22 – 25 April 2026
A woman wearing traditional attire raises her fist and smiles while holding a guitar on stage, performing passionately under stage lights, with a percussionist visible in the background.

SHOWCASES

Who will be the 38 showcases in 2026?

Showcase Videos
Programme
Showcase Selection
Application
Selection Process
Jury

SHOWCASES are the 30 to 45 minute short concerts at jazzahead! which are open to the general public and at the same time part of the trade fair. The 38 showcase bands have previously applied and are selected by international expert juries. The jazz highlights and current formations from Germany, Europe, Overseas/Africa as well as from the partner country 2026 Sweden can be experienced on three days and nights on the stages of Hall 7 and the Kulturzentrum Schlachthof.

Showcase Videos – Summer Nights with jazzahead!

Couldn’t you see the showcase concerts or want to experience them again? Great, we have excellent news for you! Every Thursday at 7:00pm from June 18th to September 10th, we will publish 3 videos from the showcases 2026!. The videos will be available on our YouTube channel. The audio recording was produced by Radio Bremen. Enjoy the summer with us!

A jazz band performs on stage in front of a large seated audience at an indoor venue, with a grand piano and instruments visible. A screen displays the word “jazzass” with a green arrow logo.
Three men stand in a row against a dark background, illuminated by dramatic red and blue lighting that casts colorful shadows on their faces and clothing.

Showcase Programme

The sound of today’s jazz: The jazzahead! showcase programme is live.
See the programme

Final Showcase Selection 2026

We are very happy to announce our official showcase selection for jazzahead! 2026!

Swedish
German Jazz Expo
Overseas / Africa
European

Swedish Showcases 2026

Band
Country
Agnas Bros.
SE
Bitoi
SE
Britta Virves Trio
SE
Daniel Karlsson Trio
SE
Hederosgruppen
SE
Joel Lyssarides Trio
SE
Langendorf United
SE
Nine Sparks Riots
SE

German Jazz Expo Showcases 2026

Band
Country
Àbáse
DE
Bonsai
DE
CRUTCHES
DE
Kristina Brodersen – KRISTINA 4
DE
RE:CALAMARI
DE
Richard Koch – Rays of Light
DE
Sara Decker – Expand
DE
Sorvina
DE

Overseas / Jazz from Africa Showcases 2026

Band
Country
Jeremy Ledbetter Trio
CA
Kossi Mawun
TG
Malika Zarra
US/FR
Michael Pipoquinha
BR
SAHAD
SN
Sharon Mansur Trio
IL
Sydney Mavundla Quartet
ZA
Tonina
US/UK/IT

European Showcases 2026

Band
Country
Aksel Rønning Trio
NO
Anaïs Drago – ReLeVé
IT
Jasmine Myra
UK
Jure Pukl – Analog AI
SI/US/FR/DE
KNOBIL
CH
L’Antidote
FR/IT/AU
Laura Jurd
UK
Marco Centasso Um/Welt
IT/FR/TU
N∆BOU
BE
Nana Rashid
DK
Peter Somuah Group
NL
Sol Jang Trio
NL
Wajdi Riahi Trio
BE
yvonne moriel :: sweetlife
AT

Application

The showcase application phase for jazzahead! 2027 will start on 25 August 2026 and ends on 30th September, 2026. We will announce the selection of bands in November 2026.

 

The selection of bands performing has been chosen by international expert juries, one for each showcase module. You can find all jury teams in the “jury” section.  

If you have questions, you can contact Insa Stanke

 
More information about the jury criteria

Contact Person

A woman with straight, shoulder-length blonde hair and a dark top smiles warmly at the camera. The background is bright and softly blurred. The photo is in black and white.

Insa Stanke

Showcase Festival, International Promoters
M3B GmbH
+49 421 3505-680
stanke@jazzahead.de

How to Apply?

1. Register for jazzahead!

Precondition for applying for a showcase slot is that the band/artist is proposed by a registered exhibitor or a professional participant (all days) of jazzahead! 2027. Of course, bands and artists can also register themselves as exhibitors or professional participants (all days) to submit an application, or a representative submits the application.

See registration options

2. Accept Preconditions

Please download, read and accept the preconditions of participation for the jazzahead! showcase festival 2027 in advance. (will be available soon)

Preconditions for showcase application (PDF)

You can download our guide on how to complete the application form so that you know in advance what information and files are required for the online application. (will be available soon)

Guide for showcase application (PDF)

3. Choose showcase module and apply

Please decide in advance which showcase module you are applying for.

 

As a registered exhibitor or professional participant (all days) please log in to the participants portal. There visit the section Submissions, choose the module and follow the link.

To the participants portal

Selection Process

The selection of jazzahead! showcase bands are held by annually changing expert juries. Each of the four showcase modules has its own jury team with at least seven jury members, festival and program directors from the international jazz scene.

Criteria

The selection process consists of three phases:

  1. Firstly, the individual listening of all applications by the jury members and their online voting.
  2. This results in a short list of bands/artists. These arists/bands are then evaluated by different criteria via a points system.
  3. The third voting session will be held with all jury members via online conference where the final program of the showcases will be discussed and decided.

Criteria for the first voting session

What counts: the main criteria for selection are musical quality and whether the band/artists is/are able to perform on an international level. Age, gender and origin are of no importance. The criteria for the second voting session will be communicated to the jury members with the short list of the bands – the result of this first voting session.

Second voting session

As for the first voting session now, for the second voting session, other criteria should be taken into account:

  • Instrumentation
  • Country of origin (does not apply for GJE and the night of the partner country)
  • Gender

Also considered is the probability that the band will present exactly the line-up stated in the application and that the final program should present a wide stylistic range.

See preconditions

Jury

The jury teams will be published here after the announcement of the showcase bands in November 2026.
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