Harry Styles Curates 31st Meltdown Festival Lineup
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- Harry Styles is curating this year's Meltdown Festival at London's Southbank Centre, running June 11–21 and marking the event's 31st installment; he follows previous curators Robert Smith, David Byrne, Nick Cave, Scott Walker, and Patti Smith.
- Styles will headline his own set at the Royal Festival Hall on June 16; tickets for that date haven't been announced, while general tickets go on sale Thursday.
- Kamasi Washington will perform two sets — a Miles Davis and John Coltrane tribute and selections from his 2024 album Fearless Movement — alongside jazz peers Shabaka Hutchings and Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke.
- The lineup spans LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy (DJ set), Jon Hopkins (live set with Maddie Ashman and Leo Abrahams), The Devonté Hynes Ensembled (new compositions), Beverly Glenn-Copeland (with wife Elizabeth), Bar Italia, Warpaint, Ninajirachi, and Erika de Casier.
- Styles said in a statement: "Music is my life; every artist involved in this year's Meltdown festival means so much to me, both as a fan and a musician."
Why it matters: Styles joins a legacy of Meltdown curators (Robert Smith, David Byrne, Patti Smith, Nick Cave), and his bookings — Ethio-jazz pioneer Mulatu Astatke, LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy, Kamasi Washington's Miles Davis tribute — reflect curatorial ambition beyond a pop vanity project. The staggered ticket sale, with Styles' own June 16 headlining date still unpriced, disadvantages his own fans.
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