TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search results
Popular Reads
Top Results
No results found. Please check your search term and try again
Can't find what you're looking for?
View all search resultsJava Jazz turns 20 as a stage for discovery, musical sparks
The opening night saw multi–Grammy Award winner Jacob Collier electrify the crowd, turning the audience into a makeshift choir for a mashup of Queen’s iconic "Somebody to Love" and the patriotic "Indonesia Pusaka".
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Stage queen: British singer-songwriter Raye performs at the Jakarta International BNI Java Jazz Festival (JJF) at JIExpo in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, on Sunday, June 1. The London-based musician delivered a set that included tracks such as 'Worth It', 'Mary Jane' and 'Ice Cream Man'. Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto (Antara/Dhemas Reviyanto)
Aditya Hadi
The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Over the weekend, festivalgoers packed the corridors of the Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, in search of their next musical thrill. From one stage, the gentle elegance of a piano danced with syncopated drumbeats, while the mellow strumming of bossa nova guitar and soaring a cappella harmonies could be heard from another.
Crowds poured in from Friday to Sunday for the 2025 Jakarta International BNI Java Jazz Festival, which celebrated its 20th edition. Musicians hailed the festival as both a stepping stone for young artists and a melting pot where local and international performers could “collide and create beautiful sparks”.
Widely regarded as one of the largest jazz festivals in the southern hemisphere, Java Jazz has welcomed thousands of music lovers annually and hosted world-class performers spanning jazz and adjacent genres, from George Benson to Jason Mraz.
This year’s festival returned with a bang, featuring around 1,000 performers across 11 stages, each delivering a rich mix of sounds.
