JazzFestBrno 2026 – GoGo Penguin

JazzFestBrno 2026: GoGo Penguin Takes the Stage at Sono Music Club Brno

There are bands that fit comfortably within a genre, and then there are bands that make the genre question feel irrelevant. GoGo Penguin are firmly in the second category. On Tuesday, April 28, 2026, the Manchester-based trio brings their extraordinary music to Sono Music Club in Brno as part of the 25th anniversary edition of JazzFestBrno — one of the finest jazz festival programmes in Central Europe. The show starts at 7:30 PM, and if you have any interest at all in music that is genuinely unlike anything else being made right now, this is a concert you simply should not miss.

Tickets are available now through jazzfestbrno.cz and GoOut, with prices starting from approximately 1,190 Kč (around €48). This is one of the most anticipated nights of the entire festival season in Brno, and availability will not last long.

What Is JazzFestBrno? A Quarter Century of World-Class Music

Before diving into GoGo Penguin themselves, it helps to understand the institution that brought them to Brno. JazzFestBrno was founded in 2002 and has spent the past two and a half decades building a reputation as one of the most ambitious and consistently excellent jazz festivals in the Czech Republic and beyond. In 2026, the festival celebrates its 25th anniversary edition — a milestone that has brought with it a genuinely extraordinary lineup of international artists spread across a season running from February 6 to May 5, 2026.

The 2026 season reads like a wish list for any serious music fan:

• February 6: Béla Fleck, Edmar Castaneda, and Antonio Sánchez
• February 13: Esperanza Spalding
• March 28: Brad Mehldau and Christian McBride (two performances)
• April 28: GoGo Penguin
• May 5: Joshua Redman (closing concert)

Each concert takes place at Sono Music Club, a venue beloved by Brno's music community for its intimate atmosphere, exceptional acoustics, and the sense of genuine connection between artist and audience that only a properly designed club space can create. GoGo Penguin at Sono on April 28 sits right at the heart of this remarkable season.

Who Are GoGo Penguin? The Manchester Trio Rewriting What Jazz Can Be

GoGo Penguin are three musicians from Manchester, England: Chris Illingworth on piano, Nick Blacka on double bass, and Rob Turner on drums. They formed in 2012, and in the decade-plus since, they have carved out a position in contemporary music that is genuinely hard to categorise — which is precisely why they are so exciting.

Their music draws from jazz at its foundation but pulls in influences from electronic music, minimalist classical composition, post-rock, and ambient music in ways that feel completely natural rather than forced. The piano lines can be delicate and melodic in one phrase and driving and rhythmically complex in the next. The bass work from Nick Blacka sits at the absolute centre of everything, providing a melodic anchor that is as distinctive as any frontman's voice in a conventional band. Rob Turner's drumming manages to be simultaneously precise and groove-driven in a way that has more in common with electronic producers than with traditional jazz percussionists.

A Discography Built on Consistent Brilliance

GoGo Penguin's album catalogue is one of the most consistently strong in contemporary jazz:

• v2.0 (2014) — their Blue Note Records debut, which announced them as something genuinely new
• Man Made Object (2016) — a deeper, more textured exploration of their sound
• A Humdrum Star (2018) — their most critically acclaimed record, shortlisted for the Mercury Prize
• GoGo Penguin (2020) — a self-titled Blue Note album that reached number 6 on the UK Albums Chart, the highest chart position ever for a British jazz group at that time
• Between Two Worlds (2023) — their most recent studio album, demonstrating continued evolution and ambition

The Mercury Prize nomination for A Humdrum Star and the chart success of the self-titled 2020 album are not the kind of achievements typical jazz acts accumulate. GoGo Penguin has consistently attracted listeners who would never have described themselves as jazz fans before discovering the band — and that is one of the most meaningful things a contemporary artist can do.

The Blue Note Connection

Being signed to Blue Note Records is not a minor credential. Blue Note is the most storied jazz label in history, home to Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Art Blakey, and Thelonious Monk. When GoGo Penguin were added to that roster, it was a statement of intent from one of the most discerning labels in music about where the trio's work sits in the broader lineage of the art form. The fact that they fit naturally on that label while sounding like nobody else on its roster is a measure of just how original their music genuinely is.

