NTS Radio curates a live stage at this year’s OnBlackheath festival, as they celebrate their 5th year.
An incredibly exciting line up sees Thundercat and Connan Mockasin announced to headline the NTS Stage at OnBlackheath on Saturday 10 September.
New to OnBlackheath for 2016, over the last half decade NTS has grown a local community of music lovers into the leading online platform for underground music worldwide. With beginnings in London and now studios across the country and in the US, the station celebrates its 5th year of broadcasting this year. NTS events are always highlights on London’s music calendar, and they’ll be bringing their highly respected curatorial eye to their stage at OnBlackheath.
In their own words: “OnBlackheath Festival is a unique opportunity for NTS to showcase its diversity in a beautiful South London setting. With headliners Thundercat and Connan Mockasin, NTS is excited to be heading south of the river to explore a different part of the wide-ranging NTS musical spectrum.”
LA’s finest - Thundercat - recently won his first Grammy Award for 'These Walls' with Kendrick Lamar along with a host of nominations for his work on the hottest album of 2015: “To Pimp A Butterfly”. In addition to his outstanding output for Brainfeeder (his recent mini-album “The Beyond... Where The Giants Roam” featured the smash hit 'Them Changes') he has worked with an extensive list of world-class musicians including Erykah Badu and Flying Lotus, and is currently in the studio with jazz pioneer Herbie Hancock.
Sharing the headline slot is maverick musician Connan Mockasin, who initially grabbed the world’s attention with his band, Connan and the Mockasins. After the release of Caramel in 2013 he caught the eye of peers like Radiohead, who invited him to support them on their world tour in 2014. He has recently been working with Charlotte Gainsbourg, and was chosen by Guy Garvey (who headlined OnBlackheath last year) to perform at this year’s Meltdown. His last UK headline show was back in 2014 so this year’s appearance at OnBlackheath at the NTS stage will be a special one.
Alongside these two giants, A.R. Kane, Bradford-born Laura Groves, NTS resident Alexander Nut and South London multi-instrumentalist Duval Timothy will be making special appearances in what will be a spectacular celebration of musical diversity.
The Main Stage on Saturday 10 September boasts an incredible line-up of Primal Scream, Hot Chip, Roisin Murphy, LoneLady and Rosie Lowe. The very best culinary delights are still to be revealed at the John Lewis Food Village with a food demonstration stage coupled with celebrity chefs and an immersive dining experience. OnBlackheath will offer festivalgoers a memorable experience on the historic green space of London’s Blackheath Common SE3.
For the first time Puffin Books will be bringing to life the kid’s experience with their World of Stories across the Festival. OnBlackheath embraces families as under 12s go free!
OnBlackheath has established itself as a landmark event in the London calendar and has previously presented the likes of Massive Attack, Grace Jones, Elbow, Madness, Manic Street Preachers and Kelis. Last year over 30,000 music and food lovers gathered to enjoy OnBlackheath, across the two days.
Published on 15 April 2016 by Ben Robinson
