Details under wraps

Sharing more details here with our funders and partners
We hope to release the same to our public audiences in Q1 2026





Details under wraps

Sharing more details here with our funders and sponsors
We hope to release the same to our public audiences in Q1 2025


Details under wraps

Sharing more details here with our funders and partners
We hope to release the same to our public audiences in Q1 2026

A glimpse of the festival

We made a short video to help prospective funders and partners experience the festival's ethos and vibe if you couldn't join us last year.


A neighbourhood enveloped in music and sunshine, almost completely pedestrianised. Families and friends, discovering music in different corners - a lot of free gigs, some ticketed ones. Lots of cycling between venues, great food and drink served up in the local independent businesses and a buzz in the air - easy to sense yet hard to pin down to anything more than the goodness of a community coming together and soaking it all in.

To know more about our last Edition, click here. To know about the one to come, read on.




2026 - Potential Collaborators


Our lineup is solidly emerging. We are proud to present a good mix of grassroots music, homegrown talent and international musicians, all coming together for two brilliant days! Last year's given us the confidence to aim higher and we're delighted to be announcing our lineup imminently.

There's a lot more in the mix and we hope to be able to confirm names in the next few weeks.



2026 - Potential Collaborators


Our lineup is solidly emerging. We are proud to present a good mix of grassroots music, homegrown talent and international musicians, all coming together for two brilliant days! Last year's given us the confidence to aim higher and we're delighted to be announcing our lineup imminently.

Expect these names to feature, as we soon finalise our programme. There's a lot more in the mix and we hope to be able to confirm names in the next few weeks.



Sam Amidon

Sam Amidon is a singer and multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, fiddle) originally from Vermont, now based in London. He has released seven acclaimed solo albums of songs on Bedroom Community and Nonesuch Records. He has appeared internationally as a soloist with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, The Aurora Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra with Pekka Kuusisto, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Oregon Symphony, Roomful of Teeth, and the Britten Sinfonia

Sam Amidon is a singer and multi-instrumentalist (banjo, guitar, fiddle) originally from Vermont, now based in London. He has released seven acclaimed solo albums of songs on Bedroom Community and Nonesuch Records. He has appeared internationally as a soloist with ensembles such as the Kronos Quartet, The Aurora Orchestra, the Australian Chamber Orchestra with Pekka Kuusisto, The Scottish Chamber Orchestra, The Oregon Symphony, Roomful of Teeth, and the Britten Sinfonia

Ego Ella May

Ego Ella May is a British-Nigerian award winning singer-songwriter. The critically acclaimed artist has an all-encompassing love of music, which she channels into her own genre blending R&B, neo-soul and contemporary jazz compositions. At the heart of Ego's writing is a deep passion and respect for jazz. She's leading the charts after a win at the 2021 JAZZ FM Awards for Best Vocalist, has several features and writing credits for the likes of Ari Lennox, Theo Croker, Kojey Radical as well as a recent sold out headline tour.

Tuba Skinny

One of USA's most famous jazz bands, based in New Orleans, Louisiana, known for their performances of early jazz, ragtime, and blues music of the 1920s and 1930s - possibly the most famous of the contemporary jazz bands in New Orleans today. The band's touring the UK this year, we're hoping we can finalise them playing our festival soon with them having recently played at music festivals around the world, including Mexico, Sweden, Australia, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Spain. Can't wait!

Open House Festival

We're currently exploring a collaboration with Open House Festival on opening up local spaces, using house fronts and local sites of architectural significance to festival goers, using music as a means to bring people together.

We're currently exploring a collaboration with Open House Festival on opening up local spaces, using house fronts and local sites of architectural significance to festival goers, using music as a means to bring people together.

Opening Night at Hoxton Hall and St Peter's Church

We will open the festival with our partners on the 10th of July at two of Hackney's most loved and delightful venues - a music hall and our local church. We worked together in 2025 and can't wait to do so again.

We will open the festival with our partners on the 10th of July at two of Hackney's most loved and delightful venues - a music hall and our local church. We worked together in 2025 and can't wait to do so again.

