Gigs in London tonight

With its 30th edition taking place this summer, the Southbank Centre’s Meltdown Festival has long since established itself as a key date in London’s cultural calendar. Each year, the Southbank invites one celebrated artist to curate the festival, with such luminaries as David Bowie, Yoko Ono, Grace Jones, David Byrne, Nick Cave, Anohni and Chaka Khan have previously taken on the exciting tast. This year it’s the turn of Mercury Prize-winning rapper, Top Boy actor and previous Time Out cover star Little Simz.  She’s promising a boundary-pushing line-up for the eleven-day festival, featuring plenty of local and grassroots organisations, sets from the likes of The Streets and Ghetts, and the one-of-a-kind performances that have characterised Meltdown over the years culminating in a headline gig with the curator herself. The Southbank Centre has also announced a series of Meltdown Lates – club nights that will take place in the the Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer. It will see DJ sets from the likes od Little Simz, Sippin’ T, Talylah Elaine, DONCH, Jordss, NARX and PÉJÚ. Plus, there are a series of free talks and workshops taking place, with fashion designer Tolu Coker, actors Letitia Wright and Tosin Cole and artist Yinka Ilori all on the line-up to speak.  Line-up includes: Little Simz and Chineke! Orchestra, James Blake, BADBADNOTGOOD, Mahalia, The Streets, Ghetts, Sasha Keable, Lola Young, Nubya Garcia.  Find more great London festivals here.

If your new year resolution is to stop listening to the same Spotify playlist again and again, and get to know some new artists, W London has your back. The hotel’s new monthly music night, curated by DJ and W Music Curator, Juss Jak (Jakki Degg), gives emerging talent from the local and international music scene, a space on the decks. Spanning a range of genres from electronic and alt-pop to R&B and indie, sit down in the plush Perception Bar at W London’s Leicester Square outpost to hear hand-picked artists perform with a cocktail in hand. Ats on the bill include: Belgian-born multi-instrumentalist Ciinderella Balthazar, who blends alt-pop, soul and indie influences (April 3) and East London’s Liv East delivering a fusion of neo-soul, house and R&B (June 12). Plus, each night, AMPLIFIED opens with a set from Juss Jak, who proimses deep house grooves refined at venues like Ibiza’s Space Terrace.