XJAZZ! Festival 2026 – Jazz, Electronics and Kreuzberg in Berlin

Welcome to the XJAZZ! Festival 2026 in Berlin

XJAZZ! is Berlin’s largest jazz festival, and in 2026 it returns to Kreuzberg from 9 to 11 October – not in May. After the spring edition was cancelled when cultural-administration funding was not released, and after a compact Weekender at the end of May, founder Sebastian Studnitzky’s team moved the main festival into autumn: three days, three stages, 40-plus live acts and DJs. Official listings are on xjazz.com; Instagram and Berlin.de match those dates.

Since 2014 XJAZZ! has mixed jazz with electronics, hip-hop, neo-soul and neo-classical music on purpose, not as a side dish. In earlier years about 75 percent of the bill came from Berlin; in 2022 the festival won the German Jazz Prize as Festival of the Year. Ticket partners list a Regular Festival Pass from about 89 EUR. Door times per club had not been published day-by-day in mid-September 2026; comparable Kreuzberg nights usually open around 18:00 and run late.

Highlights & Attractions at the XJAZZ! Festival in Berlin

• Three days of club-hopping, not a field festival: jazz, fusion, electronics and spiritual jazz in Kreuzberg rooms – 2026 with newly announced venues across Berlin.
• First lineup drop: Emma-Jean Thackray, Nduduzo Makhathini, Another Taste, Dumama, Momoko Gill, Tonina, Ludwig Wandinger, Luminiah, Richard Koch and Marleen Dahms; a second drop was promised.
• A three-day Regular Festival Pass (marketed as best value) instead of one seated hall – move between sets.
• Berlin’s own scene at the core, with Studnitzky’s curation next to international names.
• An electronic and experimental strand: ambient, avant-garde jazz and club DJs, not only acoustic quartets.
• October neighbours: Festival of Lights on the same weekend, and Jazzfest Berlin (Berliner Festspiele) from 29 October to 1 November 2026.
• Urban Kreuzberg between Moritzplatz and Schlesisches Tor – U-Bahn, late shops, club doors, no festival tent on the grass.

Program & Schedule: What to Expect in 2026

XJAZZ! 2026 runs Friday 9 October through Sunday 11 October. Organisers call it the biggest edition they have built outside the old May slot: new venues, new collaborations, 40-plus acts. A full hour-by-hour stage PDF was not yet public in mid-September 2026. Expect early concert slots and late club nights. Tickets and artist pages live on xjazz.com; some shows may also sell through partner platforms once rooms and times are locked.

The music stays a crossover lab: disco-funk (Another Taste), P-funk and fusion (Emma-Jean Thackray), ritual spiritual jazz (Nduduzo Makhathini, Dumama), neo-soul and left-field pop (Momoko Gill, Luminiah, Tonina), experimental electronics (Ludwig Wandinger) and Berlin jazz (Richard Koch, Marleen Dahms). Workshops, Cassette Head Sessions and a youth/family strand belonged to the May format; whether they transfer one-to-one into October was not confirmed at the time of writing. A festival pass is the practical way to cover the radius. Day passes from previous years may return once the shop opens extra categories.

Three stages and new clubs: how XJAZZ! works in Kreuzberg

XJAZZ! is a club circuit, not a park site. The historic map sat between Moritzplatz and Schlesisches Tor; the 2026 Weekender used Festsaal Kreuzberg (Am Flutgraben 2) among other rooms. For October the team announced “new venues across Berlin” while still branding Kreuzberg as home. Three stages mean overlapping sets – the pass exists so you do not stay in one room. Check xjazz.com for the final hall list rather than treating older venue maps as confirmed.

2026 headliners: Emma-Jean Thackray and Nduduzo Makhathini in Berlin

Emma-Jean Thackray is the XJAZZ! idea in one artist: jazz, fusion, electronics, P-funk. Nduduzo Makhathini brings South African spiritual jazz and ritual piano – his slot has been communicated for 11 October. Another Taste (Space Grapes) is billed on 10 October for groove over polish. Dumama (Gugu Duma) folds spiritual jazz, improvisation and poetry. With Momoko Gill and Tonina, the first drop is more international than a pure Berlin showcase, but it still sits in the festival’s club-concert hybrid.

Berlin scene, neo-soul and electronics at XJAZZ!