Kinetika Bloco

A grassroots music ensemble with an exuberant mix of young brass and woodwind players, drummers, steel pan and dancers all in costume creating a “unique new British Carnival sound with a decidedly London edge” (BBC Radio 2) Based at the Southbank Centre in London, they are our chosen outreach partners who would also play the opening gig on the main festival day.

Their mission is to get young people from London engaged in long-term creative activity advancing their education, skills and capacity.

Irene Serra & Peter Werth

Peter's ensemble has a residency at one of De Beauvoir's much loved institutions, the Scolt Head. It's brilliant to have local musicians in the mix for our festival!

Playing with Peter is Irene Serra, a critically-acclaimed Italian Jazz vocalist often playing at the Barbican (with Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Center Jazz Orchestra), Ronnie Scott’s, Pizza Express Jazz Club, Union Chapel & King’s Place.

Theon Cross

An award-winning tuba player and composer, Theon is a key component of London’s thriving jazz scene and his unique sound has been described as ‘innovative’ and hailed for ‘reinventing the tuba’. He is is a core member of the Mercury Nominated group Sons of Kemet and plays often with Jon Batiste, Emile Sande, Kano, Makaya McCraven, Courtney Pine amongst others.

He has garnered high praise from major publications such as Rolling Stone Magazine, Pitchfork, The New York Times, The Guardian and NPR leading him to tour extensively throughout Europe, North America and South America.

Joe Webb 7-a-Side

Proudly Welsh, Joe Webb, described as one of the UK’s most captivating young pianists is also a Mercury Award Winner (2025) A leading force on the global jazz scene today, Joe’s an extraordinarily gifted pianist and improviser who, taking inspiration from the flavour of 90’s Brit-pop and adding references to his Welsh cultural roots, seamlessly blends traditional jazz with contemporary flair. His innovative approach breathes new life into classic jazz idioms, creating a sound that is both familiar and refreshingly original. 

Celebrated clarinettist Giacomo Smith comes together with a stellar group across London and Paris, playing together to bridge culture, tradition and time to create unique concerts drawing on the history of Django Reinhard’s music. Performing original compositions, swing era classics, and other songs from outside the typical gypsy swing and Manouche repertoire.

Adrian Cox: Clarinet Summit

One of the leading exponents of New Orleans clarinet, Adrian Cox has a huge wealth of knowledge for the music and the players of the era. His unrivalled feel and virtuosity for the music he plays has led to concerts with the biggest names in jazz including two concerts with Wynton Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra both in London and New York.
Joining him is the incredible Giacomo Smith, an accomplished jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, and composer known for his distinctive sound and mastery of both traditional and contemporary jazz styles.

Lucy-Anne Daniels

Lucy-Anne Daniels is rapidly establishing herself as a standout voice on the UK jazz scene and beyond. Lucy-Anne is a natural storyteller and creative improviser. Her influences range from Betty Carter to contemporaries like Cecile Mclorin Salvant and Moses Sumney. Her rich, emotive vocals effortlessly traverse a range of styles. With a profound ability to interpret lyric and a masterful control of melody, Lucy-Anne invites listeners into an intimate yet dynamic musical experience, full of drama, humour, and connectivity. She has performed at venues including the Royal Albert Hall during the BBC Proms, Duc de Lombards in Paris, Dizzy's in New York and at the Royal Festival Hall for EFG London Jazz Festival’s ‘Jazz Voice’ gala.

Our partnership with Swing Patrol.

Our partnership with Swing Patrol.

Our partnership with Swing Patrol.

We will close the festival with our partners on the night of the 11th of July at one of London's most delightful community and music venues, steeped in history and anchored in inclusion and the community.

We will close the festival with our partners on the night of the 11th of July at one of London's most delightful community and music venues, steeped in history and anchored in inclusion and the community.

Our team continues to grow at pace and we now have a small group of incredible experts from multidisciplinary arenas, who are keen to ensure the foundations of a community-centric festival are set robustly. We have also brought on confirmed volunteers who will help us closer to the festival and will work with the Hackney Volunteers Service for additional support.

