Caol Ila Islay Jazz Festival - 2026 line-up announced.

Monday, August 03, 2026

The 28th edition of the Festival returns on 11-13th September, pairing international artists with Scotland’s rising jazz talent. Press release attached.

We have received the following information;

At Jazz Scotland we’re pleased to announce the programme for this years Caol Ila Islay Jazz Festival.
The 28th edition of the Festival returns on 11-13th September, pairing international artists with Scotland’s rising jazz talent across unique island venues. Headline sponsor Caol Ila will host the opening night and release a limited-edition whisky to celebrate the weekend of collaborations and premieres.
This festival is a massive good-news story for Scottish culture, showcasing our internationally acclaimed young jazz talent as they collaborate with global artists. It perfectly captures what Islay is all about—blending world-class music, fine whisky, and rugged Hebridean landscapes into an unforgettable experience.

FULL PRESS RELEASE:

Jazz to once again become the Sound of Islay this September
11–13th September 2026

Islay, Scotland: For one weekend in September, the island of Islay becomes a living stage where the global jazz community comes to create together. Running from 11th-13th September 2026, the 28th Caol Ila Islay Jazz Festival pairs the Hebrides’ rugged landscapes with a deeply collaborative spirit. Festival visitors to the island will have the exclusive opportunity to experience a limited-edition bottling of Caol Ila, crafted specifically to celebrate this annual music and culture event. Further details of the release will be announced ahead of the festival.

Musicians from Scotland and across the globe are dropping into the island’s unique spaces to share the stage. Audiences can follow the music from working distilleries to local village halls, catching rare, spontaneous collaborations alongside Islay’s finest single malts.

Opening Night at Caol Ila
Building on last year’s inaugural partnership, headline sponsor Caol Ila hosts the festival’s opening night at their Brand Home overlooking the Sound of Islay. The evening features the world premieres of two new musical works inspired by Islay and some of its famous inhabitants: Orwell by guitarist Graeme Stephen and Islands by saxophonist Laura Macdonald.

Emma Watson, Caol Ila Brand Home Manager, said:
“The Islay Jazz Festival has become a much-loved moment in the island’s cultural calendar, bringing together people from around the world through a shared appreciation of music, community and craftsmanship. We’re proud to continue our partnership with Jazz Scotland and look forward to welcoming festivalgoers to Caol Ila to experience the very best of Islay hospitality.  As part of this year’s celebrations, we’re preparing a special limited-edition Caol Ila bottling inspired by the festival. Following the success of last year’s Caol Ila 18-Year-Old Jazz Festival Edition, The Guitarist, we’re looking forward to revealing the next chapter of the collection. More details will be announced soon.”

John Youngs, Artistic Director, Jazz Scotland:
“It’s always a thrill to put together the programme for the Caol Ila Islay Jazz Festival. There’s nothing quite like Islay, where the landscape and island atmosphere are as much a part of the weekend as the passionate community of local audiences, partners and festival staff. Each year, we try to create a vibrant meeting point for artists, and encourage spontaneity and collaboration, with a view to creating exceptional performances and a highlight weekend for everyone on the island. It’s a unique weekend within Scotland’s cultural calendar, come and check it out!”

International Collaborations
True to the festival’s ethos of creative collision, international guests will pair up with Scottish musicians. Romanian trio AmphiTrio will perform their own contemporary material before fronting a concert with Glasgow’s best young horn players Liam O’Neil and Simon Herbaholz. Australian trumpeter and vocalist Audrey Powne and German drummer Gerwin Eisenhauer will also lead cross-border sessions with pianist Fergus McCreadie and saxophonist Matt Kilner, pulling top-tier Scottish talent into their festival line-ups.

Spotlight on Rising Stars
The program also features two recent winners of the Scottish Jazz Awards’ Rising Star title, placed in two iconic festival slots:
Saturday Night Headline: 2024 Rising Star Laura Osa headlines Saturday evening with a set drawn from her debut album, blending contemporary jazz and soul.
Sunday at Laphroaig: Multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Kimberley Tessa (the 2023 winner) brings her mix of saxophone, flute, and vocals to the Laphroaig distillery on Sunday afternoon.

