Wood Street Jazz Festival is Back in Aid of Challengers

Published on: 29 Jun, 2023
Updated on: 29 Jun, 2023

Action from last year’s Wood Street Jazz Festival in aid of Challengers

By David Reading

The Wood Street Jazz Festival in aid of the children’s charity Challengers will be returning on Sunday, July 16. This will be its ninth year.

All money raised during the afternoon will support local disabled children and young people, helping them to access play and leisure opportunities.

The music will feature leading UK jazz artists including “1960’s Soul Jazz- The Music of Horace Silver and the Adderley Brothers” with the Peter Long and Ryan Quigley Quintet. There will also be jazz funk and soul from Redtenbacher’s Funkestra featuring Jana Varga.

The afternoon will be opened by the Somethin’ Else Big Band and there will be support acts featuring up and coming local talented jazz musicians.

The annual festival at Wood Street Village is a major event in the calendar for Guildford Jazz.

Helena Burke, Challengers’ Community and Events Officer, said: “We are so grateful for the support from our friends at Guildford Jazz. Affectionately known as the Ronnie Scott’s of Surrey, Guildford Jazz has established itself as one of the most successful and popular jazz clubs in the South East.

“The club runs regular events featuring some of the UK’s top jazz musicians. Since it started in 2011, they have held over 330 gigs, entertained 22,000 music lovers and raised over £70,000 for local charities.”

Tickets cost £25, or £90 for a group of four. There are concessions for Guildford Jazz members and under 18s are admitted free.

Similar to last year, there will be the chance to pre-order food.

Full details and bookings: https://disability-challengers.org/events/jazz-fest/

Challengers is a charity that gives disabled children and young people the opportunity to play, have fun, and make friends in a safe and supportive environment.

They support children aged 2–18 at pre-schools, playschemes and youth schemes across the South East.