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festivals · Thursday 9 July 2026 · Various 
Sligo Jazz Festival
At Multiple venues in Sligo Town · Sligo Town, Co. Sligo
At Multiple venues in Sligo Town · Sligo Town, Co. Sligo
Four days of jazz spread across Sligo Town - from afternoon sessions in pub back rooms to late-night sets in dedicated music venues. The Sligo Jazz Festival draws international acts alongside some of the best Irish jazz musicians, and the atmosphere tends to be relaxed rather than reverent: this is a town that knows how to enjoy live music, and the festival leans into that. It suits anyone with an ear for jazz, but also curious listeners who have never been to a jazz festival before. The mix of free daytime sessions and ticketed evening concerts means you can dip in lightly or go deep across the full four days.
The programme runs across multiple venues in Sligo Town, covering traditional jazz, contemporary jazz fusion and blues-influenced sets. Expect formal evening concerts in the town’s main performance spaces, smaller club gigs in late-night spots, and free afternoon sessions that keep the energy going between headline shows. Past festivals have featured international artists - piano-led quartets, big band arrangements, vocal jazz - alongside student showcases and informal jam sessions that can run well past midnight. The festival grows out of Sligo’s broader jazz scene, which has a longer history than you might expect for a town this size. Most of the action is concentrated in the town centre, so moving between venues on foot is straightforward.
Sligo Town is well connected by rail - Irish Rail runs direct services from Dublin Connolly, with the journey taking roughly two and a half hours. Bus Eireann also operates routes from Dublin, Galway and Donegal. By road, Sligo is on the N4 from Dublin, roughly two and a half hours in normal traffic. Parking in the town centre is available at pay-and-display on-street spaces and at the Quay Street multi-storey. During July the town fills up, so arriving by train and walking between festival venues avoids the hassle entirely. Most festival venues are within ten to fifteen minutes of each other on foot.
July is a good time to be in Sligo - the days are long, Rosses Point beach is a short drive away, and the Yeats country landscape around Lough Gill and Benbulben is at its best. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Multiple venues in Sligo Town in Sligo? Sligo has plenty more to see. Read the Sligo area guide, find what else is on, and explore the towns and villages nearby.