The International Jazz Festival in Bansko - probably the biggest summer musical event in Bulgaria was founded in 1998 and is held every year in the sunny month of August. This year will mark the festival's 15th edition and will be carried out from the 4th to the 11th of August on the open-air stage on Nikola Vaptsarov Square in downtown Bansko, as well as on various smaller stages in the large resort complexes and restaurants.

The presence of emblematic figures of today’s music world, the marvellous setting and fact that the concerts are free for the public draws huge crowds every year and has transformed the festival to one of the foremost international cultural happenings in the Balkans.

Traditionally, the programme features styles and groups representing almost all jazz trends - standard, blues, bebop, swing, dixieland, ethno-jazz and all possible variations.