Jazz festival takes flight at Cork Airport

Cork Airport has renewed its partnership with the Guinness Cork Jazz Festival as part of its 2025 community fund.

Now in its 47th year and worth an estimated €45m to the local economy, the festival will see an exciting programme of performances at venues across Cork city, including the airport.

Announced earlier this month, the line-up for the October bank-holiday weekend includes Cymande, JP Cooper, Maverick Sabre, the Adrian Younge Orchestra, and Lee Fields and The Expressions.

Irish talent features strongly in this year’s programme, with gigs by Tolü Makay, The Tumbling Paddies, Luke Thomas and The Swing Cats, and Cork’s very own The Sultans of Ping.

The festival’s “Big Fringe” will also bring jazz to the suburbs, Kinsale, and Cork Airport — with live performances in the terminal on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There will be free, open-air performances on Emmet Place, and the Jazz Parade will add to what is shaping up to be another fantastic festival.

Cork Airport has a long association with the festival since its foundation in 1978, with a plethora of famous faces passing through its doors over that time, including Kenny Ball, Ronnie Scott, Cleo Laine, Spike Robinson, Humphrey Littleton, and the “Queen of Jazz” Ella Fitzgerald. The airport’s managing director, Niall MacCarthy, said the festival has been an iconic events on the tourism and music calendar in Cork for decades.

“We are really proud of our nearly 50-year association with this wonderful feast of jazz, which brings visitors, both domestic and international to our city and region each year. Once schools have returned, we eagerly count down to the festival of jazz, and the craic and ceol in our airport and city.”

Fiona Collins, chair of the festival, thanked Cork Airport for its ongoing support.

“We’re thrilled to continue our partnership with Cork Airport, whose continued support helps us welcome the world to Cork each October,” said Ms Collins.

“The Cork Jazz Festival is a kaleidoscope of sound and colour, filling our streets, venues, and hearts with brass and joy. From world-class acts to spontaneous street performances, it’s a celebration of music that transforms Cork into a stage for everyone.”