What to Expect from the Brno Concert

A GoGo Penguin live show at Sono Music Club is a different experience from hearing them on record — and the record experience is already exceptional. The trio are famously compelling performers. What comes across on an album as carefully composed and beautifully produced reveals itself live as something much more spontaneous and physically immediate.

The interplay between the three musicians on stage is one of the most watchable things in contemporary music. Chris Illingworth's hands are almost impossible to follow as they move across the keyboard at speed; Nick Blacka plays double bass with a combination of technical precision and emotional directness that draws the eye constantly; Rob Turner's drumming is so rhythmically complex and yet so clearly purposeful that it rewards close attention throughout the set.

The setlist will draw from across their catalogue, with Between Two Worlds material likely forming a core alongside the best-loved tracks from A Humdrum Star and the 2020 self-titled album. Tracks like Atomised, Kora, Hopopono, and Smarra have become live touchstones that the audience knows and responds to deeply.

Sono Music Club is the ideal space for this. The venue's intimate setup places every audience member in close proximity to the stage, and the club's acoustics are perfectly suited to the dynamic range of GoGo Penguin's music — from the quietest, most delicate piano passages to the full-band passages where all three players lock in simultaneously and the room genuinely vibrates.

Brno on a Concert Night: Where to Go Before and After

The GoGo Penguin concert on April 28 gives you a full day in one of the Czech Republic's most rewarding and underrated cities. Late April in Brno is beautiful — the city is in full spring bloom, the outdoor terraces are open, and the long evenings give you plenty of time to explore before heading to Sono.

The Best of Brno on an April Evening

• náměstí Svobody (Freedom Square) is the beating heart of the city, surrounded by magnificent Baroque and Art Nouveau architecture. The terraces around the square are perfect for a pre-concert dinner or a glass of Moravian wine in the late afternoon sun.
• Špilberk Castle sits above the city and is worth the uphill walk for the views alone. In April, the castle gardens are in full spring bloom, and the path to the top gives you a perspective over Brno's rooftops that's genuinely hard to forget.
• Zelný trh (Cabbage Market) is Brno's oldest market square, a beautiful Baroque space lined with cafes and restaurants where locals gather in the evenings. It's one of the most atmospheric spots in the city for a meal before a concert.
• Het Zuid-equivalent in Brno: The neighbourhoods around Šilingrovo náměstí and Jakubské náměstí are home to some of Brno's best independent wine bars and restaurants, serving excellent Moravian wines alongside creative Czech cuisine.
• Villa Tugendhat — the UNESCO World Heritage Site designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1930 — is a short tram ride from the city centre and one of the great works of modernist architecture anywhere in Europe. Book in advance if you plan to visit.

Getting to Sono Music Club

Sono Music Club is part of the Sono Centrum complex at Veveří 113, 616 00 Brno-Žabovřesky. The venue is easily reached from the city centre by tram lines 1 and 6, with a journey time of around 10 minutes from náměstí Svobody. Taxis and rideshares are also straightforward from anywhere in the city centre.

For international visitors getting to Brno:

• Train from Prague: approximately 2.5 hours
• Train from Vienna: approximately 1.5 hours — making this a genuinely easy day trip from Austria
• Train from Budapest: approximately 3 hours
• Brno Airport (BRQ) handles regional European connections

A Night That Belongs on Your Calendar

JazzFestBrno's 25th anniversary season is the most ambitious programme the festival has ever assembled, and GoGo Penguin on April 28 is one of its absolute standout nights. This is a band at the height of their powers, playing in a venue perfectly suited to what they do, in a city that has spent two decades building the kind of music audience that GoGo Penguin deserves.

Tickets are available at jazzfestbrno.cz and GoOut. Get yours now, book a night in Brno, explore the city on a beautiful spring evening, and arrive at Sono Music Club on April 28 ready for something genuinely special.

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