Technical reference

JamBase Data MCP

Plug 25+ years of normalized live music data into ChatGPT, Claude, Cursor, Gemini, or Replit. Built on the Model Context Protocol — OAuth handles auth on first connect, no API key to paste.

For the marketing pitch and per-client install snippets, see /mcp. If you’re signed in, your one-click install page lives at /account/mcp.

What is MCP?

The Model Context Protocol is the open standard MCP-aware assistants use to call external tools.

When you connect JamBase Data to your assistant, it shows up as a set of callable tools (e.g. jambase.search_events). The assistant decides when to call them, supplies the arguments, and folds the results into its answer. You don't write any glue code — just connect the server once and start asking music questions.

Server URL

Point any MCP-compatible client at this URL.

MCP server endpoint

https://mcp.jambase.com/mcp

Connect your assistant

Per-client install snippets and step-by-step setup live on the marketing page so the same instructions work whether you’re logged in or not.

We maintain copy-paste install snippets for ChatGPT, Claude Desktop, Cursor, Gemini, and Replit at /mcp. If you're already signed in, your account-page version with your own server URL pre-filled lives at /account/install-in-your-ai.

  1. Copy the snippet for your assistant from the install grid.
  2. Paste it into the assistant's MCP / connectors settings.
  3. Restart the assistant.
  4. The first time the assistant calls a JamBase tool, it pops a browser window for OAuth sign-in. Approve once and the access token is stored for you.

Your first prompt

Paste any of these into your connected assistant — no further setup needed.

"Who is playing at Red Rocks this August?"

The assistant will call jambase.search_events with the venue name and an August date range, then format the results back to you with dates, artists, and confirmed openers.

More starter prompts (artists, livestreams, festivals, geo lookups) live on the marketing page under "Try these queries".

Available tools

The MCP server currently exposes these tools. The assistant picks which one to call based on your prompt.

jambase.search_events
Find concerts and festivals by venue, city, metro, artist, date range, or genre.
jambase.search_artists
Look up artists by name, including upcoming dates and cross-references to Spotify and MusicBrainz.
jambase.search_venues
Find venues by name or location with capacity, address, and upcoming shows.
jambase.search_cities
Resolve city names to JamBase geo IDs for use in event filters.
jambase.search_metros
Resolve metropolitan area names to JamBase geo IDs.
jambase.list_genres
Enumerate the canonical JamBase genre vocabulary for filtering events and artists.

Authentication

OAuth 2.1 with Dynamic Client Registration is the default; long-lived API keys are available for non-MCP clients.

MCP-compatible assistants use OAuth 2.1 + Dynamic Client Registration. The first tool call opens a JamBase sign-in window in your browser; the assistant stores the resulting access token and refreshes it automatically.

For non-MCP clients (CLIs, scripts, server-side jobs) a long-lived JBD API key (jbd_*) works against the same data via the REST API. See Authentication for details.

When to use the REST API instead

MCP shines for interactive answers. Bulk pulls and background jobs belong on REST.

If you're running nightly ingests, populating an analytics warehouse, or building an ID-mapping pipeline, the REST API at api.data.jambase.com/v3 hits the same data with the same JBD API key. Start with the REST quickstart.

Last updated May 1, 2026