Bring Back the Professional Jazz Concerts at the Rose Theatre Café, Kingston

For years, Kingston University proudly supported free Tuesday lunchtime jazz concerts at the Rose Theatre Café — showcasing some of the UK’s finest professional jazz musicians. These events were a gift to the community: high-quality, well-attended, and a source of real cultural pride for the town.

Now, under new leadership, funding for these concerts has been withdrawn. In their place, the café is hosting unpaid performances by semi-professional or hobbyist musicians. While enthusiasm for live music is always welcome, this change undermines both artistic quality and the fair treatment of professional artists.

This decision hurts everyone:

Audiences, who lose access to top-level live jazz.
Musicians, who lose properly paid opportunities to perform.
Kingston’s cultural life, which has long thrived on the University’s artistic engagement.

We call on Kingston University and the Rose Theatre to:

Reinstate the funded Tuesday Lunchtime Jazz Concerts with professional musicians.
Recognise the series’ vital community and educational value.
Collaborate with local musicians and promoters to sustain this cherished cultural tradition.

These concerts represented Kingston at its best — accessible, inspiring and artistically excellent. Let’s work together to bring them back.

✍️ Sign and share if you believe professional musicians deserve fair pay and Kingston deserves world-class live music.