SJP All Stars
Sligo Jazz Project
Sligo Jazz Festival 2026 — Festival Day Four

Friday
24 July

Friday 24 July 2026
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2:30 PM Lyons Café · Free
Lyons Café  ·  Free

Lee Meehan & Brian Questa FREE

Lee Meehan

Lee Meehan

Guitar & Voice

Dublin-based jazz and blues guitarist and vocalist Lee Meehan has been a key figure on the Irish music scene for over 20 years. A graduate of Newpark Music College/DCU's Jazz Performance programme, Lee has performed with leading Irish and international artists as both a bandleader and sideman.

4:30 PM Lillies Cocktail Bar · Free
Lillies Cocktail Bar  ·  Free  ·  Space is limited — come early

Lillies Sessions FREE

Paul Dunlea Trio

Paul Dunlea

Paul Dunlea

Trombone

Lineup
  • Paul Dunlea — Trombone
  • Scott Flanigan — Organ
  • Oskar Nielsen — Drums
  • Mike Nielsen — Guitar

Cork trombonist, composer and arranger Paul Dunlea is one of Ireland's most in-demand jazz musicians. He has performed, toured and recorded with Michael Bublé, Cassandra Wilson, Frankie Valli, Lewis Nash, John Clayton and many more, and has appeared with the National Symphony Orchestra, RTÉ Concert Orchestra and the Dublin City Jazz Orchestra. He retired as principal trombonist with the Irish Defence Forces after 21 years' service in 2022, and holds a Masters in Composition from CIT Cork School of Music. His debut album Bi-polAr reached #1 on the iTunes chart in 2011. In 2024, Paul arranged and directed the final big band concert in 2024 at Sligo Jazz Festival, and he is Musical Director of the New Irish Jazz Orchestra.Today he's joined by some of Ireland's finest, north and south including young rising star drummer Oskar Nielsen and his dad, Sligo's greatest jazz export, Mike.

Space is limited — come early.

Lillies Sessions in partnership with The White Hag

5 PM
Jam Session
Hawks Well Lobby  ·  Featuring a host of Irish and international jazz talent.
FREE
8:00 PM Hawks Well Theatre · €25 / €12.50
Hawks Well Theatre  ·  €25 / €12.50 U-18s + fees  ·  Artist in Residence 2026

Aaron Parks & Friends

2 Sets · 2 Bands

Aaron Parks

Artist in Residence 2026
Aaron Parks

Aaron Parks

Piano & Artist in Residence

Aaron Parks & Friends — Full Lineup
  • Aaron Parks — Piano
  • Lucia Cadotsch — Voice
  • Liselotte Östblom — Voice
  • Emma Rawicz — Saxophone
  • Freddie Hendrix — Trumpet
  • Gareth Lockrane — Flute
  • Rob Luft — Guitar
  • Tom Ollendorff — Guitar
  • Jasper Høiby — Bass
  • Darren Beckett — Drums
  • Stephen Davis — Drums
  • Paul Clarvis — Percussion

Aaron Parks is an acclaimed American jazz pianist and composer known for his innovative and introspective style. In this concert Aaron makes full use of his colleagues on the Sligo Jazz 2026 faculty, with two fabulous lineups.

Born in Seattle, Aaron began playing piano at a young age and gained early recognition when he joined Terence Blanchard's band at 18, contributing to the Grammy-winning A Tale of God's Will (A Requiem for Katrina). He studied under renowned pianist Kenny Barron at the Manhattan School of Music. Since then, Parks has established himself as a leading figure in contemporary jazz, releasing numerous solo albums and collaborating with Kurt Rosenwinkel, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Ambrose Akinmusire. He is also a founding member of the acclaimed quartet James Farm alongside Joshua Redman, Matt Penman, and Eric Harland.

Parks' music seamlessly blends elements of modern jazz, indie rock, and Eastern modalities — characterised by lyrical beauty, rhythmic complexity, and harmonic sophistication.

Watch Aaron Parks on YouTube

Buy Tickets

Or by phone: Hawks Well Theatre Box Office 071 916 1518

10:30 PM
The Sligo Jazz Jam
Hawks Well Lobby  ·  Musicians of all ages and backgrounds — Irish and international — take the stage together.
FREE