Harry Styles has curated the 31st edition of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival, the world’s longest-running artist-curated music festival.
This year’s programme, supported by American Express, includes a variety of different events, ranging from live music, dance groups, art exhibitions and debates.
Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the Southbank Centre has already hosted a number of commemorative events, such as ‘You Are Here’ on 3rd and 4th May which marked the exact date of its 1951 opening.
Meltdown will begin on Thursday 11th June with a post-punk performance by deep tan and VIIZERO7 on the Riverside Terrace, and while some of the events do require paid-for tickets, many do not.
Read on for the free highlights at this year’s festival.
London Parks: An Exhibition (12 June-1st July)
Riverside Terrace
The London Parks photo exhibition, which will be located on the Riverside Terrace, will display photos of the capital’s parks taken by young refugees and asylum seekers. The young photographers received training from professional photographers Laura Jane Coulson and Federico Rivas, who have arranged the exhibition in partnership with Kazzum Arts.
Don’t Keep Hush (12th June: 6pm-10:30pm)
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Riverside Terrace
Visitors to the Riverside Terrace on Friday 12th June will be treated to more than four hours of underground dance music, organised by music platform Keep Hush. The event is part of the platform’s wider mental health project, Don’t Keep Hush, which is dedicated to discussing mental health through music.
The full DJ line-up will be announced soon.
Dad Dancing (13th June: 11am-12:30pm and 1:30pm-2:45pm)
Clore Ballroom
A week before father’s day, artist Eoin McKenzie will be opening up the Clore Ballroom’s dancefloor to dads and their children, who will get the chance to play games, sing songs and dance together.
Later in the afternoon, families can take their dancing out to the Riverside Terrace for an outdoor ‘Riverside Boogie’.
Steam Down: Sounds of the Diaspora (14th June: 3pm-8pm)
Riverside Terrace
Afro-punk collective Steam Down are bringing a five-hour listening experience to the Southbank Centre on 14th June, featuring live improvisation and a blend of genres. The London-based band, who play a weekly gig at Peckham Levels, have promised to take visitors on a ‘sonic journey’.
Amex Unsigned (17th June: 6:30pm-10pm)
Riverside Terrace
On Wednesday 17th June, visitors to the Southbank Centre will get the chance to see music’s future stars for free as part of the Unsigned initiative. Funded by American Express, Unsigned is a programme that supports emerging and grassroots musicians across the UK, promoting them at London’s biggest festivals such as All Points East and BST Hyde Park.
Foundation.FM: Movement (20th June: 2pm-10:30pm)
Riverside Terrace
Foundation.FM is a London-based progressive radio station which seeks to platform female, queer and non-binary DJs. In the middle of Pride Month and on Meltdown’s penultimate night, they will be bringing more than eight hours of dance music to the Riverside Terrace, and there’s no need to buy a ticket.
Dance with Kindness (21st June: 4:30pm-5:30pm and 6pm-7pm)
Clore Ballroom
Bringing this year’s Meltdown to an end, choreographer Paul Roberts, who has worked with One Direction, Katy Perry and Harry Styles himself, will be hosting two beginner-friendly dance workshops.
In the first, visitors will learn the routine to ‘Spice Up Your Life’ by the Spice Girls and in the second, with a nod to the festival’s curator, they will be taught the choreography to Styles’ ‘Treat People with Kindness’.
Find the full programme for this year’s Meltdown Festival at the Southbank Centre here.
