Now in its 37th year, the Bude Jazz Festival is one of the UK’s best-loved jazz events and north Cornwall’s biggest music festival. Around 60 performances from 30+ bands fill pubs, hotels, and halls across the town over four days.
The programme spans the full spectrum of jazz - from New Orleans and swing to blues, bop, and contemporary. An opening parade through the town gets things started, with busking and jam sessions filling the gaps between scheduled sets. The intimate pub venues give the festival a character that larger concert-hall events can’t match.
Bude’s dramatic north Cornwall coastline provides the backdrop. Between sets, the beaches at Summerleaze and Crooklets are a short walk from the town centre.
