A new jazz festival for The Hague: Amare launches the first edition of New Tide Festival
On Friday 6 and Saturday 7 March 2026, Amare is pleased to present the very first edition of New Tide Festival: a new jazz festival entirely in the spirit of Roy Hargrove, the legendary trumpet player. The festival brings a powerful and diverse lineup to the Hague’s house of culture, celebrating both the rich tradition and new energy of jazz. The first names have been announced: they include Grammy winner Meshell Ndegeocello, Candy Dulfer, New Cool Collective and the Senegalese star Alune Wade. Tickets are now on sale, and further names will follow soon!
With New Tide Festival, Amare is teaming up with programmers Chelsea Pachito, Toine Scholten and Tom van der Zaal to once again plant jazz in the city. The Hague is thirsting for a new platform where the fabulous history, the vibrant present and the exciting new waves of jazz music can meet and merge. New Tide Festival aims to be that platform: a warm, adventurous and artist-driven festival, with room for big names, young talent, international allure and local roots.
Jazz as urban narrative: The Hague as a haven
New Tide Festival is more than a concert weekend: it is an answer to a need. The three programmers, all active participants in The Hague’s music scene, join Amare in reviving the Hague’s distinguished jazz history, ranging from legendary performances by renowned jazz masters to today’s lively jam sessions. Together they aim to build something new: a festival where artists and the audience feel at home, with ample room for personal encounter, experimentation, and the social character so typical of jazz. Amare offers an outstanding venue. With auditoriums of international standing, top quality productions, stylish lobby programming and a compact routing, Amare offers all that it takes to create a prominent platform for domestic and international jazz musicians.
Roy Hargrove as inspiration: tradition and renewal in equilibrium
The spirit of Roy Hargrove, trumpet player, innovator and builder of intergenerational bridges, forms the festival’s artistic compass. His musical legacy, spanning bebop, hip hop, soul and Afro-Cuban rhythms, inspires the curation of the programme. "Hargrove was rooted in tradition, but always moving forward. That’s the balance we’re aiming for with New Tide," says festival programmer Tom van der Zaal. Chelsea Pachito, programmer at Amare, stresses the importance of accessibility and renewal: "Jazz means freedom. It is time for a new public, and new energy. We want to provide a stage for performers who might not naturally end up on a jazz podium, but certainly do belong there."
For more information visit newtidefestival.nl.