Gent Jazz 2025 tantalizes you with the first names

From 4 to 19 July 2025, the leafy Bijloke site will once again be turned into the atmospheric festival setting for the 24th edition of Gent Jazz. Organiser Greenhouse Talent is excelling once again with impressive names including Bonnie Raitt, Kamasi Washington, St Vincent, Max Richter & more.

Thirteen Grammy awards, a spot in the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and mentions in Rolling Stones’ '100 best guitarists of all time’ and '100 best singers of all time’... To say that Bonnie Raitt has left an indelible stamp on musical history is an understatement. On 5 July, the singer, activist and guitarist will prove once again why, after many decades, she still has a successful career and is a class apart. Her energetic sets full of blues, pop, R&B and rock continue to surprise. Later, The Waterboys, a dyed-in-the-wool live band, will close the show with forays into soul, funk and country rock, along with classics such as 'The Whole of the Moon’ and 'Fisherman’s Blues’.

On 9 July, the world tour of composer Max Richter will make a scheduled stop in Ghent. But tickets will sell-out in a heartbeat. The German/British pianist sold out concerts in both Brussels and Antwerp in record speed. Those who missed out will now have another chance to see him at work . With the Bijloke site as a dream setting for his inimitable fusion of classic and electronica, this will undoubtedly create a lasting impression. On the same evening, we will also welcome virtuoso sitarist Anoushka Shankar. With her characteristic Indian classical music that also draws on modern influences, she will bring the arrangements from her Grammy-nominated album 'Between Us…’ to life.

St. Vincent, the alter ego of Annie Clark, turns each concert into a spectacle. And she will do precisely that on 15 July in Ghent. The American singer is well-known for her avant-garde pop with a glamorous touch and eccentric performances full of inventive guitars. And even more quirky and virtuoso guitar playing will be provided on the same day by Anna Calvi. With her powerful, raw voice, often compared to PJ Harvey, she will simultaneously appeal and repel. Calvi is an enigma, out in the open. Live, she is an intoxicating slap in the face that you won't forget in a hurry.

After an exceptional set at Gent Jazz in 2017, Kamasi Washington will close the festival on 19 July with his latest album 'Fearless Movement’, a contemporary vision of fusion jazz. Since his début in 2015, the saxophonist has rightly enjoyed an astonishing reputation among those 'in the know’. We get a pumping and pulsating finale that day with the 360° live set by Lander & Adriaan, the Belgian duo with drummer Lander Gyselinck and Adriaan Van de Velde. Expect a funky mashup of corny jazz with all kinds of 90s dance genres like Chicago juke, Detroit techno, UK funky and Classic rave.