Over a hundred concerts across more than twenty themed stages will fill Brno in early August. The eleventh year of the Brno Music Marathon will transform the city centre into a vibrant space where music spills into streets, clubs, theatres, courtyards, and unusual venues – from the historical water tanks and the Alfa Passage to the “Glass Room” of Villa Tugendhat on Moravian Square.
The four-day music marathon brings a rich selection of world music, Balkan music, jazz, folk, acoustic, and experimental music to the South Moravian capital. The festival continues its tradition of engaging exclusive artists-in-residence; this year the role goes to French guitar genius, composer, and visionary Nguyên Lê. The festival is set for 6–9 August 2026.
Historically the festival’s fifth artist-in-residence, Nguyên Lê ranks among the most distinctive figures on the global jazz and world music scene. His music is instantly recognizable – electrifying and lyrical, deeply rooted in tradition yet fresh and timeless. He will perform three times in Brno. As a guest at the opening concert, on the Czech Radio Jazz stage with his Streams Quartet, and to close the festival in the courtyard of the Museum of Applied Arts with the Saiyuki Trio.
One of this year’s standout events is Balkan Night, set to get the courtyard of Špilberk Castle dancing on Friday, 7 August. The star attraction of this year’s Balkan Night is the legendary Fanfare Ciocărlia – the Romanian brass band that has conquered world stages with its electrifying show. Another major draw is the Džambo Aguševi Orchestra, a Macedonian brass ensemble with a distinctively fusing style. The closing dance storm will be unleashed by the kings of Balkan beats, DJs Malalata. The evening will also feature a food court serving up celebrated Balkan and Brno street-food treats.
The eleventh edition of the festival will open with an extraordinary concert by two jazz giants. On the piano will be the seven-time Grammy nominee Omar Sosa, whose virtuosic style blends Cuban jazz with the African diaspora. His partner will be the stellar Italian trumpeter Paolo Fresu, acclaimed for his lyricism and warm tone, influenced by Sardinian folk music. The exclusive Brno premiere of their FOOD project will be graced by a special guest – this year’s artist-in-residence, the phenomenal guitarist Nguyên Lê.
Festival artistic director Milan Tesař adds: “Alongside the other big stars of this year’s festival, I would like to draw attention to the Saturday World Music stage. After a longer absence, the Portuguese accordion quartet Danças Ocultas returns to the Czech Republic. Italian musician Stefano Saletti and his trio Banda Ikona will perform the Czech premiere of their Mediterranima project. And following the international success of her new album Manuša II, Slovak singer Júlia Kozáková comes to Brno. As a contrast to the Balkan Night of dancing at Špilberk, I also recommend Sunday’s Balkan Soirée with Croatian singer Dunja Knebl and Greek singer-composer Xanthoula Dakovanou.”
Festival-goers are in for an entirely new, one-of-a-kind experience: the light show Light Up Tugendhat, which forms the centrepiece of this year’s celebrations marking 25 years since inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List. For this special occasion, the iconic Villa Tugendhat garden will be transformed into a seamless musical and visual experience, connecting with the neighbouring gardens of Villa Löw-Beer and the Arnold Villa. From Friday, 7 August, to Sunday, 9 August, this space will come alive for three days and three nights with art, creativity, and inspiration. During the day, visitors can enjoy kinetic and mirror installations, side events in each villa, and festival concerts across genres from three to nine o’clock. Every evening from nine o’clock, the gardens will be illuminated by light installations and video mapping projected onto the façades of all three villas.
The festival will also bring two of its stages to Kabinet múz, a well-known Brno music club. Friday will be devoted to rock music, and on Saturday the stars of the Brno label Indies Scope will shine there: audiences can look forward to three concerts, two album launches, and a gathering of standout women artists – Tereza Richtrová, Beata Bocek and more.
A traditional part of the festival will again be the Streetless Busking project, which takes shape under the curatorial guidance of artist Kateřina Šedá. Stylised “rooms” right in the streets of Brno become small concert spaces for buskers every year. A new feature this year is the “Glass Room” of Villa Tugendhat, built right on Moravian Square next to the equestrian statue of Margrave Jobst to commemorate a quarter century since Brno’s architectural icon was inscribed on the UNESCO list. As the tramp-style log cabin with a real campfire and sausage roasting in front of it was a huge hit last year, it will appear on Freedom Square once again.
Alongside the main concert stages, the festival will also offer the traditional Piano Relay in Alfa Passage, the Endless Organ series, talented musicians on the ZUŠ Open and Musical & Pop stages, and performances by musicians from the UNESCO Creative Cities of Music network. This combination of international stars, the local scene, and young talent is one of the defining characteristics of the Brno Music Marathon.
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