Kildare Jazz Festival 2026 will host a performance by an Emerging Act, selected through an Open Call process.

Keep an eye on our social media and website for more info on how to apply!

Michael Buckley and his band are leading players in the current generation of Irish musicians.

They are well schooled with strong local and international experience and have moved beyond the environment they first developed in. They have formed their own sound and sensibility, composing, and performing at a new level.

Blooming Rooms is a new collaborative project shaped by the idea, echoed recently by Marina Abramović, that artists can shift collective energy through intentional creation. Instead of flowers as objects, this trio cultivates sonic blooms.

Venezuelan guitarist and composer Orlando Molina has emerged as a distinctive voice in contemporary jazz, crafting music that bridges Latin American traditions with modern jazz aesthetics. Based in Ireland for over a decade, he combines sophistication, narrative depth, and instrumental mastery.

Yumi Ito uses her voice to create worlds beyond all boundaries. The Swiss-Polish-Japanese musician is considered one of the most distinctive voices in vocal improvisation. She moves effortlessly between jazz, art pop, and neoclassical music—as if Tori Amos and Norah Jones had written a Debussy biopic with Ólafur Arnalds’ music.

The Teen Spirit Jazz Hub welcomes young musicians aged 13-18 to develop performance skills and explore jazz repertoire, improvisation and technique. The ensemble is led by Diarmuid Lally and is delivered in partnership with Riverbank Arts Centre, participants rehearse monthly in a state-of-the-art theatre space and benefit from the valuable insights of Riverbank’s creative team.

Pianist Greg Felton, bassist Cormac OBrien and drummer Matthew Jacobson have accumulated over 25 years of history as collaborators and friends and have been involved in many of the most artistically successful projects in creative Irish music in that time.