The Jazz à Juan festival returns to Juan-les-Pins from 9th to 19th July, bringing ten nights of concerts to the Pinède Gould with a line-up topped by Tom Jones, Seal, Marcus Miller and rising jazz star Samara Joy.
At 85, Tom Jones opens the festival on 9th July with a set drawing on decades of hits including ‘What’s New Pussycat?’, ‘She’s a Lady’ and ‘Sex Bomb’, marking his third appearance at the Pinède Gould after previous performances in 2012 and 2017. He follows a special opening set from singers China Moses and José James marking the 50th anniversary of Marvin Gaye’s album “I Want You”.
Spiritual jazz, trip hop and a soul double bill
The festival’s first weekend turns towards more experimental territory on 11th July, when oud player Dhafer Youssef performs ‘Shiraz’, an intimate work dedicated to his wife, before British trip hop group Morcheeba, fronted by Skye Edwards, close the night. Two days later, on 13th July, soul singer Mica Millar opens for Seal, whose performance of hits including ‘Crazy’ and ‘Kiss from a Rose’ is being billed locally as one of the standout nights of the festival.
A free evening for Bastille Day
On 14th July, the festival marks France’s national holiday with a free, invitation-only evening hosted by the town of Antibes Juan-les-Pins, featuring the Banksia Trio, singer Laura Anglade and Maë Defays, followed by fireworks at 11pm.
World music, funk and a tribute to Miles Davis
The programme turns to world music on 15th July, when Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara shares the bill with Bosnian musician Goran Bregović and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra. The Fearless Flyers, an American funk supergroup featuring Cory Wong, Joe Dart, Nate Smith and Mark Lettieri, play on 16th July alongside Nigerian-born guitarist Keziah Jones.
The festival’s penultimate weekend brings one of its most anticipated nights on 17th July, when 26-year-old Samara Joy, already a multiple Grammy winner, opens for Marcus Miller’s ‘We Want Miles!’ project. The show forms part of Miller’s 2026 Reunion Tour, marking the centenary of Miles Davis’s birth and reuniting former Davis collaborators including guitarist Mike Stern, saxophonist Bill Evans and percussionist Mino Cinelu. It is Miller’s 13th appearance at the festival, cementing his status as one of Jazz à Juan’s most familiar faces.
Closing nights pay tribute to Sketches of Spain and gospel
On 18th July, trumpeter Erik Truffaz and flamenco saxophonist and singer Antonio Lizana revisit Miles Davis’s ‘Sketches of Spain’, before Thomas Dutronc makes his fourth appearance at the festival, joined by pianist Éric Legnini, trumpeter Stéphane Belmondo and guitarist Rocky Gresset. The festival closes on 19th July with a second free, invitation-only evening hosted by the town of Antibes Juan-les-Pins, featuring a gospel performance from Linda Lee Hopkins.
Now in its 65th year
First held in 1960 in tribute to Sidney Bechet, Jazz à Juan is widely regarded as one of Europe’s oldest jazz festivals, having hosted performers including Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Nina Simone over the decades. Concerts take place outdoors at the Pinède Gould, with free daily Jammin’ Summer sessions at the nearby Petite Pinède showcasing emerging talent, alongside late-night jam sessions at the Hôtel AC Ambassadeur. Tickets for the festival are available through the official Jazz à Juan website and the Antibes Juan-les-Pins tourist offices.
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Photo source: Jazz a Juan