Hearing this music performed live is key to learning and developing your own playing. This is a really friendly community and you will enjoy meeting the artists and connecting with fellow fans.

Here are a few tips to keep you connected to the live scene:

• No website provides a comprehensive list of boogie-woogie piano gigs and is a step beyond what I can manage for this site! Join the mailing lists or follow the social media channels of contemporary artists and venues you can get to that tend to book this type of artist It’s not always the big jazz clubs either. For example, The Green Note in London is a lovely small venue who book Henri Herbert and Claire Hamlin.
• The Bayoogie Club (membership fee payable) provides access to live streams of concerts.
• Search by festival name for clips on the web from concerts. Research jazz, blues, 1940s and 1950s events in your country too as boogie-woogie artists are often booked on those

Here are some of the main and long-standing boogie-woogie piano festivals and genre specific awards ceremonies:

• Blues and Boogie Reunion (Spain) – 2 day event held in Terrassa, near Barcelona.
• Bloomington Boogies (US) – 2 day blues and boogie-woogie piano festival.
• Boisdale Music Awards (London) – hosted by Jools Holland and includes a category for ‘Best Boogie Woogie Pianist’.
• Hamburg Boogie Woogie Connection (Germany) – going strong since 8.8.88! Organised by pianists Vince Weber and Axel Zwingenberger.
• International Festival of Boogie-Woogie at La RoqueBrou (France) – Legendary and hugely popular 4 day festival with a wide range of activities on the bill.
• Kathi’s blues and boogie festival (Austria) – pianist Katharina Alber runs an evening festival each year.
• London International Boogie Woogie Festival (UK) – 2019 sees its second year. No website as yet so Google for tickets.
• Pinetop German Boogie-Woogie Award (Germany) – takes place every other year.
• San Franciso International Boogie-Woogie Festival (USA) – pulls in lots of big names and is co-produced by boogie pianist Wendy Dewitt.
• Silvan Zinng’s International Boogie-Woogie Festival (Switzerland) – running since 2002
• UK Boogie-Woogie Festival (UK) – 2 day event with free and ticketed performances. The UK’s first and longest running boogie festival.