A to Jazz Festival, Sofia, Bulgaria, July 6

There’s something stirring in Bulgaria. Considering its geographical and historical positioning in the Central Balkans, and the myriad of cultural influences that are embedded in this beautiful country there has never been a focussed musical gathering of its European neighbours. A To Jazz Festival CEO Peter Dimitrov, his fantastic team and regional partners have decided to create this change and it is impressive.

Despite the best efforts of an extraordinary thunderstorm hours before showtime, the first-ever world music showcase in Bulgaria took place as a newly added day to the well-loved and excellent A to Jazz Festival, now on its 12th edition and still free to all! Split between the main stage on the clover fields and copses of the lovely South Park and a funky former city heating centre, the eight bands were chosen from applicants across Europe and were an expansive selection of relatively ‘new’ artists.

All had something to offer and included experimental Belgian percussion trio Hands In Motion, the Greek sophisticated folk-jazz of Argalios, Serbian multilingual body percussion duo Alice In Wonderband (fun!), two different Hungarian outfits in the punky-funky-party of Duckshell and the Gallic-inspired chanson of the classy Ephemere, Tumbe’s contemporary Aromanian folklore, Fanie Fayar’s French-Congolese fusion and Le Mystère des Voix Bulgares’ Belonoga.

With support secured for three more years, there is a commitment here, and in a city as welcoming as Sofia with the wonderful local audience both large in numbers and heart, I would highly recommend a visit!

For more information on A to Jazz Festival visit atojazz.bg/en