New 3-day jazz festival 'Steppe Jazz' in Kropyvnytskyi with curator Kogan. Debut edition 28-30 August 2026.
Kropyvnytskyi — the largest Central Ukrainian city (former Kirovograd, with 220 thousand population) — announced on 12 January 2026 the founding of a new jazz festival 'Steppe Jazz' from 28-30 August 2026. The festival's main curator is Oleksiy Kogan. This is the first specialized jazz festival in central Ukraine (previous ones existed mostly in Kyiv, Lviv, and Odesa). Debut edition lineup: 18 performers from 9 countries (Ukraine — 8, plus Poland, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Hungary, USA, UK, Italy, Serbia). Among Ukrainian headliners: Laura Marti (with original Boyko programme — see separate PR4 news), Dennis Adu Quintet (with international lineup — see PR4), Pokaz Trio (full 'Three Modes' presentation — see PR7), Oleksandr Saratsky solo (with 'Kyiv Suite' — see PR4). Foreign headliners: Tomasz Stańko Quartet (Poland, post-mortem tribute with his son), Italian Jazz Quartet, Joshua Redman invited solo. The festival runs in 3 Kropyvnytskyi locations: 1) Kropyvnytskyi Academic Ukrainian Theatre (1200 spectators, main stage, evening concerts); 2) Summer Culture Park (800 spectators, open-air, daytime concerts); 3) Café 'Yellow Rabbit' (200 spectators, intimate evening jams). Total capacity — 14 thousand tickets over 3 days. Festival budget — 8 million UAH (Ukrainian Cultural Foundation 60% + local budget 40%). Kogan will personally conduct Q&A sessions after each headliner performance.
