Nile Rodgers & CHIC, the World Premiere of Eurythmics Songbook, Johnny Marr, Jungle, Anitta, Thundercat, SOPHIE, Songhoy Blues, Alfa Mist, Durand Jones & The Indications, KOKOROKO, Despacio, A Night of STUDIO 54 ft. ‘Jellybean’ Benitez and Nicky Siano and the premiere of Kyle Dixon & Michael Stein performing the music of Stranger Things Season 3 and more…
The longest running artist-curated music festival in the world kicks off today at London’s Southbank Centre, with nine days of unmissable music, free gigs and late night parties all curated by three-time Grammy Award-winning American composer, producer, arranger, guitarist, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Abbey Road Studios’ first ever Chief Creative Advisor, Nile Rodgers. (Image credit: Nile Rodgers Meltdown 2019 (C) Britt Lloyd)
Running from 3 – 11 August across the 17-acre site on the south bank of the River Thames, this year’s Meltdown sees the World Premiere of Dave Stewart’s Eurythmics Songbook with performances from guest stars including Emeli Sandé and Beverley Knight, the first ever A Night of STUDIO 54 immersive club night and the first opportunity to hear composers Kyle Dixon and Michael Stein performing music from the latest record-breaking season of cult TV hit Stranger Things.
Many events have now SOLD OUT but remaining tickets are available at http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/meltdown / 0203 879 9555
Free gigs, events, and parties take place across the week including Disco Wonderland (Sat 3) a day-long disco honouring the curator’s own sequin-spangled career, featuring a mass disco anthem singalong led by London’s Some Voices choir, and DJs spinning dance hits until 1am; Meltdown Mardi Gras (Sun 4) featuring Kinetika Bloco Juniors and a Swing Patrol dance-off; And The Beat Goes On (Fri 9) – a showcase of talent from South London’s BRIT School; C’est CHIC Vogue Ball in which the public can compete against top Voguing Houses; the best new Jazz sounds in Ministry of Meltdown (Sun 11); and a free riverside screening of Eddie Murphy’s 1988 comedy Coming to America, scored by Rodgers (Wed 7).
Other highlights include:
DESPACIO: A specially-created 50,000-watt vinyl-only soundsystem designed by James Murphy (LCD Soundsystem, DFA Records) and David and Stephen Dewaele (Soulwax, 2manydjs). Having played just a few select events across the world, the trio will be behind the decks for two nights at Southbank Centre’s Clore Ballroom – a space which has welcomed dancers for more than six decades and has a capacity of just 500 – for an intimate club listening experience like no other (9 & 10 Aug, Clore Ballroom)
JOHNNY MARR: The guitarist and co-songwriter of The Smiths, brings his legendary guitar and hits both old and new for a very special evening in Royal Festival Hall (8 Aug, RFH)
THUNDERCAT: Funk, R&B and punk all feed the surreal genius of LA-based bassist and singer Stephen Bruner aka Thundercat, who plays the Royal Festival Hall in a 2019 European exclusive (4 Aug, RFH)
ANITTA: Brazil’s multi award-winning, record-breaking, biggest ever female pop star, the leading artist of a new generation of Latin American music, plays the Royal Festival Hall in her 2019 UK festival exclusive (6 Aug, RFH)
SOPHIE: The British born, LA-based singer, songwriter, DJ and producer radically changed the music industry with the release of her progressive, extrasensory pop in 2012. Now a mutable and visionary artist at the top of her craft, she joins the Meltdown line-up with a unique and unmissable live show in the Royal Festival Hall (10 Aug, RFH)
JUNGLE: The West London duo Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson are joined on Royal Festival Hall stage by their seven-piece band for a high-energy night of aspiration, escapism and modern soul (5 Aug, RFH)
KOKOROKO: Hotly-tipped London-based Afrobeat 8-piece, fresh from their eponymous first EP released March 2019, return to Southbank Centre after playing the Clore Ballroom in 2016 (5 Aug, QEH)
DURAND JONES & THE INDICATIONS: Super slick modern Motown, from a band of highly skilled Indiana-based twenty-somethings (6 Aug, QEH)
Southbank Centre’s award-winning Meltdown festival is famous for bringing to life the vision of a different musical legend each year as Curator. Nile Rodgers follows in the footsteps of 25 artists selected to share their vision – from the very first curator, British composer George Benjamin in 1993, though other luminaries such as Laurie Anderson, John Peel, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Patti Smith, Massive Attack, Ornette Coleman, Yoko Ono, David Byrne, M.I.A and, in 2018, Robert Smith.
