The London-based Meltdown Festival has announced fashion, music and cultural icon Grace Jones as the curator for the 2020 edition of the festival, which will take place from June 12-21. Each curator selects the musical acts who will perform throughout the festival, with prominent artists such as Nile Rodgers of Chic, and Robert Smith of The Cure taking the roles during the previous two iterations.
Each curator typically performs at the festival as well, last year both Rodgers and Chic performed separate sets, while Smith performed with The Cure. Rodger’s Meltdown festival hosted appearances from Johnny Marr, Thundercat and Kero Kero Bonito, while Smith’s iteration hosted appearances from Death Cab for Cutie, the Deftones and Nine Inch Nails.
Jones started her career in the entertainment industry by working as a model in New York City, and Paris before joining the famed Studio 54 disco scene in the late 1970s. Jones worked closely with fashion designer Jean-Paul Goude and the musical duo Sly & Robbie, after transitioning into a more new wave fusion inspired sound in the 1980s, which saw her release her three most iconic albums Warm Leatherette, Nightclubbing and Slave to the Rhythm.
Her work as a model which was focused on her distinct androgynous appearance and bold features, made Jones a queer icon, which she was recognized for in 2008 by winning the Q Idol Award. Jones also had a relatively successful film career in the 1980s appearing in Conan the Destroyer alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sarah Douglas, and in the 1985 James Bond movie A View to a Kill as May Day.
Leave a Comment