From Friday 30 October through Sunday 1 November, Festival Jazz International Nijmegen marks its 10th edition by spreading its programme across the city. The useful way into this year’s FJIN is a compact three-stop route: Tarun Balani and KVR open at Brebl on Friday; Neon River follows on Saturday at Doornroosje with Okonski; ArtEZ Big Collective closes this guide on Sunday afternoon at LUX with guest soloist Delphine Joussein. The thread is movement between scales. A quartet begins with drums at its centre, Saturday places a new Dutch act in a double bill, and Sunday expands to a collective of rhythm section, horns and strings. Brebl’s own programme describes the venue as a Nijmegen home for jazz, improvisation and adventurous music, making it a fitting starting point for a festival that uses several rooms and contexts across one weekend.[1][3]

Friday 30 October: Tarun Balani sets the pulse at Brebl

Start at Brebl at 20:30 on Friday with drummer and composer Tarun Balani, sharing the bill with KVR. The festival presents the pair as its Friday Brebl opening, giving the route its smallest-scale setting before the weekend moves into larger rooms. Balani’s place at the drums makes rhythm the natural centre of this first stop, while the shared bill supplies two perspectives within the same evening. That makes the opening a precise entry point into the weekend’s larger interest in exchange: a compact live setting, an international festival programme and room for close listening before the route spreads into the city. The double bill runs from 20:30, so arrive with time for both sets and let the Friday programme establish the festival’s working vocabulary before the route moves on.[1][3]

See which of your friends are going, and find people to go with.

Get the app

Download CrowdMate on the App Store Get CrowdMate on Google Play

Saturday 31 October: Neon River joins Okonski at Doornroosje

Saturday evening moves the route to Doornroosje, where Neon River plays at 19:45 in a double bill with Okonski. Neon River entered FJIN’s programme after a change in the Saturday schedule, and the festival now places the Dutch group beside the US act in its main evening slot. For readers building a weekend around the three selected shows, this is the pivot: Friday’s international quartet becomes a shared bill in a larger club room, while the surrounding festival programme keeps the sense of discovery active across Nijmegen. The pairing also gives the night a clear shape, with two acts presented consecutively under one FJIN ticket. It is the best stop for anyone wanting the festival’s Saturday energy without attempting every daytime event on the wider programme.[1][3]

Sunday 1 November: ArtEZ Big Collective at LUX

Sunday at 14:00, the route reaches LUX for ArtEZ Big Collective featuring French flautist Delphine Joussein, presented alongside Kanda. The ArtEZ Big Collective is the orchestra of ArtEZ Conservatorium’s Jazz & Pop department in Arnhem, and FJIN has commissioned Philipp Rüttgers to write new work for this particular performance. Its line-up brings a rhythm section, brass, saxophones and strings around Joussein as guest soloist; the festival describes a repertory that includes arrangements and compositions by Rüttgers, Jasper le Clercq and students. That scale changes the listening conditions after Balani’s quartet and Saturday’s double bill. It is a daytime festival set with room for ensemble colour, composed material and improvisatory space, while also putting emerging musicians beside an established international guest. For a three-show itinerary, it supplies an unhurried final chapter.[2][3]

Plan the route before heading out

The practical sequence is straightforward: Brebl on Friday 30 October at 20:30, Doornroosje on Saturday 31 October at 19:45, then LUX on Sunday 1 November at 14:00. Each show sits within the wider FJIN programme, so the gaps invite listeners to shape a larger day around the festival or simply keep this as a concentrated three-concert route. Brebl lists the Friday double bill at Waalbandijk 14, while the festival’s official programme confirms the Saturday Doornroosje and Sunday LUX stops. Recheck the official FJIN and venue pages before travelling for ticket availability, door times, accessibility details and any late programme changes.[1][2][3]

Sources

  1. Festival Jazz International Nijmegen 2026 programme — Festival Jazz International Nijmegen
  2. ArtEZ Big Collective ft. Delphine Joussein (NL/FR) — Festival Jazz International Nijmegen
  3. Brebl agenda — Brebl