Vancouver International Jazz Festival announces Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily, and The Bad Plus, for June 23 to July 2 event

Fest opts for a smaller, more sustainable event as it moves forward for 2023

THE VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL Jazz Festival has announced it’s moving forward with its 38th edition, June 23 to July 2, at venues around the city.

So far, organizer Coastal Jazz & Blues Society has lined up performances by Grammy-winning vocalist Arooj Aftab, Vijay Iyer, and Shahzad Ismaily performing as their new project Love in Exile on June 26, plus American jazz quartet The Bad Plus on June 27. Both shows will take place at the Vancouver Playhouse, with tickets available at www.coastaljazz.ca as of February 16 at 10 am.

Coastal Jazz reports it’s downsizing the event a bit, amid news other festivals like the Vancouver Folk Music Festival and the Squamish Constellation Festival have been struggling to survive amid rising costs. Faced with rising site infrastructure and artist touring costs, as well as its TD title sponsor relationship coming to a close in 2022, Coastal Jazz is putting together a smaller fest than in the past.

A free Downtown Jazz concert series will take place outside the Vancouver Art Gallery and šxʷƛ̓ənəq Xwtl’e7énḵ Square, culminating on Canada Day weekend at Granville Island venues, including Performance Works, Ocean Artworks, and the Revue Stage.

Featured

Janet Smith

Janet Smith is founding partner and editorial director of Stir. She is an award-winning arts journalist who has spent more than two decades immersed in Vancouver’s dance, screen, design, theatre, music, opera, and gallery scenes. She sits on the Vancouver Film Critics’ Circle.

Articles

All nine Beethoven symphonies, as Vancouver Symphony Orchestra unveils 2026-27 season

Steven Isserlis, James Ehnes, and Augustin Hadelich among the soloists hitting the concert stage

Vancouver International Children’s Festival gets set to welcome everything from high-energy Danish dance to artful Korean doodling

Eighty shows in all, as Italy’s Teatro Telaio sets up an ARCHIPELAGO installation, plus pow-wow, hip-hop, and massive puppets

Heist, Death of a Salesman, Elf, and more as Arts Club unveils 15 shows for 2026–27

Next season includes high-camp spoof Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors, Tracey Power’s premiere The Elvis Christmas Comeback Special, and the newly named Lindsay Family Stage

Vancouver Cantata Singers artistic director Paula Kremer to move to role of conductor emerita

The long-time vocalist, pianist, and conductor is set to pass on the baton at the end of the 2026–27 season

Studio 58 announces Paul Moniz de Sá as its new artistic director

The former head of Theatre, Music & Film at Arts Umbrella has worked across local stages and screens

A trio of big Italian favourites as Vancouver Opera unveils its 2026-27 season

Three B.C.-connected directors bring distinct visions to Tosca, The Barber of Seville, and La Traviata

Justine A. Chambers wins 2025 VIVA Award, while Lorna Brown receives 2025 Alvin Balkind Curator’s Prize

Dance artist has explored gesture and her Black matrilineal heritage, while curator has made her mark at Artspeak Gallery, Morris and Helen Belkin Art Gallery, and far beyond

Vancouver Symphony Orchestra announces first European tour in April

Stops include a three-night residency at Austria’s Salzburg Easter Festival, as well as Croatia, Slovenia, Liechtenstein, and Germany

Eastside Arts Society secures funding to purchase its headquarters at 716 East Hastings

Vancouver City Council greenlights $2,665,000 for acquiring the property, with funds from the False Creek Flats Amenity Share Reserve

Fierce fiddling to contra dance, as Festival du Bois unveils program for March 6 to 8

Aleksi Campagne, Bagatelle, Nicolas Pellerin et les Grands Hurleurs, and the Jocelyn Pettit Band are among offerings at celebration of Maillardville’s francophone roots

Community mourns former Vancouver Writers Fest artistic director Hal Wake

The former CBC radio host is being remembered for his long, deep relationship with the literary community

Stir Cheat Sheet: 5 Vancouver arts and culture stories to watch for in 2026

Details are expected in the coming year for a new cultural hub on Granville Island, for a reimagined Vancouver Art Gallery site, and for other announcements

B.C.'s Leonard Schein, Nardwuar, and Barry Truax amid Order of Canada names

Included in the 80 announcements are the local film champion, eclectic interviewer, and electroacoustic pioneer

Canadian art community mourns Gathie Falk

The pioneering multimedia artist known for her glossy stacks of fruits and ceramic shoes is being remembered for her “joyful affirmation of all that is beautiful in this world”

Ballet BC announces artistic director Medhi Walerski to step down in June 2027

Having steered the company toward full houses and extensive touring, French-born dance artist will leave after 40th-anniversary season

Arts community struggles to be heard as it grapples with stagnant city funding

Twelve-percent cuts to the 2026 arts budget—while leaving grants at status quo—are the latest frustration for a community that’s repeatedly tried to voice its challenges at Vancouver City Hall

Corbin Murdoch steps in as Vancouver Folk Music Festival executive director

The musician, cultural programmer, and producer is set to work alongside artistic director Fiona Black

Gordon and Marion Smith Foundation receives $1 million in private funding through Ann Kipling estate and Audain Foundation

Long-term sustainability in sight for Artists for Kids and Gordon Smith Gallery of Canadian Art, as endowment fund now sits at $4.3 million

East Van Panto: West Van Story gets an extended run thanks to overwhelming popularity

Theatre Replacement’s nearly sold-out holiday tradition continues at The Cultch’s York Theatre to January 11

Arts cuts loom as City of Vancouver passes 2026 “back-to-basics” operating budget

The sector will see a reduction of 12 percent, or $6 million, in funding

PuSh International Performing Arts Festival unveils program with works by Tanya Tagaq, Alan Lake, and more

Discipline-crossing shows from as far away as Zimbabwe and Argentina hit a variety of stages from January 22 to February 8, 2026

Am Johal steps into new role as executive artistic director of Indian Summer Festival

Former director of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement was the fest’s curator-in-residence for 2025

B.C. artist Tania Willard wins 2025 Sobey Art Award

Rooted in Secwépemc knowledge, Willard’s work sits in collections at the Vancouver Art Gallery and elsewhere

Stir Vancouver wins first Webster Award for Excellence in Arts and Culture Reporting

At ceremony last night, prize went to Janet Smith’s investigative article on touring funding; Bruce Hutchison Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Keith Baldrey, the Bill Good Award to Sean Holman, and Shelley Fralic Award to Laura Palmer

Arts Club and Touchstone Theatre lead winners at Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards

Casey and Diana, Burning Mom, Behind the Moon, and Yaga shared the spotlight with prizes for Bard on the Beach’s The Dark Lady, Theatre for Young Audience category’s Otosan, Small Budget dominator The Sound Inside, and much more