ANDY HEDGECOCK is entertained by a playful novel that embeds a fictional game at its heart
Latest editorial
Rodgers, the ringmaster, has them dancing in the aisles
MIK SABIERS just soaks up the atmosphere of joyous abandon
[Victor Frankowski]
Death comes for Liberals, entitled murder, Vatican hit squads, and fraternising with the Blitz killer
New releases from Public Image Ltd, William Basinski, and John Luther Adams
GABRIELE NEHER draws attention to an astoundingly skilled Flemish painter who defied the notion that women cannot paint like men
The Bard pays homage to Hull’s finest promoter and venue, and awards Douze Points to Laibach
KEVIN DONNELLY outlines how the bourgeois institutions inhibit our ability to to view art in revolutionary ways, and suggests some tactics to overturn it
Nile Rodgers and CHIC
Meltdown Festival
Royal Festival Hall
★★★★
It’s the opening night of this year’s Meltdown — the world’s longest running artist-curated festival — and standing centre stage in the spotlight in the Royal Festival Hall is none other than musical maestro and producer extraordinaire Nile Rodgers.
Rodgers, following in the footsteps of David Bowie, Robert Smith, MIA, Robert Wyatt and many more, is in charge of curating this year’s festival, bringing together an eclectic selection of music and events on London’s South Bank.
And on this opening night he treats the audience to an anecdote-filled welcome and walk through some of the highlights of his career from being inspired by Bryan Ferry, partying with Madonna, facing strikes in France, recording with Bowie and sweeping up for Sinatra all framed under the aegis of “I write ensemble music.”
Similar stories
As part of the 2025 London Jazz Festival Rich Mix offered intriguing sessions titled 'Persian Jazz,' CHRIS SEARLE was there
WILL STONE takes a ticket to indie disco heaven, but misses the rarely performed tunes
This is a concert of ambition and courage by organist and improviser Wayne Marshall, says SIMON DUFF
MIK SABIERS wallows in a night of political punk and funk that fires both barrels at Trump