Open call: jazzahead! 2025 showcases

jazzahead! is a leading event for the international jazz industry and the place for high-quality, contemporary jazz from Germany, Europe and overseas. It’s one of the world’s largest events where all the protagonists of the jazz scene (musicians, labels, agencies, festival makers, bookers and media representatives) meet.

jazzahead! is not only a trade fair for trade visitors, but also open to the general public – with a programme that once a year turns the Hanseatic city of Bremen into a jazz metropolis.

Showcases are 30- to 45-minute short concerts at jazzahead! that are open to the general public and at the same time are part of the trade fair featuring 38 showcase bands selected by international expert juries.

The showcases highlight current formations from Germany, Europe, Overseas/Africa as well as from three former partner countries: Spain (2012), France (2015) and Switzerland (2016).

The showcase application phase for jazzahead! 2025 will end on 1 October 2024.

The selection of bands performing will be chosen by international expert juries, one for each showcase module, and will be announced in November 2024. More info about the jury criteria you will find in the section “Selection Process”.

Like the year before, a screening of all showcase applications will be carried out by jazzahead! The selection is based on a general checklist that has been included into the application form. All bands that do not pass the first screening will be informed directly after this initial process. All other bands will be presented to the jury teams and the process will take its course as in previous years.

Register for jazzahead!

Precondition for applying for a showcase slot is that the band/artist is proposed by a registered (co)exhibitor or a professional participant (all days) of jazzahead! 2025. Bands and artists can register themselves as (co-)exhibitors (e.g. with an umbrella stand) or professional participants (all days) to submit an application, or a representative (e.g. from a label).

Please read and accept the conditions of participation for the jazzahead! showcase festival 2025 in advance.

Here you can find our guide on how to fill out the application form to know in advance which information and files are required in the online application.

Decide in advance which showcase module you are applying for.

As a registered (co-) exhibitor or trade participant (all days) please log into the participants portal. There, visit the section “Submissions”, choose the module and follow the link. Then follow the instructions in the application form.

Fill out the application form with general information/contact data and upload all required material.

You will need:

• A short portrait (bio) of the artist/band (only PDF/doc) – in English!
• Technical rider and/or stage plan (only PDF/doc)
• Professional photo(s) of the artist/band incl. copyright(s) (at least 300 dpi, landscape format)
• Relevant video/audio material of the performing line-up in form of links to YouTube, SoundCloud, Vimeo, etc (at least one, max. 3)

If you have any questions, contact Insa Stanke at [email protected].

View the original call here.