Southport Jazz Festival sponsored feature
Sunday (1st February 2026) is the final day of the 2026 Southport Jazz Festival with four shows to enjoy.
There is a wide variety of acts for music lovers, from the Liane Carroll Vocal Workshop to the multi-talented Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra to Baiana featuring Snowboy and The Haggis Horns with a grand finale of iG4 with Claire Martin, Nikki Iles, Karen Sharp and Ewan Hastie.
The shows will all take place at The Grand on Lord Street in Southport town centre.
Tickets are on sale at the Southport Jazz Festival website: southportjazz.co.uk
Sunday 1st February 2026
7 – Liane Carroll Vocal Workshop, 10am-12pm – £24
Come and join us for a fun morning of song and laughs!
Jazz legend Liane Carroll will be hosting a vocal workshop with a difference. It is a very low pressure inclusive event suitable for everyone wherever they are on their singing journey. Not only will you develop harmony, improvisation and performance skills, you will leave feeling uplifted and inspired.
Liane is an award-winning jazz singer described by Jamie Cullum as “one of the greatest singers we have in this country”. Awards include ‘Best British Vocalist’ (BBC Jazz Awards), ‘Best Female Jazz Vocalist’ (Ronnie Scott’s Awards) and ‘Best Jazz Album of the Year’ (Parliamentary Jazz Awards).
So why not take a moment this weekend to connect with one of the most passionate and gifted performers and music teachers out there—and get inspired all over again!
There will be limited places to keep the experience more personal and last year it sold out within 4 days, so if you are interested please get in touch as soon as you can.
Liane will also be offering one to one sessions – please get in touch for more details.
“Liane Carroll is my favourite singer. She epitomises everything I used to get out of theatre but, sadly, no longer do: an immediate and heartfelt connection to the audience, spontaneity, daring, truthfulness, ensemble playing, I could go on” – Peter Callaghan – reviewsphere
8 – Wigan Youth Jazz Orchestra in Concert, 12pm – £15
We are delighted to welcome the superb WYJO to join our 2026 festival.
Formed in 1976 by Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, this multi-award winning band aims to train and develop the musical skills of its members through the performance of big band music from 1930’s to the present day.
Over the years, WYJO has received many national and international honours, most notably from the BBC Radio Big Band Competition, the Daily Telegraph Young Jazz Competition and the National Festival of Music for Youth. The band is three times winner of the Great North Big Band Festival winning the top prize in 2014, 2015 and 2019 and they have been invited to perform at the prestigious National Festival of Music for Youth on many occasions.
As a result of their high standards, the orchestra has worked with a number of the world’s top musicians including Maynard Ferguson, Bobby Shew, Bill Watrous, Phil Woods, Conti and Pete Condoli, Eric Marienthal, James Morrison and many more.
Since 1985 the Orchestra has released eleven albums. These albums have sold to over twenty-five countries and are broadcast regularly on radio stations throughout the world. The most recent recordings feature guest soloists Eric Marienthal (2016) and James Morrison (2018) and were recorded live at Wigan International Jazz Festival.
WYJO has clocked up an impressive list of touring destinations including the USA, Russia, Israel, Kuala Lumpur, Australia and South Africa as well as throughout Europe. The most recent venture abroad was in summer 2018 when WYJO joined with Wigan Youth Symphony Orchestra to tour Poland.
Every year brings personnel changes in the orchestra. Many members go on to study at Music Conservatoire and forge careers in the professional music world. Drawing on the work of its training ensembles Wigan Schools Swing Band and Wigan Youth Big Band, there are always new and eager young players waiting in the wings to fill vacancies.
9 – Baiana featuring Snowboy and The Haggis Horns, 3pm – £20
Baiana is the Brazilian-inspired project of Liverpool-born singer-songwriter Laura Doyle.
Refreshingly joyful and charismatic, the show will feature internationally acclaimed percussionist Snowboy, (Lisa Stansfield, Imelda May, Amy Winehouse, Rod Temperton, Airto Morreira) who produced their stunning debut album along with the trio from The Haggis Horns (John Legend, Mark Ronson, Corinne Bailey Rae, Amy Winehouse)
Dubbed “the band we are all obsessed about” (Deb Grant, BBC 6 Music), Baiana’s thrilling live shows have been described as “Outstanding” (Robbie Vincent Jazz FM) and having “a proper wow factor” (John Osbourne Solar Radio).
A hugely popular draw at Love Supreme, Buxton and Jazz Festival, Baiana also supported Brazilian mega-star Gilberto Gil on his UK tour. It promises a heady mix of infectious rhythm, superb musicianship and beautiful song. Not to be missed!
“So Good” – Gilles Peterson, BBC 6 Music
10 – iG4 with Claire Martin, Nikki Iles, Karen Sharp and Ewan Hastie, 8pm – £28
To finish this year’s festival with a roar, we are proud to present iG4 featuring the talents of jazz superstars Claire Martin, Nikki Iles, Karen Sharp and Ewan Hastie.
iG4 is a new intergenerational band of 4 of the UK’s finest jazz talent sharing their love of great songs and composers.
Vocalist Claire Martin OBE joins multi-award-winning pianist and composer Nikki Iles, much-in-demand saxophonist Karen Sharp and rising star bassist Ewan Hastie who won the BBC’s Young Jazz Musician of the Year in 2022. Brand new arrangements written for this project by Nikki will shine a light on classic repertoire from Tom Waits to Burt Bacharach, Anthony Newly and Joni Mitchell as well as stylish reworkings from the great writers of the American songbook including Cole Porter and Johnny Mandel.
Recording artist Claire Martin has, to worldwide critical acclaim, established herself as a tour de force on the UK jazz scene gaining many awards, including winning the British Jazz Awards eight times during a career which spans over three decades. In 2018 she was the proud recipient of the BASCA Gold Badge Award for her contribution to jazz.
Nikki’s recent work has taken her across the world as a member of the Julian Arguelles Octet, The Kenny Wheeler Big Band, Claire Martin and “The North “, a Scandinavian/Anglo/Canadian collaboration featuring Percy Pursglove and Anders Morgensen. With a parallel career as a widely respected teacher in composition and arranging, Nikki is a Professor at the Royal Academy of Music.
A prominent figure on the UK Jazz scene since 2000, Karen is well known and admired for her melodic, full-toned saxophone playing, winning the British Jazz Awards for best tenor saxophonist on numerous occasions. She has worked alongside musicians such as John and Jacqui Dankworth, Ken Peplowski, Alan Barnes, Tina May, Nikki Iles, Esther Miller, Jeremy Pelt, Howard Alden, Scott Hamilton, Warren Vache, Scott Robinson and Harry Allen.
Ewan Hastie is a multi-award-winning bassist and composer, already making his mark on the UK music scene. Just recently graduating from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland receiving a Bachelor of Music degree in jazz, he won the coveted BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2022 title Since moving to Glasgow and more recently London, he has played professionally with a number of the top musicians from all over the country keeping him busy on UK’s thriving jazz scene.
Fresh from their recent ‘sold-out’ debut appearance at London Soho’s Pizza Express Jazz Club, together the quartet will be appearing at festivals and clubs across the UK and Europe.
“Claire Martin ranks among the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet” – JAZZ TIMES USA
The 2026 Southport Jazz Festival will take place at The Grand, Lord Street, Southport town centre, from Friday, 30th January 2026 to Sunday, 1st February 2026. For more details and tickets visit: southportjazz.co.uk
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