Richard Koch (trumpet) and Marleen Dahms represent the city; Ludwig Wandinger covers experimental electronics and ambient. Luminiah, Momoko Gill and Tonina pull neo-soul, indie and folk-classical into the club. Older editions ran at about 75 percent Berlin artists; 2026’s first drop is more mixed, with a second drop expected to thicken the local layer. That is the split with Jazzfest Berlin at the Festspiele: XJAZZ! is scene, crossover and dance-floor; Jazzfest is concert hall and canon.

Spiritual jazz, disco-funk and late club nights

October compresses what XJAZZ! has tested since 2014: jazz that can work as a club. Spiritual and ritual sets (Makhathini, Dumama) sit next to disco-funk and DJ lines. If you only want an acoustic trio, this is the wrong weekend; if you still want electronics after midnight, it is the right one. Official closing times were not posted – in Kreuzberg that means sturdy shoes, a late finish, and night U-Bahn or a taxi from Schlesisches Tor.

Jazzfest Berlin 2026: the other major jazz weekend in Berlin

Two weeks after XJAZZ!, Jazzfest Berlin returns for its 63rd edition, 29 October to 1 November 2026, at Haus der Berliner Festspiele plus A-Trane, Quasimodo and the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church. Announced names include Anthony Braxton, Alexander von Schlippenbach and Camila Nebbia, with 24 acts and a Community Week in Moabit from 26 October. A Berlin jazz trip can stack XJAZZ! (clubs, Kreuzberg, crossover) and Jazzfest (concert hall, premieres) instead of treating them as rivals.

Festival of Lights on the same XJAZZ! weekend in Berlin

9–11 October 2026 also brings the Festival of Lights in the historic centre. Combine jazz with a look at the illuminated axes around Brandenburg Gate and the Cathedral, then head back to Kreuzberg. It is not part of the music programme, but it is the real backdrop: tourists in Mitte, scene in the Kiez. Hotels in the centre jump in price – Kreuzberg, Neukölln and Treptow are the smarter places to sleep.

XJAZZ! Weekender and the May tradition

The full May 2026 festival was cancelled; the XJAZZ! Weekender ran 28–31 May instead (including Festsaal Kreuzberg, Moses Yoofee Trio, Gilles Peterson/LOVEDANCIN’, Kit Downes). October is the postponed main edition, not a bonus weekend. A new May 2027 date had not been officially set as of September 2026 – watch xjazz.com and xjazz.net in winter rather than booking May 2027 as fact.

Tickets & Admission for XJAZZ! Festival Berlin

This is a paid festival. xjazz.com sells a Regular Festival Pass for 9–11 October 2026 as the best-value ticket; partners list it from about 89 EUR. Extra day tickets, concessions or higher VIP tiers were not fully broken out in public at the time of research – day passes were the usual one-night club-hop tool in earlier years. The May 2026 Weekender sat around 95 EUR for three days on DICE (18+). For October, use the live shop on xjazz.com or its linked partner, not leftover May links. Single-artist shows may go on sale once stages and times are fixed. Buy early: the lineup is still growing and the rooms are small.

Visitor Tips: Travel & Accommodation in Berlin

• Getting there: Kreuzberg is on U1/U3 (Schlesisches Tor, Kottbusser Tor, Görlitzer Bahnhof) and U8 (Kottbusser Tor, Moritzplatz). From Berlin Hauptbahnhof allow about 20–25 minutes by S-Bahn and U-Bahn. A car is a poor fit: little parking and venues meant for walking. The Deutschland-Ticket covers city transit.
• Weather and clothing: mid-October in Berlin is often 8–14°C with rain and wind. You will walk between clubs – layers, solid shoes, a jacket for the cloakroom. Kreuzberg rooms are tight; large backpacks slow the door.
• Where to stay: Kreuzberg, northern Neukölln (Weserstrasse, Reuterkiez) and around Görlitzer Park keep you on foot. Mitte and City West cost more on the Festival of Lights weekend and sit farther from the clubs. Book early; 9–11 October 2026 is a double-booked weekend in Berlin.
• How to use the night: buy the festival pass, do not miss the first set, leave buffer time between stages. Spätis, döner shops and club bars replace arena catering. Keep a little cash as well as a card in older rooms.
• Stacking jazz: XJAZZ! on the first October weekend, then Jazzfest Berlin from 29 October. If you can only do one, pick XJAZZ! for clubs and scene or Jazzfest for the concert hall and premieres – both are officially dated for 2026.