Jools in the sparkling crown of Edinburgh’s hugely successful International Jazz and Blues Festival - Steve Cardownie

Starting last Friday and finishing this Sunday, the Festival has bounced back and is attracting bumper crowds. I attended the Festival launch last Thursday and caught up with Cllr Jason Rust, who has chaired its board of directors since 2016 and who called me yesterday to discuss this year’s event.

He told me that the free events over the weekend were hugely successful with the Mardi Gras in The Grassmarket on Saturday followed by the Carnival in West Princes Street Gardens on Sunday bringing a “taste of New Orleans.”

He said that as one of the largest Festivals of its kind in Europe, the board is determined to continue with these free events to bring jazz and blues to as wide an audience as possible.

Festival performances will be held in all 17 council wards in the city for the very first time, using venues such as The Leith Dockers Club and the Currie Community Centre, providing another example of the board’s desire to bring the festival to new audiences and involve local communities.

Jason said that with over 110 concerts in this year’s programme there should be “something for everybody” to enjoy and reiterated the board’s commitment to strive to attract more young people to the concerts by ensuring that the programme has more than its fair share of musicians who give performances that appeal to a younger generation.

Sold out notices have been posted for some concerts, including this Sunday’s show at the aptly named Festival Theatre, featuring Jools Holland & His Rhythm and Blues Orchestra, which should come as no surprise to regular Festival goers.

One of the Festivals regular performers, Holland puts on a great show with all the energy and verbal drive that is a customary component of his performances, leading his group of supremely accomplished musicians through the night’s programme of jazz, blues and honky-tonk numbers.

The Edinburgh Festival City website states that the festival “has provided a platform to showcase the very best jazz and blues artists that the world has to offer. The festival was the brainchild of Edinburgh guitarist and banjo player Mike Hart, who launched the first one in 1978. Originally, the festival featured traditional jazz performances played in Edinburgh’s pubs and it slowly evolved to feature a more diverse range of styles, including blues, funk and hip-hop.”

Data Thistle also congratulates the festival stating that “As its size has increased so too has the talent and diversity of the acts, with international stars coming together with the very best in Scottish talent to create one of the most vibrant and multicultural of all Edinburgh’s festivals. Don’t forget that vital blues ingredient either: previous years have seen the legendary BB King strut his stuff in the Capital.”

The Festival is only half way through its programme, with a great deal to offer between now and Sunday, so I recommend a visit to its website.