FORWARD THINKING FESTIVAL

BAHRAIN JAZZ FEST, Bahrain’s biggest national music festival and the region’s most authentic jazz festival, brings together the finest jazz musicians from around the world and Bahrain. The event is the perfect opportunity to experience world-class artists performing modern jazz music whilst also showcasing Bahrain jazz artists to the world.

Since its inception in 2017, the island’s exciting touristic festival has attracted more than 8000 international and regional visitors and has hosted over 30 international and local artists. A complete family-friendly event, the open-air festival will feature two stages, interactive kids’ zones, Bahrain’s best food trucks, craft markets and more!

Over the years, the festival has actively promoted up-and-coming local talent through several initiatives such as band hunts, workshops, performances etc and continues to open up opportunities for the local music community

This year will see the introduction of a cashless payment solution through RFID chip wristbands for all festival goers. Each attendee will be able to topup their wristbands using credit or debit cards at various loading stations around the venue. The main idea behind this is to elevate the customer experience of being able to seamlessly spend across the food and beverage markets etc with minimal waiting time. Bahrain Jazz Fest’s plan to go cashless also falls in line with the digital mandate that is adopted by their strategic festival partner, Bahrain Economic Development Board (Bahrain EDB) Through this they will be the first event in Bahrain to have technology integrated in such a big way and it will also measure the Bahrain Jazz Fest with the rest of the popular tech-savvy integrated music festivals around the world.

THE HEADLINERS

Spyro Gyra

The thirteen time Grammy-nominated jazz group has performed over five thousand shows in five continents, released thirty-one albums and sold more than ten million album copies.. Formed in Buffalo, New York in 1974, this iconic American jazz fusion band combines jazz, R&B, funk, and pop music to create unique and unforgettable music pieces. “I’ve always felt that music, and particularly instrumental music, has this nonliteral quality that lets people travel to a place where there are no words. Whether it’s touching their emotions or connecting them to something that reminds them of something much bigger than themselves, there’s this beauty in music that’s not connected to sentences. It’s very transportive. I would hope that when people hear our music or come to see us, they’re able to share that with us.”- Jay Beckenstein, Group Leader of Spyro Gyra.

www.spyrogyra.com

Nubiyan Twist

Nubiyan Twist, a Leeds born, London based band, was the chosen band by David Byrne to perform at Queen Elizabeth Hall for the South Bank’s Meltdown Festival, selling out London’s iconic Jazz Cafe and rocking festival stages from Fusion to Wilderness, Boomtown to Edinburgh Jazz Festival. The band combines jazz, hip-hop, Afrobeat, latin and soul music to create unique sounds. The 10 piece band featuring a horn section, 2 vocalists, electronics and an international (Brazil/UK) rhythm section. “A beautiful blend of groovy dub with uplifting horns and soulful vocals” -The Guardian

www.nubiyantwist.co.uk

Lone Star Blues

All Star Blues Collective featuring the following critically acclaimed artists: Santiago Campillo – Santiago was the founder of the M * Clan group; In 1993 he produced his first vinyl with four songs. In ‘95 they recorded their first CD: “A Good Moment”, in Memphis (USA) and is profiled as the responsible for the southern sound of the band, being considered since then as one of the great exponents of the Blues-Rock guitar in the country. www.santiagocampillo.com

Buddy Whittington – American blues guitar great Buddy Whittington ‘entered the arena’ on December 28, 1956, in Fort Worth, and became enamored of the electric guitar mesmerizing countless kids in the years to come.In 1993, Buddy Whittington joined the Bluesbreakers playing guitar for blues icon John Mayall and for the next ten years energized the band with his unique and fiery ideas. www.buddywhittington.com

Oneida James – Famously known as bass player for Joe Cocker, Oneida James is currently leader and founder of touring and recording project, Oneida James Band and have headlined numerous sold out festivals and theatre venues in Spain And France. She is a recording artist as well as a vocalist www.oneidajames.com