The 11th international music festival "Rīgas Ritmi 2011" was held in Riga June 28 through July 3, offering concert goers five days of celebration of music. 9,000 people attended festival concerts altogether.

Musicians from 19 countries took part in the "Rīgas Ritmi 2011" festival, offering the audiences a variety of music genres: jazz, flamenco jazz, world music, experimental free, pop jazz, Latin jazz, fusion, acid jazz and salsa. Riga Congress Centre was the venue for the main concerts of the festival, whereas evening concerts and jam sessions were taking place at the "Artelis" music club. For the first time in the festival's history, free concerts were held at the open-air leisure park "Egle". The festival's opening event took place at "Origo Summer Stage". Altogether, the festival's programme included 19 concerts and 14 master classes.

The fans of good music had a chance to see performances by artists who have achieved worldwide success: flamenco jazz guitar virtuoso Eduardo Niebla, German jazz superstar Till Brönner, Cape Verdian songstress Carmen Souza and others, as well as a number of up and coming stars: Italian jazz prodigy Francesco Cafiso, Quincy Jones's latest discovery, Cuban piano genius Alfredo Rodriguez, the talented jazz vocalist Olga Abdullina of Russia and over 30 Latvian musicians. The majority of festival participants were performing in Latvia and Baltics for the first time, therefore the festival offered a unique experience for not only concert goers but also the visiting musicians.

Several music projects were established especially for "Rīgas Ritmi 2011": Lithuanian jazz saxophonist Kestutis Vaiginis and "Mirage Octet" feat. Diāna Pīrāgs and Laimis Rācenājs, Italian saxophonist Francesco Cafiso, double bassist Toivo Unt and young Latvian musicians Oskars Račevskis and Ivars Arutjunjans, "Philip Hamilton Vocal Project" and "Alex Wilson Salsa Orchestra", featuring the passionate jazz and world music vocalist Philip Hamilton and salsa alchemist Alex Wilson together with young Latvian musicians and vocalists.

In conclusion of the festival, club "Artelis" hosted a Super Jamsessioin, featuring performances by Latvian musicians together with Francesco Cafiso, Philip Hamilton, Alex Wilson, Naomi Philips and many other festival participants.

Master classes have become an integral part of the festival; more than 80 participants from Latvia and Estonia had applied for participation in the master classes during the 2011 festival. The master classes were given by the Cape Verdian singer Carmen Souza, flamenco guitarist Eduardo Niebla and experimental jazz trio "Das Kapital" musicians – Edward Perraud and Daniel Erdmann. Philip Hamilton was giving vocal master classes for four days, whereas Alex Wilson - salsa master classes.

Italian saxophonist Francesco Cafiso and music journalist Thomas Conrad, as well as participants in the master classes, participated in the unique "Blindfold Test" event at the studio of Latvian State Radio's Programme 1.

Also, "Rīgas Ritmi Festival Showcase" project was organized for the third time in a row with the aim of presenting Latvian jazz, improvisation and world music performers. This year, a number of music experts attended the festival in Riga, including Jeffrey Levenson, “Blue Note”, Antje Hubner – "HubtonePR", Peter Basler, "Basitours", and the respected "JazzTimes" journalist Thomas Conrad.