Features
Expanding Genre Horizons: 30th Jazzopen Celebrates Record Edition
12 days, 60 concerts, eight stages: jazzopen 2024 in Stuttgart, Germany, closed with performances by Meute and Parov Stellar, having welcomed 57,000 visitors between July 18 & 29.
The festival comprised four main stages, which had a 97% occupancy rate across the festival were 97% full, amounting to 57,000 guests, who set a new sales record. In addition, there were several thousand music fans at four free stages.
“We are very satisfied with our 30th anniversary edition,” commented promoter Jürgen Schlensog, adding, ”after the postponement of the festival made necessary by the European Football Championships, this was not to be expected. But our audience obviously appreciates the enormous density and quality of the lineup.”
The lineup also included Herbert Grönemeyer, Lenny Kravitz, Sting, Angélique Kidjo, Billy Cobham, Jamie Cullum, Dave Grusin and Lee Ritenour, Marcus Miller, and more, expanding the musical offering beyond jazz.
Opening up to news genres has also greatly benefitted another German festival rooted in jazz: Elbjazz in Hamburg, which welcomed 22,500 guests to its 12th edition, June 7-8, surpassing the attendance figures of the past two years with a lineup that also included The Streets, Jungle, and Faithless.