, Hristo Yotsov, Miroslav Turijski, Stoyan Yankulov, Vladimir Karparov, Octet Plovdiv, and Vili Stoyanov and his brass band.

According to the organizers, this edition will stand out by taking jazz beyond clubs and concert halls and fostering creative encounters between virtuoso performers and young musicians in Bulgaria. Five workshops—focused on vocal performance, improvisational music, piano, double bass, and jazz guitar - will be led by Parlato, two-time Grammy winner Eigsti, Linx, bassist Slavov, and the renowned guitarists Mike Stern and Leni Stern.

The programme also includes six concerts, some staged at unconventional venues for the festival, such as the Episcopal Basilica of Philippopolis and the Academy of Music, Dance and Fine Arts “Prof. Asen Diamandiev.”

Musicians aged over 18 will be able to apply for the workshops free of charge. A special jury will select a limited number of participants, with applications accepted until February 28.

The festival will conclude on March 25 with Plovdiv Jazz Day, inviting residents to celebrate jazz across the city. Public spaces will feature jazz music only, while a mobile platform with trombonist Vili Stoyanov and his brass band will parade through Plovdiv’s central streets in the style of New Orleans processions, the organizers said.