Pete Horsfall | Artistic Director

Musician extraordinaire, Pete is an award winning jazz trumpet player and vocalist, based in the UK.  His unique musical journey has seen him featured regularly as a guest on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM.

He has performed headline shows at venues such as London's Royal Albert Hall, New York's Lincoln Center, Paris' Duc Des Lombards, The North Sea Jazz Festival, Glastonbury Festival and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club amongst many others. He has performed and recorded with artists including Kurt Elling, Jamie Cullum, De La Soul, Guy Barker, Joe Stilgoe, Clare Teal, Kansas Smittys, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Friendly Fires and DJ Premier, to name but a few. A passionate jazz educator, Pete leads masterclasses and workshops at the University of Cambridge, Guildhall School of Music and the Trinity-Laban Conservatoire. 

Payal Wadhwa | Festival Director

Building the Festival :

long read

Payal is a designer who lives in De Beauvoir.

She started her career working for the Osian's Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. The festival world is where she's often found her feet. From theatre to design, her work has often centred on placemaking. She was the head of the Cities Lab at Fjord (part of Accenture Song) and is the co-founder of Placelabs - a collective founded in 2017 focused on making cities more equal and equitable. It brings together practitioners & academics from the built environment practice to engage on various urban issues, including privacy, inclusion, data infrastructures, mobility, better public spaces and services.

In design, she’s led ambitious programs for almost 15 years for the UK Government, and corporate clients such as Tide, Barclays, Booking.com, Unilever and IKEA amongst others. She was most recently, the Vice President of Innovation, Strategy and Design at frog.



Gillian Da Costa | Festival Core Team

Previously the Head of the Director's Office at The Institute of Contemporary Art - Gillian has a long career of working in arts organisations and has recently moved to take on a People focused role at Pan Macmillan. Having started her career at film festivals (she met Payal working on the Osian's Film Festival in 2006 - they go back a long way!) Gillian has worked with an array of organisations and understands deeply what it means to pull a team together towards a cohesive cultural effort. Within our team, Gillian will look after our team's collaborations and partner dependencies as well as overseeing our volunteers closer to the festival to ensure smooth event operations.

Dinesh Markose | Festival Core Team

A risk and quantitative modelling expert, Markose has significant experience in setting up risk models, and model control processes in his day job! He joins our festival core team as an avid jazz fan and a major supporter of the festival - helping us keep our focus on staying free for the community. Markose is spending time connecting us with corporate sponsors for funding as well as getting us set up for our crowdfunding campaign. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from Cambridge University, where he held the Ramanujan Fellowship at Trinity College,Cambridge.

Kyla Taylor | Festival Core Team

A policy & legislation expert and part of the indomitable Peers for the Planet at the House of Lords, Kyla has been an immense support to the festival in getting our governance in place and ensuring we can run successfully as a CIC. Her interest lies in sustainability and a greener planet for all and as a festival we have requested her support to ensure we can set the foundations right for running a sustainable and conscious festival year after year. Also an amateur pianist and a jazz enthusiast, Kyla's wide array of skills will help support the logistics of the festival.


We strongly believe in the idea of the
15 minute city and how our neighbourhood is a great example of how people live and work in better connection to their environment and their community.

We hope to share this with everyone and celebrate the our neighbourhood's independent businesses, the built environment and the creative community, our pedestrianised + cycle friendly streets and of course, the sheer brilliance of the musicians who're part of our lineup.

We strongly believe in the idea of the 15 minute city and how our neighbourhood is a brilliant example of how people live and work with a better connection to their environment and their community.

We hope to share this with everyone and celebrate the our neighbourhood's independent businesses, the built environment, pedestrianised streets, and of course, the brilliance of the musicians who're part of our lineup.

We strongly believe in the idea of the 15 minute city and how our neighbourhood is a great example of how people live and work with a better connection to their environment and their community.

We hope to share this with everyone and celebrate the our neighbourhood's independent businesses, the built environment and the creative community, our pedestrianised + cycle friendly streets and of course, the sheer brilliance of the musicians who're part of our lineup.

