FESTIVAL 2026
Our next festival is once again held at Cafe OTO and Vortex Jazz Club. Over the course of four evenings, eight performers present their latest works or works-in-progress in the intimate and informal setting of Cafe OTO. The programming within each set is artist-led: repertoire is only announced on the night, giving the performers the control and the flexibility to present whatever serves them best and giving the public special insight into the performer's freshest work. We aim to stimulate your ears and your imagination by presenting a surprising collection of artists working at the experimental fringes or intersections of various musical genres. In the lead up to the festival, you can find out more about our featured artists here or by listening to our podcast (on SoundCloud or search for 'eavesdropping conversations' wherever you find your podcasts).
At the heart of the festival is the forum, a two-day gathering at Vortex Jazz Club for local and visiting artists alike to reflect together on a given topic. Our 2026 festival forum will explore CULTIVATING COURAGE: TROUBLE-MAKERS & RISK-TAKERS. Weighty talks given by guest speakers Erin Johnson-Williams and Zosha Warpeha sit alongside shorter provocations gathered through our annual open call. (See forum overview below.) The vibe is low-key and friendly, whilst definitely being thought-provoking.
FESTIVAL ARTISTS
Thursday 19 March
Nathalie Forget | ondes Martenot
Audrey Chen | voice
Friday 20 March
Lucy Humphris | trumpet
(+ eavesdropping commission by Nneka Cummins)
Jennifer Torrence | percussion
Saturday 21 March
Émilie Škrijelj | accordion
Siwan Rhys | piano
Sunday 22 March
Rie Nakajima | devices & objects
Zosha Warpeha | hardanger d'amore
Find out more about the artists by listening to our podcast, 'eavesdropping conversations', available on Soundcloud or wherever you find your podcasts. With 50 episodes and counting, there's plenty to explore!
TICKETING
Tickets can be bought via the venues' websites:
LINK TO CAFE OTO (for the evening performances)
LINK TO VORTEX (for the forum sessions)
We've kept the prices low for individual events and made the bundles even better value:
£58 for a festival pass (for all events across both venues);
£30 for a forum pass (for four sessions at Vortex).
Discounts are available for students, venue members and UC beneficiaries.
FORUM
The festival forum is a riot of ideas—this year on the topic of 'Cultivating Courage: Trouble-Makers & Risk-Takers'.
We will gather at Vortex Jazz Club for two days of provocations. Our guest speakers are Erin Johnson-Williams and Zosha Warpeha; through the open call we have gathered provocations from Rachel Clemett, Petra Dubach & Mario van Horrik, Ipek Eginli, Michelle Hromin, Nam Huh & Ewan Knight, Elif Nur Karlıdağ & Utkucan Eken, Shan Lyu, Amber Priestley & Mira Benjamin, Maggie Vaz Neto, Margarida Gonçalves & Sara Lai, and School of the Damned. A roundtable discussion will explore the need for, and pressures against, having curatorial courage.
We are also hosting a screening Lisa Rovner's documentary Sisters With Transistors (2020).
Drop in for a single session or buy a forum pass for the whole weekend. Tickets available via Vortex Jazz Club.
To get a sense of last year's forum (also at Vortex Jazz Club), during which we explored 'Experiments in Magic', visit our YouTube archive.
Your support makes new music possible. Visit our JustGiving page or click on the purple button below.
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