From the moment they played their first note five years ago, the Kansas Smitty’s House Band has set out to reinvent how audiences experience jazz. You’ll never hear Kansas Smitty’s House Band play the same show twice. Theirs is a joyful, spontaneous jazz rooted in swing and blues that keeps the shows fresh and the crowds faithful.

Recently described by Jamie Cullum as ‘one of the hottest live acts on the UK jazz scene’, the band originally began in 2014 as resident musicians of London’s hippest jazz bar, Kansas Smitty’s. As the bar grew, so too did the Band’s fame: residencies at Cheltenham Jazz Festival, twice-sold-out headliners at London’s iconic Ronnie Scott’s, as well as the acclaimed release Broadway 2018 culminated in a nomination for UK Jazz Act of the Year in the Jazz FM Awards, and a win at the British Jazz Awards for ‘Best Small Group’ in 2018.

2019 has been a landmark for their cult East London headquarter, Kansas Smitty’s, which will be turning four in May. The concept of a jazz band that owns its own bar is unprecedented, almost as unprecedented as a band who premieres new music at each show. Their venue has supported hundreds of bands since it opened its doors, providing a stage for them to showcase their own music and reach new audiences.

‘Amazing’ – Shaun Keaveny
‘Festival favourites wherever they go’ – Jazzwise
‘One of the hottest properties in British jazz’ – Ivan Hewett, Telegraph
‘Audiences love this band. Everybody loves this band.’ – Sebastian Scotney, London Jazz News
‘They dance to the beat of their own drum. Totally unpredictable!’ – Cerys Matthews, BBC Radio 6 Music

6.30pm doors open
7.30pm RP Quartet
8.30pm Kansas Smitty’s House Band