Press review 2025

Our team


Our Team

Our Team

Our team continues to grow at pace and we now have a small group of incredible experts from multidisciplinary arenas, who are keen to ensure the foundations of a community-centric festival are set robustly. We now also have a roster of volunteers who will step in again closer to the festival and will work with the Hackney Volunteers Service for additional support.

About Us


Pete Horsfall | Artistic Director

Musician extraordinaire, Pete is an award winning jazz trumpet player and vocalist, based in the UK.  His unique musical journey has seen him featured regularly as a guest on BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 3 and Jazz FM.

He has performed headline shows at venues such as London's Royal Albert Hall, New York's Lincoln Center, Paris' Duc Des Lombards, The North Sea Jazz Festival, Glastonbury Festival and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club amongst many others. He has performed and recorded with artists including Kurt Elling, Jamie Cullum, De La Soul, Guy Barker, Joe Stilgoe, Clare Teal, Kansas Smittys, Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Friendly Fires and DJ Premier, to name but a few. A passionate jazz educator, Pete leads masterclasses and workshops at the University of Cambridge, Guildhall School of Music and the Trinity-Laban Conservatoire. 


Gillian Da Costa | Festival Core Team

Previously the Head of the Director's Office at The Institute of Contemporary Art - Gillian has a long career of working in the arts. She currently works within the HR team at Pan Macmillan. Having started her career at film festivals (Payal and Gillian met whilst working on the Osian's Film Festival in 2006 - they go back a long way!) Gillian has worked with an array of organisations and understands deeply what it means to pull a team together towards a cohesive cultural effort. Within our team, Gillian will look after our team's collaborations and partner dependencies as well as overseeing our volunteers closer to the festival to ensure smooth event operations.


Kyla Taylor| Festival Core Team

A policy & legislation expert and part of the indomitable Peers for the Planet at the House of Lords, Kyla has been an immense support to the festival in getting our governance in place and ensuring we can run successfully as a CIC. Her interest lies in sustainability and a greener planet for all and as a festival we have requested her support to ensure we can set the foundations right for running a sustainable and conscious festival year after year. Also an amateur pianist and a jazz enthusiast, Kyla's wide array of skills will help support the logistics of the festival.


Payal Wadhwa | Festival Director

Building the Festival : long read

Payal is a designer who lives in De Beauvoir.

She started her career working for the Osian's Festival of Asian and Arab Cinema. The festival world is where she's often found her feet. From theatre to design, her work has often centred on placemaking. She was the head of the Cities Lab at Fjord (part of Accenture Song) and is the co-founder of Placelabs - a collective founded in 2017 focused on making cities more equal and equitable. It brings together practitioners & academics from the built environment practice to engage on various urban issues, including privacy, inclusion, data infrastructures, mobility, better public spaces and services.

In design, she’s led ambitious programs for almost 15 years for the UK Government, and corporate clients such as Tide, Barclays, Booking.com, Unilever and IKEA amongst others. She was most recently, the Vice President of Innovation, Strategy and Design at frog.




Dinesh Markose | Festival Core Team

A risk and quantitative modelling expert, Markose has significant experience in setting up risk models, and model control processes in his day job! He joins our festival core team as an avid jazz fan and a major supporter of the festival - helping us keep our focus on staying free for the community. Markose is spending time connecting us with corporate sponsors for funding as well as getting us set up for our crowdfunding campaign. He holds a PhD in Mathematics from Cambridge University, where he held the Ramanujan Fellowship at Trinity College,Cambridge.



Jamie Jessup | Support Team: Marketing & Partnerships
Previously Head of Partnerships at social platform Vero, Jamie attended our festival in 2025. Inspired by what we're trying to build, she's stepped in to help us hone our marketing and partnerships focus. She comes armed with fifteen years of business experience, 12 years most recently working with emerging companies, brands and talent at the cross section of technology, arts, culture and media industries.


De Beauvoir Jazz Festival is a Community Interest Company

Everyone's Invited