Young Fathers star to help curate Jupiter Rising music festival
Young Fathers star Alloysious Massaquoi is to help programme one of Edinburgh's leading summer music festivals, organisers have revealed.
The award-winning musician will be curating his own stage at Jupiter Rising, the annual event at the outdoor art gallery and sculpture park Jupiter Artland, in west Edinburgh.
The Dylema Collective, Mychelle and Distruction Boyz are among his first hand-picked acts to be revealed for the line-up of the festival, which will take over the outdoor attraction on the August bank holiday weekend.
The three-day festival, which brings together music, performance and art, is also working with a new collective of female and nonbinary singers and songwriters in Scotland to help shape this year’s programme.
Tamara Schlesinger, who formed Hen Hoose to take a stand against gender inequality in the music industry, will be curating a separate stage.
Emma Pollock, Suse Bear and Jayda are among the Hen Hoose acts who will be appearing at Jupiter Rising, along with Djana Gabrielle, Poster Paints, Amundah and Malka, Schlesinger’s own music project.
Jupiter Rising, which has a capacity capped at 1,000, transforms the outdoor attraction with multiple stages, tents and pop-up bars, while festival-goers are able to camp in the 100-acre grounds at Jupiter Artland.
Massaquoi, who was born in Liberia and moved to Edinburgh when he was four, formed Young Fathers with Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings when they were all teenagers after they met at an under-18s hip-hop night at the Bongo Club in Edinburgh.
The band won the Scottish Album of the Year Award twice in the space of four years and were also named winners of the Mercury Prize in 2014.
An official announcement from Jupiter Rising said: “Alloysious Massaquoi is one of the most influential artists in the Scottish music scene. Young Fathers produce music which spans genres and defies categorisation, always pushing artistic boundaries whilst delivering consistently awe-inspiring records, an ethos matching that of Jupiter Rising.
“Alloysious’ line-up includes some of the most adventurous artists working across spoken word, dance, performance, soul and house music, from the driving rhythms of Gqom phenomenon Distruction Boyz to the politically-charged anthems of Dylema Collective.
"The Hen Hoose collective has seen some of the finest female and non-binary songwriters and producers in Scotland work collaboratively, releasing their debut album Equaliser to five-star reviews.
"Live music took a blow during the pandemic, with female and nonbinary artists disproportionally impacted as a result of pre-existing biases in the sector.
“In the midst of this uncertainty, Hen Hoose grew as a gender nonconforming collective championing community, connection with an inspirationally talented group of artists at its core."
Massaquoi said: “I’m excited for the crowd to experience the creative work of the artists I’ve chosen. My advice to them is, come ready, be open and take a chance.”
Schlesinger said: “We are taking this opportunity to highlight some incredibly talented female and nonbinary artists in Scotland.
“It feels refreshing to be involved in putting together such a diverse and gender balanced line-up at a festival."