M³ Festival 2026 Spotlights Mentorship & Collaborative Jazz in Harlem & Brooklyn

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The festival will take place across the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn.

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Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) , the non-hierarchical mentorship initiative founded by musicians Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa , is presenting M³ Festival 2026, its fifth annual in-person international music festival, featuring some of the most groundbreaking composer-performers in the jazz, creative, electronic, singer-songwriter, experimental, and traditional music scenes, and beyond.

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One of New York City's only festivals dedicated entirely to underrepresented voices in jazz and creative music, the M³ Festival offers audiences from around the world a rare and unforgettable cultural experience centered on uplifting women and gender-expansive musicians from across the globe, offering something genuinely rare in New York City's cultural landscape.

The event takes place on Friday, November 6 at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem and Saturday, November 7 at Roulette Intermedium in Brooklyn. By spanning both neighborhoods, the festival gives New Yorkers the chance to experience the celebration in two distinct cultural hubs, bringing different communities together to mix and interact across the city. More information including ticket info at m3musicians.org .

In just six years since its founding in 2020, M³ has commissioned and supported 100 artists across nine cohorts, published seven anthologies, produced six online and four in-person festivals, and bestowed five Luminary Awards. Cohorts are groups of up to a dozen composer-performers selected to participate in a 10-month intensive creative and professional development period.

This year's festival brings together an exceptional lineup of national and international musicians, featuring world premiere screenings of four original duo-commissioned music and film works; the presentation of the annual Luminary Award honoring a musician aged 60+ for decades of artistic achievement; and performances by acclaimed headlining artists alongside sets by 18 emerging to established bandleaders.

Friday, November 6

Luminary Award Celebration , 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the National Jazz Museum, 58 W 129th St., Harlem. (6:30 p.m. cocktails and light fare, 7 pm program begins). Tickets $66 (early bird discount until 9/25)–$1500.

Emceed by vocalist Kavita Shah the evening includes the presentation of the 2026 M³ Luminary Award to Jessica Jones, solo tributes to Jones by pianist Angelica Sanchez and saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock, and world premiere film screenings by M³ Cohort 8 musicians Bahar Badiei, Bunga Dessri, Kim Clarke, Miranda Ingram Agnew, Mobéy Lola Irizarry, Mona Miari, Wen-Ting Wu, and Zahra Glenda Baker. The event also highlights the release of M³ Magazine Vol. 2, as well as the announcement of the eight individuals chosen for the M³ Winter Solstice 2026 Cohort 9 starting in December 2026.

Saturday, November 7

M³ Festival Marathon , 7-10 pm at Roulette Intermedium, 509 Atlantic Avenue, Brooklyn. Tickets $35-$100. $100 tickets include VIP Meet The Artists Cocktail Reception and premium seating.

11 sets of live performances by 33 artists along with bandleaders from M³'s 6th and 7th Cohorts.

Terri Lyne Carrington • William Parker • Patricia Nicholson • Theo Bleckmann • Martha Redbone • Marta Sanchez • Caroline Davis • Aaron Whitby • Alexandria DeWalt • Allan Mednard • Carmen Quill • Carolina Borja-Marroquin • Chanelle Ignant • Charlie Burnham • Coco Elysses • Devon Gates • Ge Linna • Kweku Aggrey • Kweku Sumbry • Mama Dee • Marcus Grant • Melissa Almaguer • Miranda Agnew • Morgan Guerin • Noa Fort • Paige Brown • Rashaan Carter • Stephan Crump • Summer Kodama • Tomas Fujiwara • Unma Allinar • Vitor Gonçalves • Yuhan Su

'This year's festival musicians are hands down some of the most groundbreaking composer-performers in the world today, each with a stunning clarity of vision that you'll rarely if ever find gathered together in one place,' says Shyu.

In the relentless pursuit of balance and diversity, the lineup of composer-performers was thoughtfully curated to embody innovation across genres. The M³ Festival serves as a testament to the power of inclusivity, demonstrating that when intentions focus on fostering a diverse and inclusive community of musicians and creators, it unlocks a world of boundless possibilities.

'This festival is an amazing opportunity to discover musicians that will blow your mind! It makes me really proud to see the seeds we have been planting with M³ for the past four years growing into incredible musical collaborations and witness a new community of musicians taking shape, hailing from all corners of the world, with multiple traditions and innovations,' shares Serpa.

When the COVID-19 lockdown began in NYC in March of 2020, Jen Shyu and Sara Serpa co-founded Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) , recognizing that the music and performing arts worlds, with their multiple languages and traditions, have been mostly shaped by male power. This imbalance results in unequal environments and presents multiple challenges for musicians from underrepresented groups to have access to meaningful mentorship and career opportunities.

In just 6 years, Mutual Mentorship for Musicians (M³) has commissioned 100 women, non-binary, and mostly BIPOC musicians, creating 46 new duo music/video compositions across six cohort cycles, each lasting 6-10 months. M³ has produced and presented three interactive online and four in-person M³ Festivals premiering 18 music/video commissions in December 2020, June 2021 and March 2022 at the National Jazz Museum in Harlem.

M³ also published its first M³ Magazine Vol. 1 as well as 7 online Anthology of Writings . M³ Anthology of Writings, The Art of Being True was edited by acclaimed jazz writer Jordannah Elizabeth in April 2021 and its first physical M³ Anthology of Writings Volumes 1 & 2 , with Volume 2 edited by writer, poet, and scholar Naomi Extra. Volumes 3 and 4 have been published online and as a 2nd Book , with Volume 3 also edited by Naomi Extra and Volume 4 edited by writer, poet, and journalist Kyla Marshell. This series is a legacy and archive of writings on creative work, listening, struggles and hopes of women, non-binary musicians, and artists of other underrepresented gender identities.

Nominate your favorite local productions and performers before the deadline on October 31, 2026.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/M-Festival-2026-to-Celebrate-Mentorship-and-Collaborative-Sound-20260915)._