Brecon Jazz festival is set for its much-anticipated return next month, with a mixture of both live and virtual events.
The Brecon Jazz team has given the B&R an exclusive preview of some of its exciting plans for this year’s ’hybrid’ festival.
This will be the 38th year of the popular event, and with its live, recorded and virtual performances, is set to be the most accessible festival so far.
Last year, Brecon Jazz was entirely virtual, due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Organisers Brecon Jazz Club hope that this year, they can build on their already thriving online audience, while also bringing live music back to Brecon venues. A full programme of events is set to be released later this month.
The team said: “Brecon Jazz has a rich legacy and heritage which we are nurturing in the 21st century and through challenging times. We knew that we had to adapt and innovate.”
There are also exciting rumours of collaborations - including a London, a West Wales link-up, and music coming out of the US to Brecon.
Readers should keep an eye on the website: www.breconjazz.org and more news will be in the B&R next week.
The festival organisers are also working with staff at the University of South Wales, to bring in students and graduates studying media production and popular & commercial music to help out.
The team are working to a tight timescale and so this assistance has been really appreciated and provided real-world Festival experience for the talented young graduates too.
Brecon Jazz is renowned for its loyal audiences, with enthusiasts and supporters both close to home and many that stretch well beyond the reaches of the Brecon Beacons.
Organisers told us: “We want to celebrate the loyalty of our jazz audience - they live all over the UK, some are international, and many live locally or come to Brecon from across Wales.
“We want to say a big thank you to all of the supporters. This includes the Friends of Brecon Jazz (FoBJ), whose members provide financial support to the Festival and annual celebration of jazz.
“They all recognise that we have been working hard to keep jazz going by experimenting with online and streaming systems.
“We are also very grateful to our funders. As a volunteer management team, we really couldn’t do the Festival this year without help.
“The ticket income will be much reduced, while the costs of creating wider access and streamed performances will be far greater than the concert costs alone.
“The Welsh Government, Brecon Town Council and Arts Council of Wales (Lottery) have all granted funding – and it is great to have both the Brecon and the wider Welsh Government support in combination in this year.
“Also we much appreciate the involvement of local supporting businesses – including the B&R newspaper. So watch this space!”
More news from the organisers of Brecon Jazz Festival 2021 will be in next week’s Brecon & Radnor Express.