Our organisation is built around 3 core beliefs, valuing: inclusion, mental-wellbeing, and quality. Here, our Festival Director and founder Chris Newstead, expands on what that means in the context of our festival and ongoing shows.

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We’re about our community: putting on great shows for residents & visitors, embracing the support of our businesses and organisations, and having fun!

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Inclusion

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Jazz offers the opportunity for inclusion with the breadth of styles it reflects, as well as the diversity of people who play and hear it.

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And, increasingly as we all connect – digitally and in person – genres of music, including jazz, blur and cross lines, especially amongst a younger generation of composers, performers and listeners.

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We want to provide a musical junction, through which people of all ages and backgrounds are included, can meet and take the paths they choose.​​

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Mental wellbeing

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Research proves that music improves our mental wellbeing, especially when encountered in the places where we live and work.

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Through hearing music that we like, or can link back to other experiences, our brains and bodies act, releasing natural opioids with neurons reacting and cells responding.

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Enabling live musical performances can help people to absorb rhythm, harmony and melody in settings that suit them. ​​Ultimately, we want people to enjoy awesome live shows locally – be that therapeutic(!), or otherwise.

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Quality

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There seems no universal answer for what makes certain music stand out. But we all treasure songs and performances that have reached us with a greater resonance, perhaps because of where, how, and who we heard play it.

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Asa result, we want to create the best possible environment for enjoying music.

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So, we look to enable high quality events: enabling a welcoming atmosphere, ensuring briliant sound production, and working with the most talented musicans.​​