Düren Jazz Days

The Düren Jazz Days are an event in the city of Düren in North Rhine-Westphalia , where jazz bands perform on various stages in the city for five days . The first Düren Jazz Days took place between 1961 and 1968. A new edition began in 1991. Nikolaus Bellgardt from the Düren jazz club has been the artistic director of the annual Düren festival since 1994 .

Local bands and international greats of jazz and world music perform on various stages from Wednesday to Sunday. The highlights are the two main concerts on Kaiserplatz and the “pub crawl” on Saturday, during which many restaurants in the city offer free live music, and until 2009 the jazz parade. Another highlight is the big final concert of the Düren Jazz Days in the Christ Church of the Evangelical Congregation in Düren .

The jazz parade was organized for the first time in 2004 based on an idea by Rolf Giebel. With the last edition of the jazz parade in 2009, it has grown to become the largest jazz parade of its kind in Europe with almost 1000 participants. Around 10,000 spectators lined the path of the parade every year. Jazz bands, steel bands , samba dancers , Dixie and country bands meandered through the city center in a parade .