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    Cape Town International Jazz Festival Tickets

    Indoors at the CTICC · two nights each late March or early April

    Four indoor stages, two nights and overlapping sets: at Cape Town's jazz festival, the real choice is which room you stay near and when.

    By the Reserved Seat editorial teamUpdated How we research
    Cape Town International Jazz Festival 2018. The free pre- concert given at Greenmarket Square
    Photo: Discott, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Upcoming Cape Town International Jazz Festival dates

    Dates and live ticket listings appear here as soon as they are on sale. The guide below covers what to know before you buy.

    Your CTICC plan, decided up front

    The Cape Town International Jazz Festival (CTIJF) runs two nights each year, in late March or early April, inside the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC) near the V&A Waterfront. There are no reserved seats in the usual sense. Your decision is which night to buy and which of the four stages to stay close to while sets overlap. If one night's international headliner is the reason you are going, a single-day ticket for that night is the efficient buy. If you want the full program, the weekend pass covers both nights, but it is sold in limited numbers.

    The 23rd edition ran March 27 and 28, 2026. As of October 2026 the festival's site listed the 2027 lineup as coming soon. The event is widely described as Africa's largest jazz festival and the fourth largest in the world, and because it is indoors, rain does not cancel anything and there is no field to cross.

    Four rooms, four moods

    Each stage has its own character, so choose by taste. As of 2026:

    • Kippies: the home of the big international names. Expect the largest crowds and the hardest squeeze near the front.
    • Manenberg: high-energy sets for dancing more than listening.
    • Moses Molelekwa: contemporary and experimental jazz for close listeners.
    • Rosies: the small, relaxed room for acoustic jazz. Capacity is limited, and entry has historically cost a small surcharge on top of the festival ticket. Arrive well before a Rosies set you care about.

    Clashes are guaranteed. Read the published schedule, rank the sets you refuse to miss, and accept that you will miss something good in another hall.

    Single night or weekend pass

    For 2026, tickets were sold through Ticketmaster in two forms. A single-day ticket covers Friday or Saturday. A weekend pass covers both nights and is capped, so it can sell out before day tickets do. Demand follows lineup announcements: when a major international act lands on one night, that night's tickets climb faster than the other. Because most inventory on Reserved Seat is resale, prices can sit above or below face value, and every order comes with a 100% guarantee.

    Who has played, from Hancock to Scorpion Kings

    Jazz anchors the programming, but funk, Afropop, fusion, soul, R&B and amapiano (a South African house style built around log-drum bass) all appear. A sample of the bill over the years:

    • The first year, 2000: Hugh Masekela shared top billing with Herbie Hancock.
    • 2011 and 2012: Hancock returned alongside Erykah Badu, and the following year brought Lauryn Hill with James Ingram.
    • 2014: Badu again, this time with the South African DJ Black Coffee.
    • 2026: Abdullah Ibrahim, Jacob Collier in his first South African appearance, Yellowjackets back for the first time since 2005, Fatoumata Diawara, Nduduzo Makhathini, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse and the amapiano pair Scorpion Kings.

    The free concert and the rest of jazz week

    The main event sits inside a full week of music, much of it free.

    • Greenmarket Square: a free open-air community concert in the city center opens the week a couple of days ahead. In 2026 it ran March 25 from 4 to 10 p.m., with Sheila E. and the E-Train headlining.
    • Jazz in the City: a loop of mostly free shows along Bree Street the night before the 2026 festival.
    • Montreux Jazz Festival Franschhoek: held March 27 to 29, 2026, in the Winelands about an hour's drive away, with a shuttle linking Franschhoek and the CTICC.
    • Masterclasses: free sessions with visiting and local musicians during the 2026 festival.

    Staying nearby and getting home after the last set

    Hotels around the Waterfront and the city center fill early for festival weekend. Staying within walking distance, or a short ride, of the CTICC makes the late finish far easier, because thousands of people leave at the same moment. Book a ride in advance if you are not walking.

    • Clothing: layers. Cape Town weather in late March swings, and packed halls get warm.
    • Shoes: comfortable ones. The stages are spread across a large building, and the night involves a lot of standing and walking between rooms.

    Twenty-plus years in brief

    Rashid Lombard and Billy Domingo founded the festival in 2000 as the North Sea Jazz Festival Cape Town, in partnership with the Dutch North Sea Jazz Festival. That partnership ended after 2005, and the event has carried its current name since 2006. The events company espAfrika produces it.

    • Venues: the Good Hope Centre for 2000 through 2003, then the CTICC from 2004.
    • Scale: about 14,000 attendees in 2000, rising to about 34,000 by 2013. An estimate cited by Wikipedia credits the 2010 edition with R740 million for the Western Cape economy.
    • Interruption: canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic, then postponed again in 2023 over delays and load shedding (South Africa's scheduled rolling blackouts). It came back in 2024.

    Check the festival's website for the current schedule, entry rules and permitted items.

    Frequently asked questions

    Which stage at the Cape Town jazz festival is hardest to get into?

    Rosies, the small acoustic room. Its capacity is limited and entry has historically carried a small extra charge, so arrive early for any set there.

    Do I need a weekend pass to see everything?

    Not necessarily. Single-day tickets covered each night in 2026, and with overlapping stages no one sees everything anyway. Weekend passes are limited and can sell out first.

    Is the festival affected by rain?

    No. It takes place inside the Cape Town International Convention Centre, so it goes ahead in any weather.

    When does the free Greenmarket Square concert happen?

    A couple of days before the main festival. In 2026 it took place on March 25, headlined by Sheila E. and the E-Train.

    When will the 2027 festival be held?

    The festival normally runs two nights in late March or early April. As of October 2026 its site listed the 2027 lineup as coming soon, with no dates confirmed in the sources reviewed.

    Sources