The 2026 Newport Jazz Festival is once again an abundance of riches, packing more staggering musicianship across its four stages than many fans experience in years. The festival is taking place July 31 to August 2 at Fort Adams State Park in Rhode Island. This is the first year curated by Artistic Director Nate Smith, and he’s put together a breathtaking showcase of sheer musicality, uniting pioneering legends with modern visionaries to celebrate the absolute zenith of improvisation and talent.
In my initial preview article (Newport Jazz Festival 2026: Must-See Highlights) I covered several of the top acts each day. In this follow-up, I’ll cover most of the plethora of extraordinary talent.
I’ve curated a YouTube Playlist comprised of at least one video for each of the artists (provided there was one available) and you can go directly to that with this link Newport Jazz Festival 2026 Sampler. To get up to speed, you can also scroll the playlist in the box below and read a quick blurb on each artist, immediately following the preview box. Happy watching and hope to see you there!
Newport Jazz Festival 2026 YouTube Preview Sampler
Legendary Icons & Masters
- Herbie Hancock: The untouchable architect of modern jazz fusion, continuing to redefine keyboard and piano artistry at the highest level.
- Charles Lloyd Sky Quartet: A mesmerizing ensemble led by a legendary saxophonist, flanked by masters Jason Moran, Larry Grenadier, and Kweku Sumbry.
- John Scofield & Dave Holland: An elite, virtuosic duo pairing two of the greatest improvisational string minds in jazz history.
- Bernard Purdie & Friends: The world’s most recorded drummer brings his iconic, infectious “Purdie Shuffle” back to the live stage.
- Billy Hart Quartet: A powerhouse acoustic unit captained by an absolute institution of master jazz drumming.
Genre-Defying Headliners
- Jon Batiste Trios: The Oscar and Grammy-winning polymath showcasing his roots in jaw-dropping, high-energy piano trio configurations.
- Thundercat: The ultimate bass virtuoso blending hyper-speed fusion chops with quirky, falsetto-led yacht rock and R&B vibes.
- Gary Clark Jr.: A modern blues titan weaponizing scorched-earth guitar solos, soul vocals, and hip-hop beats.
- Robert Glasper (feat. Bilal & Ari Lennox): The blueprint of modern jazz-rap crossover returns with an R&B dream team in tow.
- Kamasi Washington & Chief Adjuah: Co-captaining a spiritual centennial tribute honoring the seismic legacies of Miles Davis, John Coltrane and Sonny Rollins
Funk, Groove, & High-Octane Collectives
- Vulfpeck: The masters of minimalist, viral internet funk delivering a hyper-precise, relentlessly danceable rhythm section clinic.
- Snarky Puppy: A globe-trotting instrumental juggernaut firing off dense, complex, and flawlessly tight stadium-sized jazz-funk charts.
- Lake Street Dive: A joyous, genre-spanning pop-soul ensemble anchored by Rachael Price’s staggering vocal acrobatic power.
- Cory Wong & Joshua Redman: A thrilling cross-generation matchup locking Wong’s iconic rhythm guitar into Redman’s fiery saxophone lines.
- The Bad Plus: The boundary-pushing avant-jazz outfit unleashing their unique brand of deconstructed, high-intensity rock-jazz fusion, who recently announced this as their farewell tour.
- Flea and the Honora Band: The iconic Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist stepping fully into avant-jazz exploration alongside a brilliant backing ensemble.
- Atomic Habitz (feat. Marcus King, Charlie Hunter & Ella Feingold): A southern-fried blues-soul explosion locking down dynamic fretwork and swampy rhythm grooves.
- Nate Smith: The festival’s very own Artistic Director pulling double duty to command the stage with his legendary, pocket-perfect drumming brilliance.
Global Voices & Boundary-Pushers
- Little Simz: The brilliant British hip-hop visionary laying razor-sharp, theatrical storytelling over deeply symphonic live-band grooves.
- Arlo Parks: A poetic indie-pop and neo-soul luminary painting delicate acoustic textures with deeply intimate lyrical imagery.
- Celeste: A modern torch-bearer of British soul hypnotizing crowds with her smoky, timeless, Billie Holiday-esque vocal timbre.
- Anoushka Shankar: A world-renowned sitar virtuoso effortlessly weaving traditional Indian classical roots into expansive modern jazz tapestries.
- Lalah Hathaway: A vocal institution and five-time Grammy winner revered for her untouchable ability to sing actual chords via polyphonic overtone singing, as in her Grammy-winning song “Something” with Snarky Puppy.
Rising Stars
- Leon Thomas: A Grammy-winning singer-songwriter who seamlessly fuses classic rhythm and blues with cutting-edge production.
- Braxton Cook: A trailblazing alto saxophonist and vocalist known for his buttery, genre-blurring blend of jazz and contemporary R&B.
- Angine de Poitrine: A viral, avant-garde Montréal duo captivating the underground scene with their hypnotic use of microtonal tunings.
- Brandon Woody’s Upendo: A high-energy collective led by a Baltimore trumpeter delivering raw, emotionally charged modern post-bop.
- Butcher Brown: A powerhouse Virginia ensemble that effortlessly synthesizes hard-hitting funk, hip-hop, and big-band jazz traditions.
- Linda May Han Oh Trio: A virtuosic acoustic jazz powerhouse uniting a master bassist with Ambrose Akinmusire and Tyshawn Sorey.
- Sienna Spiro: A rising vocal sensation from the UK turning heads with her staggeringly mature and soulful delivery.
- Michael Mayo: A boundary-pushing vocal acrobat who utilizes looping and flawless pitch to blend neo-soul with jazz phrasing.
- SML: A cutting-edge instrumental collective fusing improvisational jazz with driving, modular synth-driven electronic dance beats.
Contemporary Explorers & Elite Musicians
- Terri Lyne Carrington + Social Science: An eclectic, politically conscious group tackling heavy social themes via intricate, modern electronic-jazz.
- Tia Fuller: A powerhouse alto saxophonist channeling fierce bebop vocabulary alongside a commandingly explosive post-bop rhythm section.
- Marquis Hill: A visionary Chicago trumpeter seamlessly marrying the lineage of hard-bop with contemporary hip-hop aesthetics.
- Mei Semones: A rising guitarist crafting dizzying indie-pop soundscapes sung in both English and Japanese over complex bossa-nova rhythms.
- Mohini Dey: A jaw-dropping bass guitar phenom dazzling audiences with lightning-fast slap techniques and complex progressive-rock phrasing, who graced the Newport stage in 2025 with Willow Smith.
- Chris Dave & MonoNeon: The ultimate experimental drum-and-bass rhythm section pairing micro-groove precision with avant-garde funk insanity.
- Gotts Street Park: A moody, cinematic production trio operating out of Leeds to spin smoky, vintage-tinged soul-jazz backdrops.