Playa del Carmen Jazz Fest Returns for Third Edition With International Lineup

PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Quintana Roo — The Playa del Carmen Jazz Fest will return this fall for its third edition, bringing two weeks of concerts, workshops, master classes, artist residencies and free community activities to the city from October 1 to 16, 2026.

Organized by Explayarte Asociación Civil, the festival will feature artists from Mexico, France, the United States and Spain, with a program designed to combine live performance, music education and cultural exchange. The 2026 edition includes concerts, talks, silent concerts, residencies, a book and vinyl exchange and free training opportunities for students, musicians and the general public.

The main concert cycle opens October 1 with a night dedicated to Mexican jazz, featuring the Emmanuel Mora Organ Trío and the Rubén Pastor Trío. On October 2, French project Sampling Is Beautiful will share the stage with Mexican artist Kike Pat, in a program built around sonic experimentation and Mexican musical creativity.

The October 3 concert pairs two very different musical voices: Santa Sabina, one of Mexico’s most distinctive alternative rock groups, and U.S. saxophonist Scott Paddock. Mexico’s Secretariat of Culture identifies Santa Sabina as a Mexican rock group founded in 1989, known for its place in the country’s rock scene and its fusion of musical and theatrical elements. Paddock, a contemporary saxophonist and educator, has built an international following through performance and saxophone education.

The international concert cycle closes October 4 with Sole Giménez, the Spanish singer, songwriter and former lead vocalist of Presuntos Implicados. Giménez helped define some of the group’s best-known songs, including “Cómo hemos cambiado,” “Alma de blues” and “Mi pequeño tesoro,” before developing a solo career closely tied to jazz, bossa nova and singer-songwriter traditions.

A Festival Built Around More Than Concerts

The Playa del Carmen Jazz Fest has grown as a project that places education alongside performance. From October 5 to 16, the Explayarte School will host two free academic workshops: an Improvisation Workshop, Monday through Friday from 2:30 to 4 p.m., and a Jazz Ensemble Workshop, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Both are open to students, musicians and members of the public interested in developing a stronger connection to jazz.

That academic component is central to the festival’s identity. Rather than limiting the event to ticketed performances, organizers have built the program around access, training and audience development, creating opportunities for young musicians and curious listeners to interact directly with visiting artists.

Explayarte itself has been part of Playa del Carmen’s cultural life for more than two decades. The school says it has operated since 2003 as a space where music, performing arts and creative disciplines come together to train artists in the city. Its campus is located on Arco Vial at Diagonal 70 Sur in Colonia Ejidal.

Strengthening Playa’s Cultural Calendar

The 2026 edition also arrives at a moment when Playa del Carmen has been working to broaden its cultural programming beyond beach tourism and nightlife. The Jazz Fest joins a growing calendar of local arts events that increasingly use the Teatro de la Ciudad, Explayarte and community spaces as anchors for concerts, theater, dance and multidisciplinary festivals.

That matters for a city often defined by tourism. Playa del Carmen has long been associated with restaurants, beach clubs and large-scale entertainment, but events like Jazz Fest help build a more local cultural identity. They also create programming that speaks to residents, students and working musicians, not only visitors passing through for a few days.

A recent La Jornada column described the Playa del Carmen Jazz Festival as a successor of sorts to the Riviera Maya Jazz Festival tradition, noting Explayarte’s role as a starting point and Luis Ernesto López as a key figure behind the project.

Tickets and Information

Tickets for the main concerts are available through teatrodelaciudad.com, which is listing Jazz Fest 2026 ticket options, including a full festival pass. Additional information is available through the festival’s official website and Instagram account, @pdcjazzfest.

For anyone interested in the educational program, the free workshops will take place at Escuela Explayarte from October 5 to 16.

With its third edition, the Playa del Carmen Jazz Fest is positioning itself as more than a short concert series. It is becoming a cultural platform for live music, artistic training and exchange between local talent and international performers.

For Playa del Carmen, that gives October something the city could use more of: a reason to listen closely.