Upton Jazz Festival 2026: Introduction

It was with perhaps a small sense of trepidation that I approached the 39th Upton Jazz Festival. Due to a number of reasons, ranging from the diminished set-up, the much hotter than normal summer temperatures, the lack of familiar names on the bill (though that isn't necessarily a bad thing), and perhaps a feeling of the changing of the times. Not only is the only mural of jazz musicians on the underpass long gone, but now the Little Upton Muggery, a pub I have patronized every year since I started coming to the festival, has ceased to be.*

 Despite this, I was determined to enjoy myself and after sitting down and properly reading the programme did manage to lift my spirits somewhat. Once again I had opted for getting accommodation in town, so I didn’t have to concern myself for a long walk to and from the festival at either end of the day, plus it meant I had a crash space easily accessible if I needed a break from the activities. I was staying at the Swan Hotel (not to be mixed up with the Swan at Hanley Swan where I stayed back in 2018) which is directly on the riverside and was also the host venue for the Festival’s fringe stage, meaning I was right at the heart of things and would be right on site for the official opening of the festival on Saturday morning. I checked into my digs plenty of time before the first gig of the night, and the room was compact but perfectly serviceable. The lack of a wardrobe to hang my shirts up on was a minor concern but since most of them were casual, rather than formal, it was too much of an issue. The bathroom was compact and I would later discover there was a bit of a knack to getting the shower to the correct, but nothing I didn’t expect from the establishment as it was a fairly old building. My major complaint was that the sink was incredibly small, normally not an issue as I normally have a beard, but for reasons that aren’t particularly interesting I have decided to shave it off and I don’t get 5 o’clock shadows, I get half past eleven in the morning shadows. I settled myself in and made a quick study of the programme for the evening, and figure out my “battleplan” for the evening, plus make a few notes as to which bands I would definitely want to see over the course of the festival. There were a number of bands I wasn’t familiar with on the roster this time so it was to be a festival with lots of movement between venues for me. A name which did stand out for me was “Ms Maggie and the Cat’s Pyjamas,” mostly because it stood out as such a surreal moniker, so I was determined to check them out. The plan for the evening was perfect, the three acts which were on for the night had a good starting and easy to follow pattern, with the first act kicking off at 7pm at Bar 7, the second at the Rugby Club at 8pm, and the third back at the Swan also at 8pm. This meant I could easily see one set of each of the performances, plus enough time to grab a quick bite to eat en route, whether it be a sandwich from the Co-Op or a nipping in to either the Chippy or the Kebab shop.

 I packed up a few essentials for the evening and headed down to the Bar at the Swan for a quick pint before the off. It was a reasonably busy night in the bar and there were two ales on handpull, Wye Valley’s Butty Bach and a world-cup themed beer from Marston’s. I went for the Butty Bach as it is a long standing favourite of mine. I took my beer into the courtyard and amused myself watching the various technical boys for the festival setting up the stage for the evening with various soundchecks and other activities taking place. Once my beer was consumed I departed and made my way up Upton High Street to Bar 7 where the first gig was just about due to start. Bar 7 is a long-standing venue for the Jazz festival in one form or other, for a long time it was a Social Club and was used for the jam session element of the festival, before becoming a venue in its own right due to it having a for-hire function room. Due to the layout of the place it isn’t a private function room, it functions far more effectively as a free venue, as you can pretty much hear and see the band from the main bar area and I wonder if this was a noted criticism when it was a wristband only venue. I purchased a pint of Bewedley Brewery’s Worcestershire Way and was greeted by a familiar face from the behind the bar, it was the bar man who had previously worked the bar at the Little Upton Muggery across the road, so I took the opportunity to inquire into the circumstances of the closure. There were three distinct possibilities as to what happened in my mind: 1. the Landlady had died, 2. She had retired, or 3. EHO had finally turned up to inspect the place. I put this to the bar man, and he informed me she had retired, not necessarily by choice, and was living nearby. A conversation later in the weekend with someone else would shed a bit more light on the situation, but I will get to that later. As I made my way to get in a good spot to see and hear the band, I was delighted to be greeted by another familiar face: the “crazy blonde lady” who this time was not sporting her distinctive blue dress and had opted for a more demure black ensemble. We exchanged pleasantries, before she returned to her table and her little group… one day I will actually find out what her name is. I took up my position for the band and in the corner of my eye I saw another familiar face, it was Steven, the guy who bears a striking resemblance to the actor David Bradley. I was glad to see him, as he was absent from last year’s festival and I was slightly concerned that he hadn’t attended because nature had taken its course, so it was nice to see him in good health, it appears that his absence last year was down to having sustained a leg based injury. I checked the stage and saw the band was about to assemble, so we parted to our respective spots to watch the band.

A little bit of fun on display in one of the shop windows 

 

*When I received the digital copy of the 2026 Programme I did notice that there was a lack of listings of gigs at the Little Upton Muggery, I didn't think too much of it at the time as while the venue has always had a couple of bands during festival time, they were never an official part of the activities and it has only been in the last two years they got a listing in the official pages. A late finish at work prompted me to look up the Pub and I was dismayed to learn the Pub was permanently closed. I knew the landlady was looking to retire, so I wondered if that had happened or if she had died and the owners of the pub hadn't found someone to take it on. I always mused it wasn't exactly the cleanest of places, so I wondered if EHO had come around and closed them down. 

I spent a week before the festival in the Malvern area and popped in Upton several times and as the week went I noticed work going on, clearly the place was being worked on for reopening. As the week went on I saw that the old Muggery sign was down and it had been replaced. The pub has been renamed "the Crown" and opened on the first night of the Jazz festival.

With the demise of the old rule, I wonder if this means 2026 is the first year Upton upon Severn has not been visited by the Sauce City Jazz Band during festival time.