Festivals
Go behind-the-scenes of Guy Garvey’s Meltdown
The Elbow frontman curated the nine-day long event at London’s Southbank Centre earlier this month.

Earlier this month, Manchester’s own Guy Garvey curated this year’s edition of Meltdown Festival and now, for those of us who weren’t able to head down to the Southbank Centre catch a glimpse of the festival in person, you can see exactly what went into the event itself.
Having curated a line-up that included the likes of Laura Marling, Richard Hawley, Lift To Experience and The Staves, the post-festival video clip captures the energy of the event itself, while grabbing Garvey himself for his insight into how it all came together.
That’s not all: Garvey also used the opportunity to speak out about the current refugee crisis, saying that “we have to demand that policies are changed.”
“When we’re talking about the government doing our bidding, it isn’t asking, or hoping. We have to demand that the policies are changed,” he said, during the final day of the event which was dedicated to the cause. “If we decide that they’re wrong, just the people in this auditorium could stop it. I’m a songwriter, so I wrote a song – it didn’t take long as my views are so clear to me. My opinion on this is not something I’ve had to sit and think about, it’s something that happens in the heart when you look into the face of another human being that’s suffering.”
To get a glimpse into just how this year’s Meltdown Festival went, watch the video below.
More like this

Robert Smith to guest curate 2026 Royal Albert Hall gig series for Teenage Cancer Trust
He’s personally selected Elbow, Mogwai, Manic Street Preachers, my bloody valentine, Garbage and Wolf Alice to perform at the iconic venue.
8th December 2025
Elbow air ‘Magnificent (She Says)’ video
Track is lifted from new album ‘Little Fictions’.
15th December 2016
Elbow are releasing a new album next February
Guy Garvey and co. have also announced a massive UK & Ireland tour for next year.
30th September 2016
Guy Garvey: “First and foremost, I wanted the line-up to be good”
The Elbow main man spills on his curation of this year’s Meltdown.
10th June 2016
Featuring Yard Act, Death Cab For Cutie, Graham Coxon, Maisie Peters and more.




