This year marks the 40th edition of the must-experience “Em Bebbi sy Jazz”—the outdoor jazz event that takes place in Basel every year on a Friday night in lateAugust. On this evening, more than 70 bands and choirs with over 700 musicians and singers, will play on 28 stages set up in every square and courtyard throughout the city’s center. The festival locations range from the former central post office, Marktplatz, Fischmarkt, Rümelinsplatz, Gerbergasse, and Leonhardskirchplatz to Gemsberg, Heuberg, Spalenberg, and Nadelberg. Each of the stages will host bands from a particular style of music from Latin jazz, gypsy jazz, dixie, boogie, zydeco, and big band to funk, blues, soul, rock ’n’ roll, and contemporary jazz.
Astonishingly, some of the same bands that played at the first edition of "Em Bebbi sy Jazz" 40 years ago, will be on the program again this year, playing alongisde young formations that keep coming up and ensuring the continued existence of the festival with new impulses. This constant development—driven primarily by hundreds of musicians from the Basel region—describes this year's focus theme: ”Tradition trifft Zukunft” (Tradition meets Future). This year, on the Schmiedenhof, Rümelinsplatz, and Rosshof stages, you will hear long-standing regulars alongside up-and-coming newcomers and currently popular acts. Bands like Pal Jam and musicians like Urs Philipp Hug with the Happy Feet Syncopators have been playing at "Em Bebbi sy Jazz" since its very first year. They will share the stage with young newcomer-bands like Juicy Lemon Club and No Limits, as well as big stars from the region, such as Nicole Bernegger (winner of the 2013 The Voice of Switzerland), Sam Himself (Swiss-American musician from Basel), and Swiss singer-songwriter Anna Rossinelli, to name just a few highlights from this year’s program.
As every year, you are welcome to spend the evening roaming around town and stopping to listen and watch whatever catches your ear. If you would prefer, however, to plan your evening based on specific bands or musical genres, you are in luck! Just in time for the 40th anniversary, the program page on their website (https://www.embebbisyjazz.ch/programm/) offers new functions to get a better overview of the diverse program with a huge musical range and select your favorites. You can select your preferred style in the "Genres" control panel, as well as individually mark each concert of interest in the program overview by clicking on the heart symbol next to it. These entries are added to your favorites, which you can see by clicking on “zu meinen Favoriten.” This displays your personalized program that is saved on the server and which you can access on the evening of the festival, print out in advance, or share with friends and acquaintances social media channels.
In addition to the music stages, various drink and food stands are set up around the city center, making for a fun evening out. Check out the program on their website for a map of the various stages and a detailed list of the bands playing (https://www.embebbisyjazz.ch/programm/), or download the PDF (https://www.embebbisyjazz.ch/wp-content/uploads/EBSJ24_Programm_Spielorte_Web2.pdf).
Tip: The event attracts between 70,000 and 100,000 spectators, depending on the weather, making it too crowded to manage a stroller!
All concerts at this fabulous event are completely free.

Website
embebbisyjazz.ch/

Where
Marktplatz
4001 Basel

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