Brick Lane Jazz Festival Conference

Brick Lane Jazz Festival announces first-ever conference and Pro Pass as part of 2026 festival programme

Story by Matthew Murray

15/01/2026

Featuring talks from the likes of Gary Crosby OBE (Tomorrow’s Warriors), Ahnansé (Steam Down), Tina Edwards (DJ & broadcaster), Brian Jackson (Jazz-funk pioneer), Lou Paley (Women in Jazz), Valentine Comar (Brownswood), Eerf Evil (Silhouettes Project), Robert Luis (Tru Thoughts), Charlie Fenemer (Orii Community), Rohan Rakhit (DJ & broadcaster), Andre Marmot (Earth Agency), Sophie Farrel (Sister Midnight), Asher Kosher (Route 73), Shannon-Latoyah Simon (British Council), Yvette Griffith (NYJO, Jazz re:freshed), Jane Cornwall (journalist) & many more + Workshops, exhibits, mentoring sessions, networking mixers, exclusive performances, live radio broadcast & more

Having firmly established itself as a cornerstone of East London’s musical landscape, Brick Lane Jazz Festival has earned a reputation for spotlighting local artists and emerging trailblazers from the city’s thriving underground scenes, whilst honouring the jazz legends that have come before them. Always striving to find new ways to support the next generation of talent, the festival has today announced details of a new conference programme along with a new release of Pro Pass tickets that will give attendees access to a range of talks, workshops, exhibits, and exclusive performances. Brick Lane Jazz Festival returns for their fifth birthday edition from 23rd – 26th April 2026, the new conference announcement sees a host of inimitable and eclectic panellists join a stacked line-up headlined by Joe Armon-Jones, Brian Jackson, and anaiis & Grupo Cosmo. Amongst the conference speaker lineup are the likes of multi-award winning saxophonist and community leader Ahnansé, co-founder of jazz mentoring charity Tomorrow’s Warriors, Gary Crosby OBE; the Women In Jazz collective, audio tech pioneers Solid State Logic, Swedish keyboard manufacturers Nord, ethical streaming tastemaker service Qobuz; Tru Thoughts Records; DJ, and broadcaster, Rohan Rakhit; DJ, broadcaster & music journalist, Tina Edwards; hip-hop activist and mentor Eerf Evil; long-time friends of the festival, label and promoters, Tru Thoughts Records, and many more. The conference will be held in the festival’s new venue, the ‘Flow State Hub’ - an open-plan warehouse space opposite Juju’s Bar & Stage in the heart of the festival site in Ely’s Yard, while Juju’s Bar & Stage will host their evening networking mixers. There will also be opportunities for structured networking sessions in partnership with Women in Jazz at Juju’s Bar, which will include one-to-one mentoring sessions with industry professionals, as well as some less formal networking mixers. Festival sponsors, One Jazz Radio, will be broadcasting live from the conference venue, with performances from the Nord stage included. Speaking on the conference, the festival’s founder, Juliet Kennedy says, “Our aim is to empower artists and music professionals by connecting people across the industry, encouraging meaningful exchange, and helping create sustainable opportunities within London’s grassroots music ecosystem.” Independent apparel, lifestyle, homeware, and cosmetics retailer, Goodhood, will also be joining the conference as a partner. The store will be providing a retail outlet for some of the festival’s cutting-edge exhibitor audio equipment in the conference hub, with their store next door to Juju’s Bar. The National Jazz Archive will also be present in the conference hub with an archival exhibit and pop-up shop selling records & merch. The National Jazz Archive is a 0% volunteer led not-for-profit organisation that holds a vast collection of personal and commercial jazz artifacts, ephemera and audio that proudly protects, preserves and presents the innovation and evolution story of all forms of Great British Jazz In Great Britain. Established in 1988 with its UK HQ on the East London and Essex borders, and in demand by journalists, authors, musicians, students, filmmakers and broadcasters as well as the generally jazz curious from across the globe, the National Jazz Archive hold 50,000 + assets spread across nearly 1500 professionally catalogued collections of significant and important UK heritage and cultural value including books, journals, posters, merchandise, instruments and unique sound recordings. Speaking on their involvement, they say, “as the Archive continues to grow, book, record and CD donations often become duplicated so with the permissions of the donor or their estate, we’re able to sell these to raise much-needed funds to deliver our work. We’re proud - and rather excited - to demonstrate our commitment to jazz in the community by bringing The NJA’s Jazz Hub to Brick Lane as the Jazz Festival’s Cultural Partner.” Pro Pass tickets are available now from just £19. Full conference programme and tickets from https://www.bricklanejazzfestival.com/brick-lane-conference