Who Will Perform At Little Simz’s Meltdown?

Dating back to 1993, Meltdown is the longest-running artist-curated music festival in the world, taking over the Southbank Centre for more than a week each year (except 2006, 2020 and 2021). Some of music’s brightest stars have curated Meltdown across the years – amounting to a personal festival showcasing their interests and influences – from Elvis Costello to Nick Cave, David Bowie to Grace Jones, Jarvis Cocker to Yoko Ono. And now it’s over to a London native for Meltdown 2025: Little Simz. Here’s everything we know so far about the rapper’s curated music festival.

Little Simz’s Meltdown: Southbank Centre 2025

It’s official: Little Simz will curate the Southbank Centre’s 30th Meltdown, promising to bring a boundary-breaking line-up of musicians across an 11-day festival – including two weekends of free programming.

‘I’m super excited to be the 2025 Meltdown festival curator!’ the rapper says. ‘My team and I are preparing 11 days of art, music, workshops and more. So many incredible artists have curated this festival, so it’s a true honour to be a part of it. Thank you to the Southbank Centre for having me. Meltdown 2025 the Simz way is going to be epic. I’ll see you there.’

‘Meltdown has become one of the most enduring and anticipated highlights of the annual music calendar, shaped each year by the spirit, imagination and artistry of its curator,’ says Mark Ball, the Southbank Centre’s artistic director. ‘Little Simz is becoming such a powerful influence in London and beyond and we’re delighted that for eleven days in June the Southbank Centre will become her cultural playground where she can fully explore her musicianship, her icons and her cultural passions.’

Who’s On The Line-Up?

Little Simz will close Meltdown 2025 with a unique, one-off performance in the Royal Festival Hall, joined by the Southbank Centre’s resident orchestra Chineke! Orchestra. In the two weeks running up to that, he rest of the line-up spans everyone from Gen Z singer of the moment and BRIT nominee Lola Young to Grammy and Academy Award winner Jon Batiste and MOBO Award winning London rapper Ghetts.

Here’s the line-up in full:

• Thursday 12 June: The Streets
• Friday 13 June: Mahalia
• Saturday 14 June: Tiwa Savage
• Saturday 14 June: Sasha Keable
• Monday 16 June: BADBADNOTGOOD
• Tuesday 17 June: Lola Young
• Tuesday 17 June: Kara Jackson
• Wednesday 18 June: Ghetts
• Wednesday 18 June: Yukimi & BINA
• Thursday 19 June: Nubya Garcia
• Friday 20 June: MEGA & Jon Poppii
• Friday 20 June: James Blake
• Saturday 21 June: Jon Batiste
• Sunday 22 June: Littles Simz & Chineke! Orchestra

Performances will take place in the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall, with the Purcell Room hosting Kara Jackson’s set.

‘My team and I have prepared eleven days of art, music, workshops and more,’ Little Simz says. ‘So many incredible artists have curated this festival so it’s a true honour to be a part of it. Thank you to the Southbank Centre for having me. Meltdown 2025 the Simz way is going to be epic. I’ll see you there.’

To honour Little Simz’s roots in London’s youth clubs, her Meltdown will also host a unique one-off young producers project. In the next three months as Meltdown approaches, a selection of producers from all corners of London will prepare to transform the Southbank Centre’s public spaces into a playground of curated activity, events and showcases that will run during the festival.

‘Little Simz’ first taste of what’s to come from her Meltdown hugely embodies the wealth of influences and inspirations across her work,’ says Jane Beese. ‘Ranging from jazz, hip hop, R&B, electronic and soul with a line up of both renowned legends alongside the creators of the future, this is only the start for what’s going to be London’s go-to festival this summer.’

In 2024, curator Chaka Khan welcomed the likes of Emeli Sandé, Lady Blackbird, Bruce Hornsby and Incognito to Meltdown, attracting tens of thousands of visitors.

Meet Little Simz

Born and raised in Islington to Nigerian parents, Little Simz is one of the UK’s most captivating visionary artists of her generation. Emerging on the music scene with three independently released albums – A Curious Tale of Trials + Persons (2015), Stillness in Wonderland (2016) and Grey Area (2019) – she rose to more widespread prominence with her 2019 Mercury Prize nomination for the latter, which spurned singles ‘Offence’ and ‘Boss’. Her later 2022 Mercury Prize win for Sometimes I Might Be An Introvert (2021) solidified her combined critical and commercial success. Simz also won the 2022 Brit Award for Best New Act.

‘Little Simz’ ability to forge new genre-defying ideas and her ambition to inspire the next generation of creators aligns with what the Southbank Centre’s artistic programme and vision stands for,’ says the Southbank Centre’s head of contemporary music Jane Beese. ‘We’re incredibly excited to witness the lineup she’ll curate and for the power of her great art, leadership and culture to bring people together on-site for our 30th year.’

When & Where?

Meltdown will take over the Southbank Centre from 12–22 June 2025.

How To Get Tickets

Tickets for newly added shows will go on sale to members on Wednesday 9 April at 10am, and to the general public at the same time on Friday 11 April. Stay up to date at southbankcentre.co.uk