Cooler Clinics Online: jazzahead! + Becoming Export Ready

Friday 11 September\, 12pm | Online

Each month, Improvised Music Company hosts Cooler Clinic CPD sessions, offering artists practical insight and honest conversations around sustaining and developing a professional music career.

With applications currently open for the jazzahead! 2027 Showcases, this September clinic looks at what makes a strong international showcase application — and the bigger question behind it: is your project ready to make the most of an international showcase?

jazzahead! is one of the most significant meeting points for the international jazz sector, bringing artists, bookers, festivals, agents, labels, media and other industry professionals together in Bremen each year. For 2027, 38 artists and bands will be selected by international expert juries to perform short showcases for an international professional audience.

Applications are open until 30 September 2026.

For this clinic, IMC Director Kenneth Killeen will be joined by Eddie Lee, Director of Sligo Jazz Project. Both Kenneth and Eddie have previously served on jazzahead! showcase juries, giving them first-hand insight into how applications are encountered and assessed from the other side of the process.

Rather than trying to second-guess a jury, the session will look practically at what helps an artist communicate their work clearly and convincingly. We’ll discuss:
* What actually stands out when juries are reviewing large numbers of applications * Why strong audiovisual material matters so much — and what your videos need to communicate quickly * Common practical mistakes, from broken or incorrect links to materials that don’t accurately represent the proposed live line-up * How juries move from individual assessment to discussion and final programming decisions * How your project sits within a wider showcase programme, including considerations such as instrumentation, geography, gender balance and stylistic diversity * Telling a coherent story across your music, biography, images, video and other application materials * Export readiness: whether your project has the live show, materials, team, availability and follow-up capacity to turn international attention into something useful * Thinking beyond the application itself: what you would actually do if programmers, agents or other industry professionals became interested in your work

We’ll also talk about the wider value of Irish artists applying for major international opportunities. A successful application can create significant opportunities for an individual artist, but a strong volume and diversity of applications also helps demonstrate the scale, ambition and export potential of Ireland’s jazz and improvised music scene internationally.

The session will include time for questions, so artists considering applying this year are encouraged to bring their own queries.

Who is it for?

This clinic is particularly relevant to jazz and improvised musicians considering a jazzahead! showcase application, but it will also be useful for artists thinking about international showcases, export opportunities and how to present their work to programmers beyond Ireland.

Attendance is free, but registration is required.

jazzahead! 2027

The jazzahead! 2027 Showcase Festival takes place in Bremen from 22–24 April 2027. Showcase applications are open from 25 August–30 September 2026.

Artists applying to the European Showcases must generally have a majority of band members resident in Europe (excluding Germany and the 2027 Partner Region, the Baltic States). Applicants must be represented by a registered all-days professional participant or exhibitor at jazzahead!; artists can also register and submit their own application.