Roundhouse Rising 2018 • Festivals • DIY Magazine

The week-and-a-half event isn’t just taking over the Roundhouse itself this year, but will also feature a series of talks and showcases at partner YouTube’s space in King’s Cross (just a brisk walk from DIY HQ, fact fans). As well as Rising alumni Little Simz’ ‘Welcome to Wonderland: The Experience - Part II’, acts including Blair Dunlop, Ailbhe Reddy, Awate and Kai Jones are set to play the festival.

Q&A

Ahead of this year’s event, we spoke to Jack Prideaux, the show producer behind Little Simz’ second run of ‘Welcome to Wonderland’…

How collaborative is the process as a whole?

Simz and her team are part of every decision, from which artists we program, the staging and set design, through to food and drink. The fact that Simz is so well liked and respected by her peers means that getting artists on board has been pretty easy, we’re super excited about this year’s line up.

What did you want to build upon and improve on, after last year’s first edition of ‘Welcome to Wonderland’?

We want to build on the one-day festival feel and really create an experience for audiences with more stages and performers, a market place and wonderland-themed food & drink offers. We’ll also have a live podcast recording, an art exhibition and panel discussion.

How important is a show like this to Roundhouse Rising as a whole?

Simz is a brilliant example of the journey a young person can go on from honing her skills in our studios as a teenager through to headline shows and now curating her own festival giving emerging artists the chance to share a bill with an internationally acclaimed line up and hopefully introduce audiences to their new favourite artist.

Tags: Little Simz, Roundhouse Rising, Festivals, Features