The first wave of names has been announced for Meltdown 2025, with Little Simz curating the long-running Southbank Centre festival.
Running from Thursday 12th to Sunday 22nd June, the lineup reflects the breadth of Simz’s musical tastes and the cultural reach of her work.
Simz herself will close the festival with a one-off performance on Sunday 22nd June at the Royal Festival Hall, joined by the Chineke! Orchestra, Southbank’s resident ensemble. The set will include material from across her career, including her forthcoming sixth studio album Lotus, due 9th May via AWAL Recordings.
Opening the festival will be The Streets, with Mike Skinner returning to the Royal Festival Hall on Thursday 12th June. Elsewhere across the eleven-day run are BRIT-nominated artist Lola Young (17th June), Ghetts (18th June), and Jon Batiste (21st June).
Other highlights include British-Colombian singer Sasha Keable performing alongside Flames Collective at Queen Elizabeth Hall (14th June), and Yukimi, vocalist of Little Dragon, taking to the same stage on 18th June.
Simz is also putting the spotlight on emerging talent with a young producers initiative, providing creative access to public spaces across the site and encouraging new voices to shape the festival experience. The scheme reflects Simz’s own beginnings in youth clubs across London, and her commitment to supporting the next generation.
“My team and I are preparing eleven days of art, music, workshops and more,” Simz said. “So many incredible artists have curated this festival so it’s a true honour to be a part of it. Thank you to the Southbank Centre for having me. Meltdown 2025 the Simz way is going to be epic. I’ll see you there.”
Tickets go on sale to Southbank Centre members at 10am on Wednesday 26th March, with general sale starting Friday 28th March via southbankcentre.co.uk.
More names and details of the free public programme are set to follow.
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- Chineke! Orchestra
- Ghetts
- Jon Batiste
- Little Simz
- Live Music
- Lola Young
- London
- Meltdown Festival
- Southbank Centre
- The Streets
