This year’s Seoul Jazz Festival, will be held at Olympic Park in Seoul on May 17 and 18.

The first lineup of musicians will be unveiled on Feb. 6 and tickets for two-day passes will go on sale from Feb. 4 on Interpark.

Just 1,000 “blind tickets” for two-day passes will be released for purchase on Feb. 4, at 12 p.m., two days before the announcement of the first artist lineup. The “blind tickets” will be sold for 125,000 won, a 35-percent discount.

A limited number of “super early bird tickets,” also for two-day passes, will be available on Feb. 13 at 153,000 won, approximately 22 percent off.

This year will mark the 8th anniversary of the festival, which has over the years featured a diverse pool of internationally renowned jazz artists including guitarist Pat Metheny, vibraphonist Gary Burton, bassist Steve Swallow, Brazilian bossa nova artist Sergio Medes, pianist Joe Sample and singer Randy Crawford.

Lena Park, Kim Kwang-min, Lucid Fall, Mate and other prominent Korean artists have also performed at the Seoul Jazz Festival.

Last year’s festival attracted more than 30,000 spectators and earned kudos as one of Korea’s most successful music festivals of the year. The 2013 line-up featured internationally acclaimed artists including Damien Rice, MIKA, Ramsey Lewis, Kings of Convenience, Philip Bailey and the Parov Stelar Band.

In 2012, Earth, Wind, and Fire, George Benson, Al Di Meola, Eric Benet, Ledisi, Brian Blade, Leessang and Lee Byung-woo were leading artists on the festival program.

More dates and information about regular ticket openings will be announced in the upcoming months. For more information, call (02) 563-0595 or visit the Seoul Jazz Festival 2014 official website at www.seouljazz.co.kr, or the festival’s social media platforms on Facebook and Twitter (@privatecurve).

By Sohn Ji-young (jiyoung.sohn@heraldcorp.com)