Grace Jones' Meltdown Festival moves to 2022

Meltdown Festival was due to be curated by Grace Jones in 2020, but once the global pandemic shut down live events, the London-based festival was planning to move to 2021 with the same line-up.

Today (9 April) London's Southbank Centre has confirmed that Jones' long-awaited Meltdown Festival will now take place in June 2022, following government advice that social distancing will continue until at least 21 June this year.

Previously announced acts including Solange, Peaches, The Love Unlimited Synth Orchestra, Skunk Anansie, Baaba Maal, Lee Scratch Perry with Adrian Sherwood, Oumou Sangaré, Meshell Ndegeocello, Lee Fields and the Expressions will perform at the rescheduled 2022 festival, with more artists to be confirmed in autumn.

Bengi Ünsal, Head of Contemporary Music, the Southbank Centre says, "While it’s disappointing to be announcing that Grace Jones’ Meltdown will be postponed until June 2022, we are so grateful to everyone involved in helping us reschedule the hugely anticipated festival. Meltdown is the cornerstone of the Southbank Centre’s Contemporary Music programme and we know how much our audiences were looking forward to seeing the icon that is Grace Jones take to the Royal Festival Hall stage this summer, alongside an incredible array of artists. The regulations around social distancing make postponement the best course of action for a festival of this scale, to ensure we can retain the roster of global artists we’ve got lined-up and welcome all those who already hold tickets. We know it’s shaping up to be one of the most unforgettable Meltdown festivals ever and we can’t wait to share more names with you this Autumn."