Little Simz Announced as Curator for London’s Meltdown Festival 2025

Little Simz has been announced as the curator of Meltdown Festival for 2025.

The event, which is held at London’s Southbank Centre, is now in its 30th edition and will see the rapper crafting an eclectic bill of music, art and workshops across eleven nights June 12-22. The full lineup is expected to arrive in the spring.

Simz joins a prestigious list of previous curators including the likes of The Cure’s Robert Smith, David Byrne, Grace Jones, Nick Cave, Jarvis Cocker and most recently, Chaka Khan.

“I’m super excited to be the 2025 Meltdown festival curator! My team and I are preparing 10 days of art, music, workshops and more,” Simz said in a statement. “So many incredible artists have curated this festival, so it’s a true honor 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.”

Jane Beese, Head of Contemporary Music, Southbank Centre said: “Little Simz’s 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 program and vision stands for. 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 onsite for our 30th year.”

The festival has forged a reputation for staging unique one-off performances over the years. Patti Smith performed her album Horses in full for her curation of Meltdown in 2005, while Rahim Redcar — fka Christine and the Queens — delivered a two-hour rock-opera show in celebration of his Paranoïa, Angels, True Love LP in 2023.

Simz’s new role, meanwhile, follows an illustrious few years in her career. Last summer, the 30-year-old performed on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage to glowing reviews, while she won the Mercury Prize for 2021’s Sometimes I Might Be Introvert. Outside of music, she has starred in the acclaimed Netflix series Top Boy.

Her most recent full-length release, 2022’s No Thank You, was accompanied by a short film directed by Gabriel Moses, the designer of the 2025 BRIT Awards trophy.