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music · Sunday 26 July 2026 · 7:30pm 
SJP Wrap Party with the SJP Little Big Band
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
At Hawk's Well Theatre · Temple Street, Sligo, Co. Sligo
The Sligo Jazz Project closes out its summer festival with a free big band concert at Hawk’s Well Theatre - one of the warmest ways to end a week of jazz education and performance in the north west. The SJP Little Big Band Wrap Party on Sunday 26 July draws together the students, faculty, and musicians who have spent the week working through the Sligo Jazz Project programme, and sends the festival out on a high. It suits anyone who enjoys live jazz in a proper venue, and the free entry makes it easy to show up without planning too far ahead.
The Sligo Jazz Project has been running for close to two decades and has grown into one of the largest jazz education events in Europe. Each summer, international faculty come to Sligo to teach alongside local musicians, and the Little Big Band format is one of the results - a full ensemble assembled from participants during the festival week, performing together on the final night as a showcase and celebration.
The Wrap Party on 26 July 2026 is the closing event of that week’s programme, which runs from 21 to 26 July. Expect a full big band set in Hawk’s Well’s 340-seat auditorium - a properly scaled room for this kind of sound. The atmosphere tends to be loose and celebratory rather than formal; people who have been around all week mix with those who have just dropped in for the last night.
Hawk’s Well Theatre is on Temple Street in Sligo town centre, next to the cathedral. Sligo is well connected by road - the N4 runs directly from Dublin (about two and a half hours), and the N15 and N16 bring you in from Donegal and Enniskillen. Bus Eireann runs regular services into Sligo Bus Station, and Irish Rail serves Sligo from Dublin (Connolly), with the journey taking just over two hours. Both the train and bus stations are a short walk from the theatre. On-street parking is available in the town centre in the evenings, and there are paid car parks nearby.
Sligo is a compact town with a strong arts scene, good food on the main streets, and the Yeats connection that draws visitors from well outside Ireland. The surrounding county is remarkable - Benbulben, Lough Gill, and the Atlantic coastline are all within easy reach of the town. There is more to see in Sligo and across Co. Sligo.
Heading to Hawk's Well Theatre 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.