One week, three squares, a city that comes alive with music.
For six days, from July 13 to 18, 2026, Modena will be transformed into a huge open-air stage. Jazz Open is coming to town—one of Europe’s most important music festivals, which, after thirty successful years in Germany, has chosen Italy for its first international debut.
A festival founded in Stuttgart
Jazz Open was founded in 1994 in Stuttgart, under the artistic direction of Jürgen Schlensog, as an evolution of a jazz series organized in previous years by the city’s Theaterhaus. Since then, it has grown to become, alongside Montreux and Rotterdam, one of the three leading festivals in Europe for the “Jazz & Beyond” genre: a format that starts with jazz but freely embraces pop, soul, rock, and electronic music. Every summer, the German festival attracts over 60,000 attendees, and its lineup has featured names such as Bob Dylan, Sting, Lenny Kravitz, Herbie Hancock, and Christina Aguilera.
In 2025, the organizers announced their intention to expand the format abroad, and in December of that same year, an agreement was reached with the City of Modena: a five-year deal that will bring the festival to the city through 2030, not as a one-off event but as a regular fixture.
Three Squares, Three Spirits
The Modena festival will take place across three locations. The beating heart of the event will be Piazza Roma, in front of the Palazzo Ducale, where the main stage will be set up: a stage 29 meters wide and 16 meters high, designed for major international productions. The Baluardo, within the fortified Citadel, will host the more strictly jazz-focused program, while the Giardino Ducale Estense will host the “Open Stages”—free concerts dedicated to young talents and emerging artists from the region, organized in collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Music Commission.
Piazza Roma: The International Headliners
The festival kicks off on July 13 with a double concert featuring Gregory Porter, a two-time Grammy winner and one of the most influential voices in contemporary jazz, and Diana Krall, a Canadian pianist and singer who has won 2 Grammys, 10 Junos, and earned several platinum albums over the course of her career, contributing like few others to bringing vocal jazz back to the forefront of the international scene.
On July 14, Moby will perform his only Italian show after years away from our stages: the American musician brought electronic music into the heart of global pop culture with albums like Play, which has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
On July 15, the evening gets even more danceable with Parov Stelar, the Austrian producer who has transformed jazz and swing into a dancefloor phenomenon, and Meute, the German techno marching band that has won over audiences by reinterpreting electronic music with live brass and percussion.
On July 16, it’s time for a double concert featuring Jamie Cullum, a British multi-instrumentalist who has introduced a new generation to jazz by blending virtuosity, rock energy, and pop sensibility, and Joss Stone, one of the most recognizable soul voices of the new millennium, with over 15 million albums sold, a Grammy, and two Brit Awards.
On July 17, we return to Italian music with Luca Carboni, one of the most beloved figures in Italian music over the past forty years.
The grand finale, on July 18, will feature Jean-Michel Jarre: the French pioneer of electronic music will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Oxygène —the 1976 album that revolutionized electronic instrumental music and sold over 18 million copies worldwide—in Modena with one of his spectacular audiovisual shows.
Il Baluardo: The Jazz Heart of the Festival
Set within the historic fortified citadel, Il Baluardo will host the festival’s most distinctly jazz-oriented program, featuring one concert a day throughout the week. The series kicks off on July 13 with Emma Smith, one of the most brilliant voices in British jazz, followed on July 14 by pianist Francesca Tandoi, one of the most acclaimed European performers of her generation in the reinterpretation of bebop and hard bop. On July 15, Apulian trumpeter Andrea Sabatino takes the stage, while on July 16, it’s the turn of Mammal Hands, an English trio that blends jazz, minimalism, and electronic music. On July 17, Aaron Parks—one of the most influential pianists in contemporary jazz—will perform, and the festival concludes on July 18 with Senegalese guitarist Hervé Samb, a pioneer of sabar jazz, a unique fusion of jazz improvisation and West African musical traditions.
The Estense Ducal Garden: Free Open Stages
Set amid the greenery of the Ducal Garden, with its spectacular Palazzina Vigarani, the Open Stages will take place: free concerts dedicated to the emerging music scene, organized in collaboration with the Emilia-Romagna Music Commission to showcase new local talent. The lineup ranges from the cinematic and retro sounds of multi-instrumentalist Alex Fernet (July 13) to the militant electro-punk of R.Y.F. (July 14), from Sleap-e’s sonic fusion of bossa nova, anti-folk, and egg punk (July 15) to the electroacoustic compositions of saxophonist Laura Agnusdei (July 16), to Godblesscomputers’ explorations of house, hip hop, and black music (July 17), and the grand finale on July 18 featuring C’Mon Tigre, a cult collective that fuses electronic music, jazz, Afrobeat, and visual art into a unique artistic language.
An Economic Boost for the City
In addition to its musical value, the festival aims to generate a significant economic impact for Modena: according to the organizers, more than 20% of the expected audience will come from abroad—primarily from Germany, but also from countries such as Mexico, Australia, and Taiwan—while nearly half of the visitors will come from outside the region. The festival is supported by sponsors such as the Enzo Ferrari Museum, Mastercard, and Allianz, and involves numerous businesses in the historic center through the Modenamoremio network.
For Modena, known worldwide for its cars and balsamic vinegar, this is an opportunity to add the identity of an international music stage to its legacy.
Tickets and the full program are available on the festival’s official website.
jazzopen Italia s.r.l.
Via Farini 27 | 41121 Modena
Phone: +39 059 8347700
info@jazzopen-italia.com
www.jazzopen-modena.com
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