Corinne Bailey Rae/Laura Mvula with Nu Civilisation Orchestra, plus Soweto Kinch’s Soundtrack to the Apocalypse for Southbank X Montreux 2025 line-up

The first names have been confirmed for next year’s inaugural edition of the new partnership between London’s Southbank Centre and the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland with a celebration of the musical and civil rights legacy of Nina Simone as its core theme.

The weekend of events kicks off on Friday 31 January with Mississippi Goddam: A Celebration of Nina Simone featuring leading female artists Corinne Bailey Rae and Laura Mvula who join forces with the Nu Civilisation Orchestra, led by conductor Peter Edwards, with arrangements by Jules Buckley at the Royal Festival Hall. This will be followed by the premiere of saxophonist/MC Soweto Kinch’s new album, Soundtrack to the Apocalypse, which is the third in his trilogy of work that began with Black Peril, and followed by his most recent orchestral-jazz-rap album White JuJu, with the new music performed on 1 February 2025 at Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The Swiss festival is famed for not just its starry headliners but also its spontaneous jam sessions which are recreated here with a late night Montreux Jazz Festival & Southbank Jam in the QEH Foyer with a specially convened house band comprised of an all-female/non-binary group of musicians (1 Feb, 10pm-1am).

The weekend closes out with NYJO: The Fire Inside, which sees the National Youth Jazz Orchestra, rising vocal name Lucy Anne Daniels and conductor Peter Edwards combine in tribute to political activist James Baldwin, who Nina Simone shared a deep friendship, underpinned by their shared experiences, their passion for justice, art and the liberation of African American people (2 Feb, Purcell Room, 6pm – 8pm).

For full details visit www.southbankcentre.co.uk/