Bodrum Jazz Festival Returns With 14 Days of Music Across the Peninsula
Bosphorus News Life Desk
The 10th International Bodrum Jazz Festival will return from June 15 to 28, bringing a 14 day programme of concerts, digital exhibitions, talks and special projects to venues across Bodrum.
Organised by the Jazz Society with the support of Türkiye's Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the 2026 edition will be held under the theme "Jazz Is Universal." The festival places Bodrum's summer calendar inside a wider cultural frame, moving between Turkish jazz, Latin rhythms, international collaborations and open air performances.
The programme opens on June 15 and spreads across several locations rather than staying inside a single concert hall. Very Chic Bodrum, Dibeklihan Culture and Art Village, The Marmara Bodrum Pera 77 Pop Up, Metreküp Bodrum and Anthaven Aspat are among the venues listed for this year's edition.
That structure gives the festival one of its strongest assets: a sense of movement across Bodrum. Concerts, talks and exhibitions will turn the event into a cultural route through the peninsula, using venues that already carry their own atmosphere rather than treating Bodrum only as a summer backdrop.
The line up brings together some of Türkiye's best known jazz and crossover names. Fahir Atakoğlu will appear with Volkan Öktem, Alp Ersönmez and Seçil Akmirza on June 28 at Anthaven Aspat, while Ayhan Sicimoğlu & Latin All Stars will perform on June 27 at Metreküp Bodrum.
Bilal Karaman, Şenay Lambaoğlu, Önder Focan, Hakan Behlil, Kaan Çelen and Defne Yiğit are also part of the programme. The festival will include Esra Üçcan Quartet, Monika Bulanda Quartet and the international duo Madeleine & Salomon, adding European and contemporary colours to a programme built around variety rather than a single jazz tradition.
The 2026 edition is not limited to stage performances. Dibeklihan will host a digital exhibition connected to the Muğla Sıtkı Koçman University 10th International Bodrum Jazz Festival Poster Design Competition, while talks and side events will give the programme a broader cultural layer.
Arriving at the start of Bodrum's high season, the festival gives the peninsula a 14 day cultural route built around music, conversation and visual work. That matters for an event now entering its 10th edition. Bodrum Jazz is no longer just a visiting concert series; it has become part of the area's summer identity.
The theme "Jazz Is Universal" fits that position. The programme moves from Turkish musicianship to Latin energy, European collaborations and contemporary jazz forms, matching Bodrum's role as both a local cultural centre and an international summer destination.
The festival also gives Türkiye's jazz scene another platform outside Istanbul and Ankara. Its value is not only in bringing well known names to Bodrum, but in showing how a music festival gains depth when it is rooted in a specific place, spread across different venues and supported by exhibitions and public conversations.
The 10th International Bodrum Jazz Festival will run from June 15 to 28. Programme and ticket details are available through the Jazz Society and official ticketing platforms.