Did you know that London’s Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival has been running for 24 years now? Past years have featured artists selected by icons David Bowie, Patti Smith, and Nina Simone, and this time around the line-up has been curated entirely by M.I.A.
Taking place between Friday June 9 and Sunday June 18, the festival will be a celebration of global culture opening with a special performance by Young Fathers, hailing from Liberia, Nigeria, and Scotland. Ten days of partying will ensue thanks to the likes of French rapper MHD, The Big Apple’s Young M.A, Canadian Tommy Genesis, Mykki Blanco from Cali, and sad Swede Yung Lean, who will be giving his only European festival performance of the summer.
Meltdown 2017 will be closed by i-D coverstar M.I.A. herself in the Royal Festival Hall, with a performance that we’re promised will be full of surprises. And as if that wasn’t enough, there will also be a series of free cultural activities in collaboration with local communities and charities for the duration of the festival.
“I’m bringing together new outlaw musicians from everywhere who have all contributed to keeping things weird, exciting, opinionated, loud, emotional, brave, or off the grid in the present climate,” says M.I.A. “It’s a layered ten days of creative ideas, curated out of wanting to know these artists as well as knowing their art well. Hopefully my contribution fills these summer days with vibez, wild ruckus, controlled chaos, and good times, with a touch of education — working together to break boundaries with clashing identities, beliefs, styles, and sexualities. Welcome to London, Summer 2017.”
Tickets go on sale to Southbank Centre members on April 4 and to the general public on April 6.
Credits
Text Frankie Dunn
Image via Wikipedia