The Rīgas Ritmi Festival will celebrate its 25th anniversary this year in early July. Representatives of the American new wave of jazz – the jazz-funk band Kennedy Administration and singer Shayna Steele with the premiere of the Latvian Maestro Raimonds Pauls song program Shayna Steele sings Raimonds Pauls – will also celebrate together with the festival team.
The main stage of the longest-running improvisation, jazz and global music festival in the Latvian capital will again be in Riga Cathedral Garden this year, where Kennedy Administration will perform on July 3, and Shane Steele on July 4.
Kennedy Administration consists of four excellent instrumentalists along with a widely recognized vocalist. The main musical weapons of this band are jazz, funk, R’n’B and a strong musical chemistry, which has been tempered by playing together with big stars of the aforementioned styles. It is not for nothing that Kennedy Administration is also the resident band of the New York jazz cult club Blue Note. With a performance at the Rīgas Ritmi festival, the band will begin a European tour, introducing this part of the world to New York’s hottest jazz-funk sensation as well.
Latvian Maestro Raimonds Pauls’ melodies from different periods have been collected in a project, in which the texts in English were written for them by the internationally recognized American songwriter Gordon Pogoda. They were sung by the owner of a powerful voice, Shayna Steele, who is also a songwriter herself, as well as an actress of New York’s Broadway theaters and TV series.
She has starred in such well-known series as The Sopranos and The Penguin, and her vocals can be heard in the movies Hairspray, In the Heights, The Bourne Identity and Sex and the City 2, where she also appears in a small role. She has also collaborated with music stars Moby, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Bette Midler, Chris Botti and the band Snarky Puppy.
The combination of Steele’s powerful R’n’B and jazzy vocal sound with the Latvian Maestro’s wonderful melodies is something we can all look forward to with great impatience on the 25th anniversary of the Rīgas Ritmi festival.
This year’s festival will also feature Senegalese singer and kora player Momi Maiga, the Gospel Choir of Riga Cathedral Choir School, and other great artists.
Rīgas Ritmi 2025 will take place from July 2 to 5. Festival concerts will also be held at the Riga Jazz Lounge at the Radisson Blu Latvija hotel, while free master classes given by the festival’s guest artists will take place at the Latvian Radio Studio 1.
The Rīgas Ritmi Festival is one of the leading improvisation, jazz and global music festivals in the Baltics, widely known in Europe and the world. Every year, the festival stages in Riga bring together both world-renowned and awarded artists, as well as new and unheard musical talents. Over two and a half decades, the Rīgas Ritmi Festival has become an integral part of Latvian cultural life, entering Riga’s name into the tourist guides of global and jazz music culture. Over 250 thousand visitors have already enjoyed the performances of approximately 750 world musicians in more than 1,000 concerts.
Over the past 25 years, the festival’s long list of guest artists has included such world-class stars as Billy Cobham, Bobby McFerrin, Pat Metheny, Take 6, Richard Bona, Scott Hamilton, The Yellowjackets, Medeski, Martin & Wood, Robert Glasper and more.
The festival is organized by the Contemporary Music Centre foundation. Tickets for the 2025 festival concerts planned for Riga Cathedral Garden can be purchased at bilesuparadize.lv.
