Bermondsey Square Jazz Days return with free summer sessions
Make the most of the lazy summer afternoons with free jazz sessions in the sunshine on the first Sunday of the month.
Bermondsey Square Jazz Days will return this year for their eighth consecutive season, featuring students and graduates from top music conservatories alongside guest musicians.
The free, outdoor event in Bermondsey Square will run on the first Sunday of each month between June 1 and September 7.
Organised and hosted by Stephen Pierre, founder of community music project Unity Arts Music (UMAT), the sessions support creative music talent, diversity and community. Set up in 2018, UMAT is a grassroots Community Interest Company which supports live music, creative talent and community enrichment.
Each show will see a different collective of musicians, invited from schools like Guildhall, Trinity College of Music and the Royal Academy, take time out of their tours to play to Bermondsey.
This year, the programme features a special edition to coincide with Pride celebrations in Southwark.
On July 6, an extended event will see a live jazz band followed by salsa dancing and an LGBTQ+ community choir.
All ages are invited and will benefit from outdoor heating, seating and accessible toilets. Food and drinks can be purchased from the Bermondsey Square hotel or local restaurants and coffee bars and there is also a small supermarket on the Square where visitors can make up their own picnics.
Although the event is free although donations to cover productions costs are welcome.
Mr Pierre said: “The Bermondsey Square Jazz Days were a grassroots music idea suggested by myself at a Southwark council community meeting in 2017.
“The idea was welcomed and proudly supported by The London Bridge & West Bermondsey ward councillors in 2018.
“Those elected councillors attended and helped make these summer events a cultural highlight in their neighbourhood.
“I believe that music is a form of medicine and therapy, it is also a harmonious universal language.”
Since 2018, The Bermondsey Square Jazz Days have featured performances from more than 200 musicians, many being students and graduates invited from London’s leading music colleges.
The music programme has included tributes to The Windrush legacy, HM Queen Elizabeth ll Platinum Jubilee and The King’s Coronation.
Bermondsey Square Jazz Days will take place at Bermondsey Square, from 2pm to 5pm, on the first Sunday of each month from now until September 7.
The location is a short walk from London Bridge and Southwark High Street. There’s a Santander Cycle docking station around the corner and many buses stop nearby.
Pictured top: Musicians during Bermondsey Square Jazz Days 2024 (Picture: Stephen Pierre)
