Festival year 2016
Kirjurinluoto Concert Park stages were once again changed a bit as River Stage replaced Ted’s Tent by the riverside nearby the Kaarisilta bridge. The Main stage and Lokkilava Stage remained and new small-scale Image Stage on the Lokkilava area was introduced. All-star program included among others Seal, Brian Setzer’s Rockabilly Riot!, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Gregory Porter and John McLaughlin & The 4th Dimension.
Co-operation with SuomiAreena reached a new level as a large event tent was built together at the city center providing a stage for both discussions and less commercial music.
Ticket sales reached up to 57 500 and the attendance at the Jazzstreet was 330 000. Pori Jazz Kids Festival attracted some 10 000 people. All together in Pori Jazz 2016 there were 125 concerts of which 50 % were free of charge.
Instead of awarding the Artist of the Year, Pori Jazz founded a new Ted Curson Award. The first recipient was guitarist Kalle Kalima. A new acknowledgment for a rising star was also founded and the first recipient for it was pianist Mikael Myrskog.
