The best of vintage, swing, and blues returns to Cumbria this week for the Keswick Jazz Festival.

Now in its 25th year, the festival will once again see top bands flock to the Lake District, bringing the New Orleans sound with them from today until Sunday.

Keswick will play host to more than 90 events across four days, from intimate concerts in the town to show-stopping performances at the Theatre by the Lake.

Kicking off today, The Jazz Repertory Company will be among the bands opening the event, as they appear at the Theatre by the Lake’s Main House in the afternoon and evening, taking audiences through New York’s jazz scene in the 1930s and 1940s.

Tomorrow features a jam-packed schedule with Enrico Tomasso’s Riverboat Six, and international singer Joan Viskant among the performers.

The evening will be rounded off by The Grand Keswick Festival Orchestra led by Keith Nichols performing "Jazz Convulsions: the Music of Duke Ellington's Harlem". 

Tomorrow’s proceedings begin at 11am with The Tony Pitt Allstars on the Theatre by the Lake’s marquee stage. The Keswick Festival Trombones will be performing at the methodist church throughout the afternoon, and the Dance Band Divas will take to the stage at Main Hall at 3pm.

Heading into the evening, The Magnificent Seven Jazz Band will be performing at the marquee, while Lizy Exell’s Old Hat Jazz Band perform at the Skiddaw Hotel.

Baby Jools and the Jazzaholics get things started at the marquee on Sunday, and over on the Conservative Club stage Penrith newcomers The Hot Sauce Finger Snappers will be performing 1930s swing jazz. They’ll be followed by the Jake Leg Jug Band who return to the festival after a packed Keswick debut last year.

The evening marks a milestone for festival favourites The Savannah Jazz Band too, as they appear for the 25th year running at the festival, headlining the Masonic Hall.

The weekend also holds some free events, as a Mardi-Gras style procession will go through Keswick on the Saturday morning from 10am, featuring the Grand Festival Parade Band.

On Sunday there’ll be live jazz in the square courtesy of the Brownfield Byrne Hot Six. To see the full programme of events, visit www.keswickjazzfestival.com

TOP 5 TO WATCH

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The La’al Big Band 

Theatre by the Lake: Marquee 

Saturday 2.45pm 

Featuring 19 top musicians, The La’al Big Band perform swing and jazz music from the golden age of big bands right up the current day, and are sure to get everyone dancing when they perform at the Theatre by the Lake on Saturday afternoon.

Dance Band Divas  

Theatre by the Lake: Main House 

Sunday 3pm 

This talented jazz group take on the music of women from the 1920s through to the 1940s who were the huge stars of their day. Songs range in style from the age of gently swinging small bands through to heavily orchestrated big bands.

Magnificent 7 Jazz Band 

Theatre by the Lake: Marquee 

Saturday 7.30pm 

Comprising of some of the most sought-after musicians on the jazz scene today, this band crosses boundaries of jazz styles, with their repertoire featuring pieces by Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller and more.

The Jake Leg Jug Band  

Conservative Club & The Skiddaw Hotel 

Sunday 3pm & Sunday 8pm 

Bringing an authentic 1920s and 1930s jazz sound to Keswick, the Jake Leg Jug Band put their own twist on a classic sound with songs of murder, betrayal, gambling, liquor and redemption.

The Hot Sauce Finger Snappers  

Conservative Club 

Sunday 12pm 

One of the newer bands on the scene, the Hot Sauce Finger Snappers from Penrith play 1930s swing jazz and are sure to leave an impression when they open the Conservative Club stage on Sunday.