Playlist: Harry Styles’ Meltdown

Normally we ease you into these line-ups, start with maybe half a dozen artists in our first announcement. Not this year, as we hit you with 18 different acts who’ll be appearing at this summer’s Meltdown, straight off the bat.

Curated by Harry Styles, this year’s Meltdown, the 31st edition of the festival, brings together a wide-ranging line-up that spans electronic, jazz, pop and experimental music. And it all gets underway on Thursday 11 June when Warpaint open the festival in our Royal Festival Hall, with their only 2026 show. 

On Meltdown’s opening weekend our Royal Festival Hall stage welcomes the intimate dreamy pop of Erika de Casier (Sat 13 Jun) and two performances from Kamasi Washington (Sun 14 Jun); Jazz Legends Reimagined, revisiting and reshaping canonical works, and Fearless Movement Live, a sweeping, full-ensemble show rooted in spiritual jazz and cinematic composition.

In Meltdown’s midweek, Harry Styles plays his festival headline performance in the Royal Festival Hall (Tue 16 Jun), followed in the venue by Mulatu Astatke’s pioneering Ethio-Jazz sound (Wed 17 Jun) and a deeply personal blend of folk, ambient and electronic music from Beverly Glenn-Copeland (Thu 18 Jun).

The festival’s second weekend opens in the Royal Festival Hall with a special performance that blends contemporary composition, classical instrumentation and experimental arrangements, courtesy of the Devonté Hynes Ensemble – featuring Devonté Hynes, Adam Tendler, Cæcilie Trier and Tariq Al-Sabir (Fri 19 Jun), before drummer and composer Yussef Dayes plays the same stage the following night (Sat 20 Jun). 

And that’s just the Royal Festival Hall. In our Queen Elizabeth Hall, things get underway with a night rooted in improvisation and musical exchange from Shabaka Hutchings and special guests (Fri 12 Jun), followed on that opening weekend by a genre-blending set from Foushée (Sat 13 Jun) and Nilufer Yanya’s blend of angular guitar work and intimate vocal moments.

The music continues in the Queen Elizabeth Hall as we move towards Meltdown’s second weekend with the lo-fi textures and indie rock mix of bar italia (Thu 18 Jun), and Orlando Weeks (Fri 19 Jun) in his only solo live show of 2026. And wrapping up or Queen Elizabeth Hall line-up (for now) is Jon Hopkins, who’s joined by Maddie Ashman and Leo Abrahams for a night of special improvised performances on Saturday 20 June.

And still there’s more! We’ve two gigs confirmed for our Purcell Room, which hosts the intimate songwriting of Stephen Fretwell (Fri 12 Jun) before attempting to contain the raw eclectic energy of Getdown Services (Tue 16 Jun). And we’ve two late-night sets to look forward to in our Queen Elizabeth Hall Foyer, courtesy of the shimmering synths and club vibes of Ninajirachi (Fri 12 Jun) and the unmistakable blend of electronic punk and dancefloor energy of James Murphy (Sat 20 Jun).

All that, and there’s still more to be added, not least a special programme of free and participatory events inviting audiences of all ages to experience this year’s festival. But why wait until the summer to hear from this exciting 18? Get yourself into the mood right now by whacking on your headphones and throwing yourself into this tantalising three-hour thirty-three-minute playlist.

Tickets for gigs as part of Harry Styles’ Meltdown go on sale to Southbank Centre Members on Thursday 9 April, and on general sale on Friday 10 April. This does not include tickets for Harry Styles’ performance, the on-sale details of which will be announced soon.