Support The 41st Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival

Imagine July without the Jazz Festival and the vacuum of silence it would create. Imagine the loss of the Festivals economic impact.

Be in no doubt, the 41st Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival (18th to 27th July, 2025) will deliver an event of the quality and stature that the city and our audiences have come to expect, but there is no doubt, that unless we can attract the additional funding we need, then this fine much anticipated and valuable contribution to Birmingham’s cultural and entertainment programme will not be able to continue beyond this year.

For every one of the last 40 years, The Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival has been the highlight of this region’s festival attractions, the only event determined enough to present a free live music programme through both of those Covid years.

In 2024, the festival's 40th edition, Birmingham City Council found themselves unable to provide any financial support as they had done for the previous 39 years. Nevertheless, against all the odds we presented 239 performances, 230 of them free admission in 120 venues over 10 days, attracting a total audience of nearly 88,000.

Musicians came from Estonia, Spain, Italy, France, Singapore, Norway and The USA. Audiences came from throughout the UK, Europe and from further afield.

This year the festival faces an even sterner position with our other major funder unable to offer any support. This, combined with the lack of Birmingham City Council funding, has resulted in a total loss of £45,000 for the Festival since 2023.

We are determined to present The 41st Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival from July 18 to 27 this year, but we are forced to face the reality. If we cannot raise sufficient funding to fill the gap, then after this year the City and its residents and visitors, will lose this internationally known and respected festival.

The Birmingham Jazz & Blues Festival is a widely anticipated fixture in the region's events calendar attracting visitor and local attendance to its largely free programme.

Financially in 2024, the festival received total funding of £44,432 comprising of £10,000 (Sandwell MBC), £15,000 (Westside BID), £15,000 (private donor), £1000 (Musicians Union) and £3432 (GoFundMe campaign).

We now face the task of presenting a festival worthy of our city with a budget of only £20,800 - that’s Sandwell MBC (£10,000), West Midlands Combined Authority (£10,000, to be confirmed) and Musicians Union (£800).

Your contribution, no matter how big or small, will make a tremendous difference to keep the festival going and, most importantly, to keep it growing.

If you are unable to financially support this campaign, we ask if you would be kind enough to share this campaign to your friends, family, colleagues and anyone else you can think of.

GIVE A LITTLE - GROOVE A LOT.

Sincerely,

Jim Simpson

Festival Director