From 2 to 5 July, A to JazZ Festival returns to South Park 2 for its 15th edition – bringing four days of music, encounters under the open sky, and that special feeling that Sofia can become a park, a stage, and a community all at once.
This year, the festival arrives under the motto “Music. People. City.” – three words that capture exactly why A to JazZ has long been more than just a jazz festival. It is one of those summer moments when the city begins to breathe differently: people arrive with friends, children, dogs, curiosity, and the openness to hear something they may not have been expecting, but will remember.
photo: A to JazZ Festival 2025 atmosphere
The 15th edition carries a special kind of emotion. After a year in which the audience showed just how powerful a cultural community can be, A to JazZ returns not only with a rich programme, but also with an even clearer sense of purpose. Because sometimes festivals are much more than a stage and a line-up – they are proof that culture needs people, and people need shared spaces.
The first day, 2 July, opens with the World Music Showcase – one of the most exciting parts of the programme. This is the moment when A to JazZ opens its stage to new voices from different musical geographies, turning Sofia into a meeting point for artists, professionals, festival programmers, and audiences.
This year’s selection features 12 projects from different countries and cultural contexts – including UMA RANGANATHAN, Nubras Ensemble, Zelişah & Mustafa, Marthe x Pilani Bubu, Cristina Clara, Cholo Chicha, Jamila & The Other Heroes, Escarteen Sisters, Zenfan Kabaré, BIANKAHAIDU, the Bulgarian project Ethereá, and Alenti. Over the course of one evening, the stage will become a map without borders – filled with music that carries traces of traditions, personal stories, and contemporary explorations.
photo: Ethereá
The main festival programme continues on 3 July with an evening where jazz history and new generations meet on the same stage. Among the highlights are Hania Derej Trio, Aly Keïta Trio ft. Mariam Koné, Tomoki Sanders, and Miles Electric Band (M.E.B.) – a project founded in 2010 by Vince Wilburn Jr., Grammy and Emmy Award winner, drummer, producer, and nephew of Miles Davis. This is not simply a tribute to one of the greatest figures in music, but a living continuation of Davis’ electric period – bold, experimental, and revolutionary. M.E.B. brings together musicians from Davis’ original circle and leading names from the contemporary jazz scene, including trumpeter Keyon Harrold – already familiar to the A to JazZ audience as one of the headliners of last year’s edition.
photo: Miles Electric Band (M.E.B.)
On 4 July, the programme brings together a strong Bulgarian presence and international excellence. Audiences will hear Victoria Kirilova Quartet, Emil Tassev Quartet, and Sorvina, before the evening reaches one of its major highlights with We Exist! The Dee Dee Bridgewater Quartet. Dee Dee Bridgewater is one of those artists whose name carries not only history, but presence – a voice, a character, and a deep connection between jazz, memory, and social awareness.
photo: Dee Dee Bridgewater
The final evening on 5 July once again looks in several directions at once – from AlexAbril and Gueorgui Kornazov Brass Spirit to The Simon Grey Collective and Nate Smith + Live Action. Grammy Award winner Nate Smith is one of those musicians who turn rhythm into a language of its own – precise, physical, and deeply alive. His appearance at A to JazZ promises a finale where improvisation will be more than a musical approach – it will be pure energy between the stage and the audience.
photo: Nate Smith
But A to JazZ has never been only about the concerts or its legendary late-night jam sessions. This year, the festival will once again include the Music Talks conference, taking place on 3 and 4 July at Toplocentrala, Hall 2. The professional programme of A to JazZ is especially valuable because it brings visibility to the part of music that often remains behind the scenes – how artists find their path, how festivals evolve, how international networks are built, what music export means, and how we talk about audiences, sustainability, identity, and cultural infrastructure.
This year’s speakers and participants include professionals connected to jazzahead!, Mapamundi Música, Live Nation Spain, The Spanish Wave, Europe Jazz Network, Tomorrow’s Warriors, North Sea Jazz, Athens Music Week, Charmenko, Babel Music XP, Stereofox, STUFISH, and other international and Bulgarian organisations. These conversations are exactly what turn the festival into more than a stage: a place where music is discussed, imagined, and connected to the real processes shaping the cultural sector.
From 2 to 5 July, Sofia will once again be jazz. But not only as a genre. As openness, as movement, as encounter. As a city that, for a few evenings, remembers how beautiful it is to listen together.
Follow Dinya for more from the festival atmosphere, the musical discoveries, and the stories behind the scenes.
And to get into the festival mood already, listen to our specially selected playlist Dinya presents Best of A to JazZ – featuring some of the most memorable artists who have appeared on the festival stage over the years.
photos: A to JazZ Festival archive
text: Sofia Hussein for Dinya
