Grace Jones Opens 27th Meltdown Festival - Noise11.com
Grace Jones photo by Damien Loverso, music news, noise11.com

Grace Jones photo by Damien Loverso

Grace Jones Opens 27th Meltdown Festival

by Music-News.com on June 14, 2022

in News

Grace Jones opened her curated edition of the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown festival with an enthralling concert in the Royal Festival on Friday 10 June. Visibly ecstatic to be performing for an audience that has had to wait two years to see her live Meltdown performance due to cancellation and delay caused by the pandemic, Grace Jones opened the festival with an imperious performance full of her characteristic style, splendour and spell-binding stage presence.

Joined by Southbank Centre resident, Chineke! Orchestra, and choir The Soul Sirens, Grace Jones worked through a masterful repertoire of rarities, new tracks and old hits. Descending down stairs built on the Royal Festival Hall stage, a suited Grace Jones, complete with a towering top hat, opened with her hit ‘Nightclubbing’ while other highlights included hula hooping through ‘Slave To The Rhythm’ and a new track, ‘Blacker Than Black’. Accompanying the music with dazzling outfit changes, from a mirror ball headpiece to a billowing black cape, and a wry, witty commentary, her performance was certainly worth the wait and the addition of special guest Dave Okumu only heightened the thrilling atmosphere of the evening.

Elsewhere during the opening weekend, dub pioneer Adrian Sherwood gave a moving, bass-laden tribute to his friend, collaborator and former Meltdown curator Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry followed by Honey Dijon who hosted proceedings for the after party in the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, which ran long into the early hours. Peaches, meanwhile, transformed the Royal Festival Hall into an intoxicating party complete with a giant inflatable condom while back-to-back shows from Cut Hands and Hercules and Love Affair kept the tempo hard and fast. Closing out the opening weekend, Angélique Kidjo performed her GRAMMY award-winning album Mother Nature with the help of Nigerian mega-star Yemi Alade and South African rising talent Desire Marea gave their first-ever UK performance in the intimate Purcell Room.

Across the Southbank Centre, the public got into the full spirit of Grace Jones’ Meltdown. On Friday 10 June, radio station No Signal took over the Riverside Terrace with a high energy roster of DJs and artists while, on Saturday 11 June, fans donned their skates in tribute to the iconic image of Grace Jones at Compo Beach for ‘Roll Up To The Bumper’ featuring roller-skating masterclasses and music. Finally, thunderous sound systems Jah Youth and Lionpulse went toe-to-toe on Sunday 12 June in celebration of Grace Jones’ native Jamaica.

Grace Jones’ Meltdown continues until Sunday 19 June with tickets remaining for many of the unique events. Huge shows in the Royal Festival Hall from Hot Chip and Kasai Allstars, the Love Unlimited Orchestra with Bloc Party’s Kele Okereke, Greentea Peng and Skunk Anansie will reflect the incredible career and influence of the curator before Grace Jones herself draws the curtain on this year’s edition with a not-to-be-missed festival-style show.

Meanwhile, the Queen Elizabeth Hall will feature post punk powerhouse Dry Cleaning, Dave Okumu reworking some of Grace Jones’ most legendary albums, the Songbird of Wassoulou Oumou Sangaré as well as the masterful Meshell Ndegeocello and an up-close audience with alt folk piano-man John Grant. In a very special appearance, Sky Ferreira will take over the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer for a late night show on Thursday 16 June, celebrating the release of her long-awaited new single ‘Don’t Forget’. The Purcell Room will continue to be a hotbed of exciting talent with performances from experimental duo Kevin Richard Martin and Hatis Noit, the eclectic Two Another, DIY punk group Big Joanie, Southbank Centre favourite Skinny Pelembe, Noisettes frontwoman Shingai and South London’s cktrl with the London Contemporary Orchestra.

There is also another packed weekend of free activities to come: ‘Slay to the Rhythm’ with ShezAr & The Soul Sirens, who made their first appearance during the opening night of the festival, will invite the public to join in as they rework Grace Jones’ classics into gospel masterpieces while ‘A Night of a Thousand Graces’ with Africa Fashion Week London will see models, and anyone who can dress the part, to strut their stuff on the catwalk. Finally, Marawa’s Majorettes will lead a mass-hula-hooping homage to Grace Jones complete with workshops, routines and performances.

Grace Jones Setlist

Nightclubbing
Walking in the Rain
Born Black
My Jamaican Guy
I’ve Done It Again
Demolition Man
War No More
Love Is the Drug
I’ve Seen That Face Before (Libertango)
Williams’ Blood
Amazing Grace
Slave to the Rhythm
Hurricane
Pull Up to the Bumper

music-news.com

Be the first to see NOISE.com’s newest interviews and special features on YOUTUBE and updated regularly. See things first SUBSCRIBE here: Noise11 on YouTube SUBSCRIBE

Noise11.com

Follow Noise11 on Social Media

Noise11 on Instagram

You’ll discover music news first following Noise11 on Twitter

Comment on the news of the day, join Noise11 on Facebook

Related Posts

George Clinton, Parliament: Photo Ros O'Gorman
George Clinton Is Bringing Parliament-Funkadelic Back To Australia

Funk legend George Clinton is bring Parliament-Funkadelic back to Australia in September 2025 with dates in Melbourne, Brisbane, Sydney and Gold Coast.

7 hours ago
Paul Hester from the Peter Green archives
Paul Hester Mini-Doco ‘Hessie’ Goes Live To Mark 20th Anniversary of Paul’s Passing

26 March 2025 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Crowded House/Split Enz drummer Paul Hester.

9 hours ago
Frank Ferrer Guns N Roses perform at the MCG in Melbourne on Tuesday 14 February 2017. Guns N Roses are touring Australia on their Not In This Lifetime tour.
Guns N’ Roses New Drummer Is Isaac Carpenter of AWOLNATION

Guns N’ Roses have announced the new drummer for the band is Isaac Carpenter of AWOLNATION.

2 days ago
UK Subs
UK Subs Denied Entry Into the USA

UK punk band UK Subs have been denied entry into the United States.

2 days ago
Andy Peebles picture from his Facebook page
UK Radio Legend Andy Peebles Dies Aged 76

Former BBC Radio One DJ Andy Peebles has died at the age of 76.

2 days ago
Hoodoo Gurus photo by Ros O'Gorman
Hoodoo Gurus To Headline Party At The Point

Hoodoo Gurus will headline Party At The Point, an event to mark the 10th anniversary of Sandstone Point Hotel as an entertainment venue.

3 days ago
Christopher Cross at SXSW 2012
How a 30 Rock Christopher Cross Joke Turned Into A Song

Christopher Cross has been name-checked in The Simpson, Family Guy and Seinfeld but his favourite is when Tina Fey once made a Christopher Cross reference and Christopher turned it into a song and became the topic of a future show story.

5 days ago