Meltdown Bill Announced

London’s Meltdown event is to return later this year, with jazz legend Ornette Coleman set to curate the festival.

Held in the Southbank Centre, Meltdown invites a musical pioneer each year to prepare a uniquely personal bill. In the past Morrissey and Massive Attack have produced the festival, scoring exclusive performances along the way.

This year the minds behind Meltdown have chosen Ornette Coleman to be our musical guide. Now well into his 70s, Coleman is a pivotal figure in modern music having pioneered free jazz in the late 50s. Abandoning chords and scales, Coleman embraced chaos producing music that still resonates today.

Joining the legendary musician on the bill is none other than Yoko Ono. The Japanese artist’s career tends to be sidelined due to her marriage to John Lennon, but Ono is responsible for several acclaimed works that brought noise into rock. Performing with her son Sean Lennon, this promises to be a very special performance.

Also on the bill this year is chill out guru Moby, who said in a statement “I'm flattered and honoured to be asked by Ornette Coleman to play at his Meltdown festival. His approach to music, and the integrity with which he's comported himself in all that he's done, is a big inspiration to me. I can't think of anyone alive who's pushed things as far and as hard as Ornette Coleman.”

Meltdown takes place in the Southbank Centre between June 13th – 21st