XJAZZ! 2025

This fourth edition of XJAZZ! Festival feels like a return to roots—centering local voices, smaller spaces, and the communities that shape Berlin’s sound. With funding cuts hitting the cultural sector and political pressure mounting, the festival is holding space where it’s needed most. 

This edition includes performances by artists such as Alabaster DePlume, Joy Guidry, and Moor Mother with Lonnie Holley, alongside Berlin-based acts including Jembaa Groove and D.$AHIN—plus a Refuge Worldwide Takeover at ŒLGARTEN. Daily conversations at the Weserstraße Studio will feature Henry Weekes in dialogue with guests Sorvina, Aron & The Jeri Jeri Band, Ignabu, Ken Okuda, Àbáse, EX GENERATION: The Napoli Exchange, and many more.

We talked with organizers Anastasiia Pokaz, Sebastian Hecht, and Alicia Gil de Oliveira about building a sustainable festival, keeping things accessible, and why staying close to the ground matters more than ever.

This year’s programme has a strong community focus — what makes that exciting for you? We are always hyped about the lineup, but this year there is a deeper focus on the Berlin scene. More local artists, more community energy, it just felt right. Over the past few years, we have been building that side of things through smaller events, collaborations, and projects like last year’s compilation. Now, we are giving that space to grow within the main festival. It’s about celebrating what is already here, around us!

Is that part of an ambition to engage with a different audience? We have been tuning into the local scene and listening to what people actually need. A lot of feedback pointed to Berlin artists as the heart of the festival, and our crowd is getting younger. So making things more affordable, more intimate, that was intentional. We wanted to make sure the festival stays open and accessible to everyone.

Talking about accessibility, Jazz could be interpreted as a niche genre, how do you attract different demographics to your events? That’s actually one of the main things we are trying to shift; the idea that jazz is only for a certain crowd. Jazz can be deep and complex, but it’s also full of feeling, super broad, and totally open. We want people to see jazz as something alive, something for everyone, not just for the heads or the old-school purists.

XJAZZ! is always blending sounds–soul, hip-hop, electronic, experimental. Jazz is the root, but the branches go everywhere. Honestly, it’s also about how we talk to our audience. We’re not trying to be this elite, polished thing. We keep it real, we keep it close to what is happening in the city. That openness is what brings people in — across ages, backgrounds, and scenes.

With the current wave of cultural funding cuts in Berlin, how are you managing to sustain the festival? It's really tough. We've existed since 2014, and every year funding is uncertain— sometimes we get it, sometimes we don't, and we often don't know until right before the festival. The Berlin Senate's cultural funding is extremely bureaucratic and complicated, much worse than federal or EU funding. This year we’re facing a 20% cut, but compared to other cultural entities, we are lucky. Still, with a few weeks to go, we haven't received any money yet, even though we've been working since September.

How do you see XJAZZ! contributing to a different model of what a festival can be? Most festivals, especially for younger crowds, happen outside the city somewhere– in a field, or maybe one big building. But from the beginning, the idea here was to keep it in Kreuzberg, to work with Berlin venues and be part of the local culture. It’s definitely more complicated to organise, but it makes the whole thing way more connected to the city.

And what’s really special too is the vibe, there’s no real distance between artists and the audience. You’ll see people who just played a set hanging out in the crowd like everyone else. Actually, we checked and almost 70% of the people who come are artists themselves. So it doesn’t even feel like a typical crowd,  it’s more like this gathering of creative characters. 

How do you see the future of music festivals evolving in the face of cultural pushback? It feels uncertain. Big commercial events are focusing on headliners, leaving smaller acts behind. For us, we rely on public funding to showcase emerging artists, but with funding cuts looming, it's unclear whether we can maintain that focus or if we'll have to shift toward a more commercial model. We're still waiting to see if we can secure enough support to keep doing things the way we have.

Anastasiia: On a broader scale, with everything happening politically and globally, it can feel almost out of place to focus on a festival. But for me, coming from Ukraine, I believe the more the world seems to fall apart, the more we need spaces for people to connect, create, and have fun. It’s not just about entertainment: it’s about community, and especially now, we need to keep fostering diverse, open spaces.

With growing visa restrictions in Germany, how do you manage international artist mobility? Visa restrictions have definitely gotten tougher, especially with the rise of far-right sentiment in Germany. This year, with our focus on Berlin-based artists, it hasn’t been a major issue. Last year, though, we did face some challenges, particularly with South African and Ukrainian artists dealing with travel restrictions.

What’s the last record you've been listening to that moved you? One record that really stood out recently was Napoli Exchange’s new release. They played it live during our Refuge show, and it completely blew me away, so funky and groovy, definitely a dance gig we’re looking forward to. Another standout is Brown Penny’s record, which has been on regular rotation. Both Napoli Exchange and Brown Penny are performing on Friday, so it's shaping up to be an incredible night!

Talking about radio, how is your monthly show going? Radio shows are a perfect fit for XJAZZ! It’s about creating an intimate space with our guests, connecting on a deeper level, not just through music. Recently, with guests from Berlin Focus Day, it wasn’t just about the music; the conversations were emotional and really brought us closer to the artists, which is exactly what we aim for.

What’s the last live performance you saw that completely blew your mind? Alicia: Ludwig Wandinger's performance in a church at Lausitzerplatz was incredible! The first act had a choral sound that fit so perfectly with the church setting—it felt almost otherworldly. The second act, with Henry Weekes and his collaborators, was just as impressive. The sound in that space was absolutely amazing.

Anastasiia: One performance that really stands out was at the Sonic Interventions concert during the Skandaløs Festival. I was literally screaming and crying—it was that intense. At the end, one of the performers mentioned that it was all improvised, and I nearly had a heart attack! The level of improvisation was on another planet. That performance is something I'll never forget.

XJAZZ! also launched a record label last year — how is that going? What’s the vision behind it? The label, X-Jazz Music, was started by the same people who created the festival, but it’s become more of a separate entity over time. The vinyl release we did was a project of ours, and we wanted to capture the sound of the live performances from global artists we’ve worked with. After the quiet period of COVID, it felt important to preserve that unique vibe and energy. As for the future, yes, we want to continue with the compilation albums, but probably not every year. It would be too frequent, so we're thinking more long-term, maybe releasing one every couple of years.

Is this your first time hosting performances at ŒLGARTEN? What excites you about that space? We are looking forward to the Refuge hangouts there! ŒLGARTEN has the perfect vibe, intimate enough to connect with the crowd, yet full of energy. It’s close to a main street but feels hidden away, like a secret garden behind Marmorbar. The atmosphere is making it an ideal spot for a laid-back hang, and surprisingly great for a bit of daytime dancing. What are the most unexpected funny memories you have from XJAZZ? Last year’s XJAZZ! New Year’s party was a complete disaster, but looking back, it’s hilarious. It was a last-minute event with barely any ticket sales, and when we got there, the venue was empty. By 8:30 p.m., only seven people had shown up — most of them our friends. We ended up getting too much tequila to get through it. Another funny moment was when we had to DJ together on a super emotional day. We almost canceled, but decided to push through. When Anastasiia's USB stick didn’t work, we improvised with what we had, and it turned into a funny spontaneous set! 

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We’re teaming up with XJAZZ! for two days of outdoor hangouts at ŒLGARTEN on May 16 and 17, with residents Myriam, fioul, Ahmedshk, George Earnest, Chalie, and Ilkyaz coming through to spin some downtempo favourites.

Cover Photo by Hugo Sebastiàn Alaimo. Body photos by Frankie Casillo. Tickets are available here.