LIDO Festival, the newest addition to London’s summer calendar, is proud to announce the final addition to their landmark series of concerts. Today, Tuesday 18th February, sees Massive Attack announced to headline LIDO Festival in Victoria Park; their first London festival show in 9 years. On Friday 6th June, the iconic Bristol band will not only perform their acclaimed live show (designed in collaboration between Robert Del Naja, United Visual Artists and documentarist Adam Curtis) but continue their pioneering work with ACT 1.5 to rapidly decarbonise live music events. With their ongoing partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, their performance at LIDO will be 100% powered by battery - significantly reducing both carbon emissions and local air pollution.
Also performing will be Air, Yasiin Bey and The Alchemist are FORENSICS and Tirzah, with many more to be announced.
Last year, ACT 1.5 and Massive Attack hosted their first large-scale climate action accelerator in Bristol that sought to completely reimagine how music events can be staged. The all-day outdoor event, described by the New York Times as the “gold standard for green gigs” delivered an unprecedented network of decarbonisation methods across all scopes, and was the first practical phase of work designed with scientists from the renowned Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.
3 Months later, they applied their science based approach to an indoor event in Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena joined by IDLES and Nile Rodgers & Chic. Continuing their partnership with clean energy provider Ecotricity, ‘ACT 1.5 presents…’ aimed to test, operate & adapt a range of measures to dramatically reduce the level of carbon emissions & air pollution that would usually be produced at live music events.
ACT 1.5 and Massive Attack will now set a gold standard for environmentally conscious outdoor concerts in the capital when they come to East London, that perfectly fits the ethos of the new LIDO festival - a festival committed to sustainability that aims to bring together music, community, activism and industry.
Speaking about the event Robert Del Naja (3D) writes:
"To present London's first ever 100% battery powered festival day with a dynamic range of artists is an optimum outcome for us. History shows it's often the combination of art and science that overcomes the greatest challenges we face, so it's good to see LIDO take learnings from our ACT1.5 event last year and apply those technologies to where they see emissions coming from. Clean productions beginning this journey to normalisation is good news for everyone, but especially for music fans that come to festivals and the local communities that live around them."
Support will come from a stellar line-up including the French duo Air, famed for their elevated and otherworldly pop, including classics such as ‘Sexy Boy’, ‘Playground Love’, ‘Cherry Blossom Girl’ and ‘Kelly Watched the Stars’.
Also on the bill will be Yasiin Bey and The Alchemist are FORENSICS. Hip hop legends Yasiin Bey (formerly known as Mos Def) and The Alchemist recently presented a live streamed performance of FORENSICS on Bandcamp and a full album is set to follow. They said:
“FORENSICS is more than the name of an album, it’s descriptive of a new approach to delivering art, bringing together the experience of musical content with fashion, visual art, technology and community. The approach foments an intimate bond with the artists’ core audience, delivering an experience that resonates on multiple levels.”
South East London singer and songwriter Tirzah has released three albums, Devotion, Colourgrade and trip9love...???. They are the sound of contemporary contemplation: morning-after party rhythms, hazy melodies, hands-on instruments and the private space between them. Amid these post-Grime beats are hallucinatory songs from the emotional interior.
Jim King, CEO of European Festivals, AEG Presents, said:
“Big changes require both courage and determination, and I cannot speak highly enough of Massive Attack and their team for embracing the challenge of launching this important initiative. AEG was fortunate to collaborate with Massive Attack on the ACT 1.5 event in Bristol last summer, which set the standard and inspired our team to continue the work they have started at LIDO.
Massive Attack has demonstrated that there is a better way to operate for the future of both our planet and our industry.
LIDO represents the next step towards a broader adoption of industry-leading sustainability principles across AEG European Festivals, all while continuing to bring the world’s biggest artists and the best production to deliver incredible experiences for fans at our festivals.”
Massive Attack will join previously announced headliners Jamie xx (Saturday 7 June), OUTBREAK Fest (Friday 13 June), Charli xcx’s own party girl festival (Saturday 14 June) and London Grammar (Sunday 15 June) for the inaugural LIDO.
LIDO is putting artists first and handing them control, for a festival entirely programmed by the headliners. They will bring their favourite artists, collaborators, newly tipped artists and their own style to each day. From the acts to the artwork and stage design – every aspect is personal to them. Named after Victoria Park’s Lido Field, the 10-day event will offer hand-picked music line-ups with a strong focus on sustainability, as well as community events during the week.
More headliners, full line ups and programmes are to be announced. Follow LIDO on Instagram and X, and join their newsletter here for updates.
