Southbank Centre And Music Venue Trust Announce Hometown Meltdown, Taking Flagship Music Festival, Meltdown, Into Grassroots Music Venues Nationwide

Six celebrated artists will curate and host festivals in the grassroots venues of the towns and regions that shaped them
BETHESDA, WALES | FALMOUTH, ENGLAND | DUNDEE, SCOTLAND | SOUTHEND, ENGLAND | NOTTINGHAM, ENGLAND | SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND

The Southbank Centre today announces Hometown Meltdown, a national expansion of its flagship music festival, Meltdown, bringing two-day festivals to Grassroots Music Venues across England, Wales and Scotland, in partnership with Music Venue Trust (MVT) – the charity representing the nation’s grassroots music sector.

Founded in 1993, Meltdown is the world’s longest-running artist-curated music festival. Each summer, a different artist takes the reins, curating a programme at the Southbank Centre shaped by their own personal taste and influences, with past curators including David Bowie, Grace Jones and Chaka Khan. Following Harry Styles’ Meltdown in summer 2026, Hometown Meltdown takes the festival’s artist-led approach beyond London for the first time, into the venues and communities that play a vital role in the development of artists, audiences and new music.

Running from December 2026 to March 2027, the inaugural Hometown Meltdown will see six celebrated artists curate and host programmes in Grassroots Venues with which they have a personal connection. Each will bring their own artistic perspective to a programme featuring local artists alongside established and emerging performers from elsewhere, creating opportunities for audiences to encounter new music and for artists to connect with scenes beyond their usual circuits.

Grassroots Music Venues are a vital part of the UK’s live music ecology: places where artists experiment, develop their sound, build audiences and test new work. Despite the importance of their geographic spread to the artistic and economic landscape, 59.3% of the Grassroots Music Venues were excluded from significant tour routings in 2025. Gaps in touring circuits mean that some towns and cities have fewer opportunities to host touring artists and connect local audiences with live music from beyond their area.

Hometown Meltdown brings the Southbank Centre’s artistic and curatorial expertise together with the local knowledge, talent and creative networks of grassroots venues. As a national arts centre with a longstanding commitment to artistic experimentation, the Southbank Centre is taking the spirit and ambition of its flagship festival into new settings, supporting the programming of the two-day festivals across the UK’s network of Grassroots Music Venues.

Jane Beese, Head of Contemporary Music, Southbank Centre & Co‑Chair of MVT

“Grassroots Music Venues are a vital part of the ecology that allows artists and audiences to grow together. They are places where musicians take risks, develop their sound and build the relationships that sustain a music scene. Hometown Meltdown brings Meltdown into that part of the industry, connecting artists and venues across the country and creating opportunities for local talent to share a stage with performers they might not otherwise encounter. It’s about strengthening the connections that make the whole live music ecology work”

Mark Ball, Artistic Director, Southbank Centre

“As a national arts centre, the Southbank Centre has a vital role in bringing people together around ambitious artistic experiences and supporting the conditions in which new work can flourish. Meltdown has always given artists the freedom to shape a festival around the music and ideas that matter to them. Hometown Meltdown takes that spirit into Grassroots Venues across the UK, bringing the artistic ambition of our flagship festival into the places where musicians develop their practice and new audiences find their way into live music. It’s a celebration of the excellence already happening in these venues, and of what becomes possible when we connect creative communities across the country.”

Beverley Whitrick, COO, MVT

“Grassroots Music Venues are often overlooked in conversations about the cultural infrastructure for the UK, even though they provide access to incredible live music in well over 800 locations across the four nations. Not only is Hometown Meltdown an exciting project in terms of the curators, artists, venues and audiences it will bring together, but the Southbank Centre’s recognition and championing of these venues is a powerful statement about the music ecosystem. As the charity that works with GMVs day in and out, we are delighted to be a partner in this amazing project.”

The festival series reflects a shared commitment by the Southbank Centre and Music Venue Trust to strengthening not just cultural output, but the infrastructure and processes through which culture is made across the UK. Hometown Meltdown celebrates grassroots venues as a vital source of artistic innovation and creates new connections between the local music scenes that make up our national cultural life.

The programme launches during the Southbank Centre’s 75th anniversary year, extending the national reach of one of its best-known festivals and reinforcing its commitment to artistic excellence, experimentation and collaboration.

https://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/about-us/our-touring-programme/hometown-meltdown/