From August 24th to 30th, the Ventspils Music Secondary School, in collaboration with SIA “Kurzemes Filharmonija,” is hosting the traditional International Contemporary Rhythm Music Festival “Ventspils Groove.” The festival features students, graduates, teachers, and music enthusiasts from music education institutions, while music lovers are invited to enjoy high-quality free concerts and open jam sessions at the “Latvija” Concert Hall and other locations throughout Ventspils.
For the twentieth year, the festival has become a space and time where experience meets creativity, technique meets improvisation, and structure meets musical freedom. It hosts an intensive educational and creative process—participants take part in professional masterclasses, perform in public concerts, and freely improvise in jam sessions. Young musicians, guided by experienced mentors both individually and in ensembles, develop their professional skills and collaboratively create a concert program for the festival’s finale.
The heart of the festival lies in the masterclasses led by internationally recognized musicians. This year, Ventspils will host instructors from Croatia, France, Denmark, the USA, Estonia, and Latvia: vocalist Daniel Čačija, guitarist Matīss Čudars, percussionist Marc Michel, bassist Kenneth Dahl Knudsen, keyboardist Stephane Escoms, saxophonist Kārlis Vanags, and trumpeter Jason Hunter.
At the venues of the “Ventspils Groove 2025” festival, concerts and jam sessions will take place—free, creative, and emotionally charged musical gatherings:
Sunday, August 24th at 19.00
Festival opening / by the “Latvija” Concert Hall
Tuesday, August 26th at 19.00
Jam session with masterclass instructors / at the “Meisons Ventspils” restaurant
Wednesday, August 27th at 19.00
Ventspils Big Band concert “All Stars Originals” / Small Hall of the “Latvija” Concert Hall
Thursday, August 28th at 19.00
Concert “Pieturam vasaru” / at the café “VIETA, KUR būt”
Friday, August 29th at 19.00
Masterclass instructors’ concert / Amphitheatre of the “Latvija” Concert Hall
Friday, August 29th at 21.00
Groove jam session with Patrīcija Anna Doniņa’s quartet / at the “Meisons Ventspils” restaurant
Saturday, August 30th at 15.00
Concert by the masterclass participants / Amphitheatre of the “Latvija” Concert Hall
The festival is supported by the Ventspils City Municipality Council, the Kurzeme Planning Region, the State Culture Capital Foundation, the Latvian Historical Lands, the Ventspils Freeport, the “Meisons Ventspils” restaurant, and the cultural café “VIETA, KUR būt.”
Photography and video recording may take place during the event—the resulting materials will be used for event publicity in the media, as well as on the websites and social media accounts of the Ventspils Music Secondary School, Ventspils Groove, and the “Latvija” Concert Hall.
