Mercury Prize star to make homecoming festival appearance in Wales

RoyaL Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) AmserJazzTime Festival returns to Cardiff this May with Mercury Prize nominated pianist and Neath-born RWCMD graduate, Joe Webb.

RWCMD says it is thrilled to welcome back one of its own as part of its annual jazz festival this year. Neath-born Joe Webb (Fri 22 May 2026, 7.30pm) graduated in 2012, and his ascent since then has been driven by critical acclaim, commanding live performances and support from fellow musicians such as Wynton Marsalis, Jools Holland and Jamie Cullum.

His 2025 Mercury Prize nomination for the album ‘Hamstrings & Hurricanes’ has sealed his status as one of the most formidable jazz pianists to emerge in recent years – a musician with fearless technique, unmistakable style and a melodic instinct that lands with clarity, purpose and distinct Welsh flair.

The festival will also feature a Miles Davis centenary celebration with Jay Phelps.

Following sell-out performances across the UK, leading trumpeter Phelps (Sat 23 May 2026, 7.30pm) has assembled a line-up of some of the country’s best jazz musicians to mark the centenary of the world’s most influential jazz artist.

Miles Davis was born in Illinois on 26 May 1926 to a mother who was a violinist and music teacher. By the age of 12, music had become the most important thing in his life, and the world of improvisation was never going to be the same. In the week running up to the Miles Davis centenary, Jay Phelps brings together the very best of Davis’ music from the years which produced the album ‘1958 Miles’ and the best-selling jazz album of all time, ‘Kind of Blue’.

The festival will open with the ever-popular RWCMD Big Band (Thu 21 May 2026, 7.30pm) led by Ceri Rees, plus a whole host of free performances across the weekend, giving audiences the chance to be the first to experience the next generation of jazz musicians.

AmserJazzTime Festival takes place Thursday 21 – Sunday 24 May 2026

Find out more HERE