Meltdown

Another event situated along the curve of the Thames, the Southbank's Meltdown festival is unique in that it's the concert equivalent of looking through an artist's record collection. Every year, Meltdown recruits one outstanding contributor to (pop) music's history to curate the festival, resulting in some very eclectic line-ups. Previous curators have included Lee 'Scratch' Perry, Elvis Costello, John Peel, David Bowie, Nick Cave, Robert Wyatt, Morrissey, and Massive Attack, to name a few - but while you might think the 2500+ capacity Royal Festival Hall might require mainstream programming, Meltdown affords the curators some serious liberties. The selection usually reflects more than just the tastes of the curators, and often there are forgotten contemporaries from past decades whose influence can't be over-estimated - a perspective through the years is what Meltdown aims for, and the stages of the Royal Festival Hall and Queen Elizabeth Hall creak with distinguished elder statesmen and brash young innovators turning the thermostat up to eleven. Barriers of style, age, nationality, and sound get thrown in the cauldron like so many chocolate fireguards, leaving the elements that make great music so essential.

Date

August 1 - August 12, 2012

Address

Southbank Centre
Belvedere Road
London SE1 8XX

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