Focus on Drummers
This year’s lineup places a heavy emphasis on percussionists pushing contemporary jazz forward. The Richard Glassby Quartet makes their highly anticipated Islay debut, while Roan Anderson—winner of the BBC Young Jazz Musician of the Year 2025—brings his band, Tao, into Lagavulin’s historic Malt Mill.

£10 Islay Experiences
To keep the festival accessible, all Islay residents are eligible for a 10% discount on every concert, and a selection of unique, site-specific performances are priced at just £10. These include:
The Round Church (Bowmore): Guitarist Graeme Stephen pairs up with violist Fiona Winning for a set of original jazz inside the island’s famous circular church.
The Caol Ila Barrel Store: Blues specialist Toby Mottershead strips things back for a raw, acoustic set of classic Delta blues inside a working whisky warehouse.

Alan Morrison, Head of Music at Creative Scotland said:
“Jazz of a particularly fine vintage is on offer at this year’s festival. Local history adds flavour to the premieres of new music, while top international artists spice up the programme’s palate. The unique island setting provides a stunning backdrop for performances by some of Scotland’s rising stars, making the Caol Ila Islay Jazz Festival a jewel in the crown of our world-class music scene.”

Stuart Todd from the Islay Arts Association said,
“Amongst the many great UK Jazz Festivals we proudly think that Islay stands unique,  its island beauties, its histories and its hospitality all amplifying the fine music.  Most of the characterful concert venues look out onto attractive landscapes.  All of them face memorable seascapes.  The many styles of music are performed by a range of internationally established masters and award-winning young singers and players from the vibrant Scottish scene - with the island itself always one of the weekend’s stars”.

QUOTES FROM PERFORMING MUSICIANS

Matt Kilner, says:
What I’m most excited about for this year’s Islay Jazz Festival is the chance to meet and play with a variety of different musicians, explore the island of Islay (of which I have never visited before) and of course sample the local hospitality!!

Liam O’Neill, Trumpet, says:
I’m really excited to be a part of Islay Jazz Festival 2026. So many great artists that I’m looking forward to checking out and, of course, being on this beautiful island for the first time.

Dates: 11th to 13th September 2026
Location: Various venues across Islay, Argyll, Scotland
Tickets & Full Program: http://www.islayjazzfestival.co.uk. Tickets are available online from 4pm on 3 August 2026

About

The Festival is promoted by specialist jazz promoters, Jazz Scotland, and The Islay Arts Association.

Caol Ila, or “The Sound of Islay”, has more than just a fitting name as a headline sponsor - the distillery is the perfect place for visitors to embrace Islay. With a passionate and knowledgeable team on hand, plus views across to the Paps of Jura, and a liquid with deep roots to the island’s history and culture. The Caol Ila distillery visitor experience, was beautifully reimagined and reopened in 2022 as part of Diageo’s £185 million investment in Scotch whisky tourism, inviting guests to explore the distillery’s rich heritage and stunning coastal views. Caol Ila will release a limited-edition bottling to celebrate the Islay Jazz Festival in 2026, continuing the collection following the Caol Ila 18-Year-Old Jazz Festival Edition, The Guitarist, released in 2025. More details of the 2026 expression will be announced soon. http://www.malts.com

Established in 1985 by a group of local residents, the Islay Arts Association (IAA) was founded with the mission of bringing high-quality artists and public performances to the island. Over the years, the association has enriched the island’s cultural landscape by hosting a diverse array of touring theatre companies, classical music events, and many of the country’s leading traditional Scottish musicians and vocalists.

The Festival has been running since 1999. Since then the Festival has promoted musicians from over 25 countries, but has a special place for Scottish jazz musicians and audiences.

The festival receives funding from Creative Scotland. Creative Scotland is the public body that supports culture and creativity across all parts of Scotland, distributing funding provided by the Scottish Government and The National Lottery. Further information at http://www.creativescotland.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.