Southern Romania: Jazz Cave Festival to take place in Vâlcea County in August

The fifth edition of the Jazz Cave Festival will take place in Vâlcea County, southern Romania, between August 14 and 17, bringing over 22 bands from Europe, Africa, and South America to perform on four stages.

This year, the event will be held in three concept-zones. The underground stages INNERLAND and KIDS CORNER, the latter initiated in 2024 at the fourth edition and made permanent this year, are located in the heart of the Ocnele Mari Salt Mine. In addition, for the first time, the pilot conference JAZZ TALKS will also take place in the salt mine, featuring musicians, musicologists, and notable representatives of cultural life.

At the same time, the above-ground stage DREAMLAND moves to an accessible and historically rich urban space, Zăvoi Park in Râmnicu Vâlcea.

“The festival celebrates the diversity of improvised sound art through a complex four-day program of recitals by acclaimed bands from countries such as Argentina, Austria, Azerbaijan, Switzerland, Germany, and Romania, ” the organizers said.

The lineup includes new names such as Sarah Buechi (Switzerland), Sorvina (Germany), Yumi Ito Quartet (Switzerland), Tango Jazz Quartet (Argentina), Rain Sultanov (Azerbaijan), David Helbock Trio (Austria), and Soul Serenade (Romania), as well as beloved artists from previous editions of the festival, such as Sorina Rotaru (Romania), Ana Maria Galea (Romania), and many others.

The ARTS DISTRICT stage is again hosted this year by the “Aurelian Sacerdoțeanu” Vâlcea County Museum of Art in Râmnicu Vâlcea, where the concert theme this year is “Her Voice.” The stage will exclusively promote female voices in Romanian jazz. The festival program starts Thursday, August 14, at this stage.

From Friday to Sunday, concerts begin on the INNERLAND and KIDS CORNER stages, where performances take place from 11:00 to 17:00, then continue at the Vâlcea County Museum of Art “Aurelian Sacerdoțeanu” from 18:00, and from 19:00 and 17:00 respectively on the DREAMLAND stage.

“The Ocnele Mari Salt Mine offers an acoustic quality rarely encountered in the world, and the eclectic lineup features multiple styles of jazz, a variety of instruments and bands ready to surprise music lovers regardless of age,” said Sebastian Gheorghiu, cultural manager and member of the UCIMR Board of Directors.

“This year, we will bring over 22 bands with more than 100 local and international artists, from over 12 countries on 3 continents, in a four-day jazz marathon, across 4 stages in 2 localities in Romania’s Subcarpathians,” he added.

This year as well, concert attendance is free, based only on the entry ticket to the salt mine or museum.