What’s On: Cross the Tracks Festival of music, food and fun

A music festival which will take place in the summer has announced its full line-up, writes James Twomey.

Cross The Tracks Festival, now in its second year, has announced a mouthwatering 2020 edition with new names such as the legendary Madlib and Sister Sledge, alongside Sudan Archives, Greentea Peng, Shabaka & The Ancestors, London African Gospel Choir, Coops, Laura Misch, Neue Grafik Ensemble, SEED Ensemble and Steamdown.

It takes place on June 7 in Brockwell Park. Acts to watch out for include Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, Nu Guinea, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, Chris Dave & The Drumhedz and Theon Cross.

The festival is set to be an all -encompassing day out for lovers of music, great food and contemporary culture. Madlib is a giant of the hip-hop world who will play a special back-to-back set with Gilles Peterson.

From recent collaborations with Freddie Gibb to cult albums like Madvillany with MF Doom, his jazz remixes on Shades of Blue Note or genre-defining albums as Quasimoto, Madlib has taken hip-hop to its highest heights.

His ability to craft beats and lay down instrumentals is second to none and for that reason he is one of the most critically acclaimed in the industry.

Joining him will be the likes of Stones Throw record label artist Sudan Archives, the hugely
innovative violin player who mixes her playing with beautifully melancholic soul and hip-hop.

There will also be a show from South London experimentalist Laura Misch, who is defining new
soundworlds with her saxophone, synths and vocals.

There will be an in-the-know focus on the exciting emerging R’n’B and neo-soul scene, too, with acts driving things forward like Biig Piig, Sasha Keable, Charlotte Dos Santos and Collard all playing, plus hotly-tipped Greentea Peng.

The booming contemporary jazz scene will also be well represented by Neue Grafik Ensemble and SEED Ensemble, who are bringing fresh perspectives as well as compelling grooves to their productions and live shows which are hybrids of house, jazz and hip-hop.

Steam Down also line up and are a London collective who have supported Kamasi Washington, picked up two Jazz FM awards, appeared on the Jools Holland TV show, headlined their own UK and EU tours and brought real spontaneity to the jazz scene.

There will also be hip-hop from High Focus star Coops, a wide screen array from NTS’s legendary Breakfast Show host Charlie Bones, lo-fi bliss from super smooth Washington, DC singer Dreamcast, and soul-stirring sounds from London African Gospel Choir who will be performing Paul Simon’s Graceland, as well as a mix of disco from famously deep digging Chicago originator Sadar Bahar.