The Red Bull Music Academy Tour will visit Leeds for the very first time, recognising the city’s status as a focal point of musical culture for the UK. From 27th – 30th October, the musical icons and rising stars of the city will be given the platform to throw down and celebrate their contribution to the UK’s scene. They’ll be joined by international names that connect the dots between the UK and a global exchange of musical ideas.
The programme continues the Academy’s nearly 20-year mission to celebrate and educate within music, shining a light on vital artists and movements from music’s past, present and future. Across genres as diverse as hip hop, grime, soul, house, techno, garage and electro, the RBMA UK Tour will present club nights, studio sessions, AV shows, art installations, radio broadcasts and, ever at the centre of the Academy experience, intimate live lectures with some of today’s most important artists. Running concurrently in October, the Red Bull Music Academy itself lands in Montreal, with an accompanying programme of events to be announced.
The final stop on the UK Tour, Leeds opens with grime legend Giggs. The undisputed breakthrough hero of the UK rap scene joins journalist, ID’s Music Editor and author of “This is Grime”, Hattie Collins for an exploration of his illustrious career. After their discussion, attendees will get a first glimpse of Collins’ new exhibition ‘An Eye on Grime’, as it tracks the work of the grime scene’s major documenters. Later at The Garage, Giggs is joined by the original godfather DJ, Slimzee, going B2B with current Jedi on deck, Grandmixxer. Accompanying on the mic are new-school favourite Mez, pirate radio king Jammz, local Leeds boy Dialect, plus Nadia Rose. 1Xtra selector Sian Anderson warms up what’s sure to be a memorable night celebrating grime’s vivid past and boundless future.
Piling into one of the UK’s finest small clubs, an all-Berlin techno takeover hits Wire, featuring Berghain resident Marcel Dettmann, and the trio of Laurel Halo, Objekt and Call Super, before another top of the range DJ billing sees Canal Mills welcome one DJ Harvey back to Leeds for the first time in 25 years, bringing with him a house-leaning line up including Leon Vynehall, Job Jobse and Palms Trax. Rounding off the Tour, Shura shares some of the inspiration that saw her go from her West London bedroom to headline tours and festivals, while a special Halloween treat takes over the Hyde Park Picture House, with a live-scored screening of indie-horror smash It Follows. Composer Disasterpiece’s now famous original score will be arranged and played live by Red Bull Music Academy Montreal participant to be Emma Jean Thackray and seven musicians.