The Music is Black Festival celebrates the breadth and influence of Black British music culture. Spanning Grime, Jazz, Reggae, Afrobeats, Lovers Rock, club culture, Queer nightlife and Afrofuturism, over several weekends.
Lead curator and cultural engineer Gillian Jackson has assembled a remarkable group of artists and collectives to explore Black British music as a significant cultural force. A force that influences sound, fashion, dance, and community. Expect to see performances by notable artists such as Footsie, Jamz Supernova, FLOHIO, Shy One, YolanDa Brown, BORN N BREAD, and more. Each institution will also host a program that includes film screenings, panel discussions, listening sessions, and more.
Queer Frequencies at The Music is Black Festival
Curated by Shy One, Donnie Sunshine, Mark-Ashley Dupé, Joel Mignott and Zinzi Minott
Queer Frequencies explores the evolution of Black music, tracing a journey from disco to the birth of house music. It celebrates the sound, legacy, and future of Black queer music culture, highlighting the impact of underground club spaces and grassroots collectives, as well as the globally recognised artists who are shaping culture and dance floors today.
The Queer Frequencies weekend is designed to honour the movements that have shaped decades of nightlife and organising. It also provides an opportunity for new generations to connect, collaborate, and advance together. Through a variety of DJ sets, live music performances, and shared experiences, the program will take you on an unexpected journey, featuring everything from forgotten cult classics to high-energy dance music.
Stay tuned for the full line-up.
https://www.queenelizabetholympicpark.co.uk/themusicisblackfestival/queer-frequencies
Queer Frequencies Weekender at Sadler’s Wells East
On Saturday 22 August, Zinzi Minott’s Together We Felt The Bass responds to the Queer Frequencies weekend with an evening of dance, poetry and sound art inspired by Queer nightlife and will celebrate drum and bass, dancehall, jungle; collaborators for this evening include the DJ GIN_, and poet and sound artist Remi Graves. On Sunday 23 August, Queer carnival collective Faggamuffin Bloc Party will host a full-day pre-carnival party with DJs, MCs and dancers.
The Music is Black Festival is at East Bank, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.
Getting there: Ten tube and train links, including the 24-hour night tube on the Central line and the Jubilee line.
