Cork Jazz Festival

The festival started in 1978, reportedly out of a hotel manager's idea to fill rooms on a quiet October weekend, and grew into one of the larger jazz events in Europe by attendance. Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Ella's contemporaries played it in the early decades; the headline programme still books international names into the Opera House and larger venues. But the character of the weekend is in the free gigs: close to a hundred pubs, hotels and cafes across the city put on music from Friday to Monday, most of it free at the door, and the crowd moves between them. Purists complain, with some justification, that a fair proportion of what is played is blues, funk, soul or general covers rather than jazz. Cork fills completely for the bank holiday weekend and accommodation is scarce and expensive.

What you actually see

• The free venue programme - close to a hundred pubs and hotels with live music.
• The headline concerts - international names in the Opera House and larger rooms.
• The city on the move - crowds walking between venues all weekend.
• The broad definition - a good deal of blues, funk and covers alongside jazz.

When to go

The October bank holiday weekend, Friday to Monday. Headline tickets go early. Accommodation in the city books out and prices rise sharply.

Honest expectations

Much of the programme is loosely jazz at best. Free venues are packed and getting into the popular ones means queueing or arriving early. Accommodation is scarce and expensive for the weekend.

Nearby

Cork city centre holds most venues; Cobh and Kinsale are short trips out.