Jazzin Africa Accra: Ghana’s Jazz Festival Returns for a Second Edition, 22 to 24 October 2026
GHANA · MUSIC
Key Facts
- —What happened The Jazzin’ Africa Festival returns to Accra for a second edition, from 22 to 24 October 2026.
- —How big One music workshop on 22 October, then concerts on the evenings of 23 and 24 October.
- —What it means A Ghana events guide lists entry from 300 cedi (about US$26), with an 18:00 start.
- —The catch Organisers have confirmed no venue and announced no artists, six weeks before the opening day.
- —Who it affects Anyone in Accra that week, and any visitor thinking of building a trip around it.
- —What comes next Watch Music In Africa and the festival’s own channels for a venue, a bill and a ticket link.
Jazzin Africa Accra is back for a second year, with a workshop on 22 October and concerts on the two nights after. Six weeks out, the venue and the line-up are both still open.
Jazzin Africa Accra returns to the capital of Ghana from 22 to 24 October 2026. The plan is one music workshop, followed by two evenings of live jazz.
What organisers have actually confirmed
The dates come from the festival’s own open call for artists, published by the music portal Music In Africa in November 2025. It named Accra and the three days in October.
The first day, 22 October, is the Jazzin’ Africa Music Workshop. Organisers describe it as a day for performing artists, students and music industry people to work together.
Concerts follow on 23 and 24 October on a main stage. A listing on the Ghana events guide BookiGhana gives an 18:00 start.
The 2026 theme is Beyond the Sound. That is the only programme detail made public so far.
No venue, no line-up, six weeks to go
There is still no confirmed address. The BookiGhana entry simply says Accra, with the venue to be confirmed.
The first edition was held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in central Accra in October 2025. That is not a promise that the second one returns there.
No artists have been announced either. The application window for performers closed on 1 February 2026, yet no line-up has followed.
This matters most if you would be flying in. Booking a trip around a festival with no address and no names is a real gamble.
It is a smaller risk if you already live in Accra or are passing through anyway. You can simply wait and decide in October.
Who is behind Jazzin Africa Accra
The festival was founded in 2024 by Steve Bedi, a Ghanaian saxophonist. He headlined the first edition himself last October.
Music In Africa published the open call for the 2026 edition. The portal belongs to the Music In Africa Foundation, a non-profit formed in Kenya in 2013.
The foundation is registered in South Africa and runs the portal as an information service for the music sector. Its stated aims include music education, training and connecting people who work in the industry.
It also states plainly that it is not responsible for running the events in its open calls. So treat Music In Africa as the noticeboard, not the promoter.
That means questions about tickets, doors and venue belong with the festival team itself. At the time of writing, those answers were not online.
Why jazz in Ghana is not an import
Ghana’s own dance music, highlife, grew up with horn sections and swing rhythms. Brass bands, church music and imported records all fed into it.
The bandleader E.T. Mensah carried highlife across West Africa with his group The Tempos. He performed with the American trumpeter Louis Armstrong in the 1950s.
That shared history is what a festival like this draws on. The 2025 theme spoke of preserving the past and inspiring the future.
The first bill mixed Ghanaian players with guests from the United States, Denmark, Mozambique and South Africa. Something similar is likely again, though nothing has been confirmed.
Tickets, and paying without a Ghanaian phone number
BookiGhana lists entry from 300 cedi (about US$26). Organisers have published no official price, so treat that number as a guide and not a quote.
BookiGhana is a Ghana travel and events guide. It is not confirmed as the ticket seller for this festival, and its entry carries no checkout link.
Most Ghanaian events sell through mobile money, which means paying from a phone wallet instead of a card. The big services belong to MTN and Telecel.
MTN’s wallet is the largest of them, and big enough to have drawn a patent lawsuit in the United States. Cash at the door may be an option too, though nobody has confirmed how entry will work.
A wallet needs a Ghanaian phone number, which most visitors do not have. Ask the seller for a card payment link, or buy a local SIM card and register it with your passport.
Getting across Accra, and what October feels like
Accra traffic is heavy from mid-afternoon onwards. An 18:00 start means leaving early, wherever in the city you are staying.
Ride-hailing apps cover the city and are the easiest option for visitors. Keep small notes on you, because drivers often cannot change a large one.
Kotoka International Airport sits inside the city, beside the Airport City hotel district. Many visitors base themselves there and travel short distances in the evening.
October falls in Accra’s second, shorter rainy season. Showers tend to be brief, days stay warm and humid, and evenings are comfortable outdoors.
For a sense of the busier season later in the year, see our guide to Detty December in Lagos and Accra. Currency conversions use the 13 September 2026 rate of 11.41 cedi to the US dollar, from open.er-api.com.
More: Ghana news in English, every day from The Rio Times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When is the Jazzin’ Africa Festival 2026?
It runs from 22 to 24 October 2026 in Accra, Ghana. The workshop is on 22 October, and the concerts are on 23 and 24 October.
Where is the Jazzin’ Africa Festival held?
Organisers have not confirmed a venue for 2026, and listings still say Accra only. The first edition was held at the Mövenpick Ambassador Hotel in the city.
How much do tickets cost?
A BookiGhana listing shows entry from 300 cedi (about US$26). No official price has been published, so check the figure before you pay anyone.
Who is playing at the festival?
No line-up has been announced. Applications from artists closed on 1 February 2026, so names should follow once organisers publish them.
Sources: Music In Africa (open call, 25 November 2025), Music In Africa (first edition report, 9 October 2025), Music In Africa Foundation, BookiGhana events listing; see https://musicinafrica.net/magazine/open-call-jazzin-africa-festival-2026-ghana/ and https://musicinafrica.net/magazine/steve-bedi-headline-inaugural-jazzin-africa-festival-accra/ and https://musicinafrica.net/about/music-africa-foundation/ and https://www.bookighana.com/Events
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