Kammgarn International Jazzfestival Kaiserslautern

31 Years of Jazz Festival

The Kammgarn cultural center has been organizing the International Jazz Festival in Kaiserslautern since 1996. 31 editions mean continuous programming, established networks with international artists, and a loyal audience that travels to Kaiserslautern every year in early April. The festival is proof that even medium-sized cities like Kaiserslautern can host top cultural events if the supporting structure is right.

Program Highlights 2026

The 2026 lineup brings together stars of the international jazz scene: Michael Wollny & Emile Parisien, the German-French duo of pianist Wollny and saxophonist Parisien, is among the most outstanding European jazz ensembles of our time. Omer Klein & the Poetics, the Israeli pianist with his current band. Mammal Hands, the British trio of saxophone, piano, and drums, shapes the contemporary British scene with its meditative-rhythmic sound. Emil Brandqvist Trio from Sweden, Youn Sun Nah, the Korean singer with a German career, and the project ELSA complete the program.

Kammgarn Cultural Center as Festival Venue

The Kammgarn cultural center, housed in a former 19th-century worsted spinning mill, is one of Kaiserslautern's most important concert venues and home to a broadly based cultural program. The industrial-historical substance, the intimate concert hall acoustics, and the curated atmosphere make the Kammgarn a venue that lends the festival its special quality.

Top of the German Jazz Festival Scene

In the dense German jazz festival landscape – with events such as the Moers Festival, Jazzfest Berlin, Jazz Open Stuttgart, or Enjoy Jazz Rhein-Neckar – the Kammgarn Festival asserts itself through its curated program, which focuses on European and international jazz with a clear aesthetic line. The close connection to the city of Kaiserslautern and the loyal audience are the basis of this independence.