Jazzfest Berlin 2026: dates, venues, tickets and free Community Week

Jazzfest Berlin 2026 takes place from Thursday 29 October to Sunday 1 November 2026 at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele and four other Berlin venues. The 63rd edition has 24 acts and more than 130 artists from over 25 countries, according to the Berliner Festspiele line-up announcement.

This year’s theme, DREAM BABY DREAM, is about belonging and Berlin as a city of arrival, which makes it a good fit if you have just moved here.

When and where is Jazzfest Berlin 2026?

The main festival runs over four days. The Berliner Festspiele venue page lists:

• Haus der Berliner Festspiele: Schaperstraße 24, 10719 Berlin
• A-Trane: Bleibtreustraße 1, 10625 Berlin
• Quasimodo: Kantstraße 12a, 10623 Berlin
• delphi LUX: Kantstraße 10 / Yva-Bogen, 10623 Berlin
• Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church: Breitscheidplatz, 10789 Berlin.

All five are in western Berlin, within walking distance of each other. If you live in Berlin, a Deutschlandticket covers local transport to every venue.

Who is playing?

The programme includes four world premieres, two European premieres and five German premieres. Two concerts frame the weekend:

• Opening: the Anthony Braxton Septet, formed for this festival, plays a world premiere at the Haus der Berliner Festspiele, 50 years after Braxton’s Jazzfest Berlin debut
• Closing: on Sunday, Alexander von Schlippenbach’s Globe Unity Orchestra plays an anniversary concert, 60 years after it was founded for the then Berliner Jazztage, with George Lewis, Aki Takase and Evan Parker.

Other names include the Immanuel Wilkins Quartet, the Tomeka Reid Quartet, Amir ElSaffar New Quartet, Otomo Yoshihide New Jazz Quintet, ganavya, Laura Jurd and BONECRUSHER, a 12-trombone ensemble playing at the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Several acts are Berlin-based artists originally from Argentina, Brazil and the United States. The programme is subject to change.

How do I buy tickets, and are there discounts?

Tickets are sold in the Berliner Festspiele online shop, according to the Jazzfest Berlin tickets page. Prices vary by concert, so check each event.

• Package saving: book five or more concert tickets together and save 20% on the individual price, subject to availability
• Reduced tickets: for schoolchildren and students up to the age of 27, trainees, people in (Federal) Voluntary Service, people receiving unemployment benefit and people with a severe disability (GdB 50 or above). Bring valid ID
• Berlin-Ticket S: holders can buy one reduced ticket for €3 at the evening box office, subject to availability
• Asylum seekers: people covered by the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act can claim free tickets by phone, at the Gropius Bau box office or at evening box offices, subject to availability
• Companions: if you have a severe disability and need someone with you, your companion gets in free. Arrange this by phone or at a box office
• Phone: +49 30 263 97 100, daily from 12pm to 5pm. Reservations are free
• In person: the daytime box office is at the Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstraße 7, 10963 Berlin (Monday and Wednesday to Friday 12pm to 6pm, weekends and holidays 10am to 6pm, closed on Tuesdays). Evening box offices open one hour before each event.

What is Jazzfest Community Week?

From Monday 26 to Saturday 31 October, the festival works with 15 local initiatives in Moabit, according to the Community Week page. The programme includes eight neighbourhood concerts at six venues, a Creative Music Workshop led by Anthony Braxton for Jazz Institute Berlin students, two workshops for primary school children, decolonial city tours, a seminar and film screenings.

Jazz Institute Berlin students play free lunch concerts and neighbourhood sessions from Monday to Saturday, and the neighbourhood sessions are open to anyone who wants to join in. The film DREAM BABY DREAM, made with 60 Berliners, opens Community Week at PAS Berlin, Kaiserin-Augusta-Allee 101.

Planning the rest of your stay?

Shops close on Sundays in Germany, so plan any shopping before the closing concert on Sunday 1 November. Our guide to day trips from Berlin has ideas for the weekend after, and you can find more on Babylon Events.

Official sources

• Berliner Festspiele: Jazzfest Berlin 2026 line-up preview (press release, 1 July 2026)
• Berliner Festspiele: Jazzfest Berlin tickets and reductions
• Berliner Festspiele: Jazzfest Berlin venues
• Berliner Festspiele: Jazzfest Community Week 2026

Sources last checked: Tuesday 20 October 2026.

Featured image: composer, guitarist and singer Monika Roscher performing at Jazzfest Berlin on Sunday 3 November 2013 (archive photo, not the 2026 festival). Photo by Bugge6, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons, cropped.