'A Derry jazz festival? Are you off your head?'

'A Derry jazz festival? Are you off your head?'30 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleDavid WilsonBBC News NIDerry City and Strabane District CouncilMore than 400 performances are scheduled across the 25th City of Derry Jazz Festival's runWhen Johnny Murray first put forward the idea of an annual jazz festival in Northern Ireland's second city, staff in one Londonderry bar told him he was "off his head"."Jazz will never work in Derry," he was warned way back in 2001.Twenty-five years on, the City of Derry Jazz Festival is marking a major milestone drawing major international artists, filling hotels and thrilling ever growing audiences each year.But it's success wasn't just surprising to the city's bar staff, even Murray didn't expect the festival to expand the way it did.Over the bank holiday weekend more than 400 performances are set to take place across 70 venues in the city, with about 100,000 visitors expected to take in the festival.Derry City and Strabane District CouncilMany of the festival performances are outdoorsThe idea of a jazz festival had been in the works for a long time with its origins being traced back to the opposite end of the island during a trip to Cork.Murray, well known in the north west as manager of the city's Rialto Theatre, was visiting with fellow festival founder Gerard McColgan for the city's jazz festival when they thought maybe this was what their hometown was missing.Derry was, he said, a city with "a gap in its events calendar" that maybe a "jazz festival could fill".But like any bright ideas, it wasn't without it's challenges – namely do the people of Derry even like jazz music?Derry City and Strabane District CouncilMusical diversity is seen as central to the festival's successMurray told BBC Radio Foyle's Mark Patterson Show one decision taken in those formative years would prove crucial in shaping the festiva...