FKA twigs will curate Meltdown at London's Southbank Centre from June 10 to 20, 2027, and give a headline performance during the festival. The announcement arrives alongside Hometown Meltdown, a new series of smaller festivals around Britain with a different curator in each place.

The two projects share an approach to programming, but they have separate calendars and hosts. That distinction is useful before anyone starts making travel plans around twigs' name. Her appointment covers the London edition; it does not put her on a six-stop regional tour.

Twigs becomes Meltdown's 32nd curator. Her work has moved between songwriting, production, choreography and film, from LP1 in 2014 through Magdalene in 2019 to the two Eusexua releases in 2025. Here, that range becomes a brief to choose other performers as well as present her own show. A curator announcement therefore tells us who is shaping the programme, while leaving most of the eventual bill open.

What is already fixed for London?

The June dates cover eleven days, including two weekends. Dozens of concerts are planned across the Southbank Centre site, with free events and activities on both weekends. The full line-up and details of twigs' headline show are due in spring. A festival date range is consequently available now; a date and ticket for her individual performance are still things to check later.

That also leaves a distinction between free programming and the entire festival being free. The promised weekend activities do not establish admission terms for every concert. Readers choosing a London visit should wait for the relevant event listing before treating a particular show as part of an open-access day.

How does Hometown Meltdown fit?

The regional series starts earlier, at Neuadd Ogwen in Bethesda on December 12 and 13, 2026, with Kelly Lee Owens curating. It continues through winter and ends with Rhoda Dakar at Sheffield's FORGE Warehouse on March 25 and 26, 2027. Stewart Lee, Kathryn Joseph, Jamie Cullum and Pauline Black host the other editions in Falmouth, Dundee, Southend and Nottingham respectively.

Six two-day programmes add up to twelve local festival days, spread across England, Wales and Scotland. They are not a travelling copy of the eleven-day London bill. The Southbank Centre and Music Venue Trust are instead taking the artist-led model into venues with their own creative networks, pairing local performers with artists from elsewhere.

For audiences, the useful choice is between following a curator's London programme and exploring a particular local venue's scene. Both programmes can lead listeners beyond familiar names, but the host, place and timing give each its own starting point.