Now the Southbank Centre’s sprawling celebration of cultural diversity and unfair artistry, built on an obedient bed of musical heritage, has passed the curating baton over to the UK’s lyrical force of nature, Little Simz. That’s right, the Mercury Prize-winner, BRIT Award-winner and general creative dynamo, is ready to take Meltdown 2025 into her own hands. And if history or her discography tells us anything, it’s that Simz doesn’t settle for average.
“I’m suuuuper excited to be the Meltdown festival curator of 2025! Announcing Simz, with the type of chest-beating jubilation we’ve come to expect from her. “My team and I are building eleven days of art, music, workshops, and more. Many talented artists have curated this festival, so I’m excited to be a part of it. Thank you to the Southbank Centre for inviting me. Meltdown 2025: the Simz version is going to be sick. I’ll see you there.”
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For the uninitiated, Meltdown is not just any festival. Since its founding in 1993, it has given the keys to the Southbank Centre to musical legends such as David Bowie, Robert Wyatt, and Grace Jones, letting them do their thing, perfect it, and perform it on the Thames. Last year, Chaka Khan made it a genre-spanning celebration. What emerged was a show that reinterpreted black Britain for the 21st century, a relentless conveyor belt of talent-building that laid bare its refusal to stand still while the industry worked out what to do with it.” Now, with Simz at the rudder, the baton exchanges hands again to a new era and a new vision.
What makes Simz such a magnetic figure isn’t just her talent, though that’s undeniable. Instead, it’s her knack for deftly combining innovation with potent storytelling and cultural intention. She has no fear of crossing genres, tackling challenging issues, and supporting new voices, which makes her an ideal curator of an event that has always been about taking risks and bringing people together.
Head of contemporary music Jane Beese says it best: “Little Simz’s pioneering spirit and vision to push boundaries and break down barriers resonates with everything that the Southbank Centre’s artistic programme and vision represents. We are THRILLED to see the world she is going to usher in with her extraordinary talent and vision as a leader, artist, and cultural change-maker; and “We’re also extremely hopeful that she might also bring with her the Olympic games.
Who will Simz bring with her to that stage? Which voices will she amplify? The complete lineup remains shrouded in mystery for the time being, but one thing we can be certain of is that Simz will curate Meltdown 2025 in her unmistakable style.
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