Craig David and Beverley Knight are among the very special guests confirmed for a night of celebration to mark 75 years since Windrush. The event at the Royal Albert Hall on 9 June is being curated and hosted by Trevor Nelson.
Other artists confirmed for the one-off show are saxophonist YolanDa Brown, poet Salena Godden, R&B group Loose Ends, calypsonian Tobago Crusoe, and ‘G-folk’ pioneer Hak Baker, whose acoustic music is rooted in grime.
Accompaniment will come from the Chineke! Orchestra, conducted by Chris Cameron.
The concert will capture the breadth of musical influence which the Windrush generation has had on British culture over the last 75 years, with performances including Loose Ends’ Hangin’ on a String, Hak Baker’s Windrush Baby, and Craig David’s Fill Me In, as well as renditions of classic tracks like Lord Kitchener’s London is the Place for Me, Bob Marley’s Is this Love, and Goldie’s Inner City Life.
It will also be broadcast on BBC Radio 2, on Sunday 18 June, as part of the BBC’s programming to mark the Windrush anniversary.
The ‘Windrush generation’ came to the UK from Caribbean countries between 1948 and 1971. The MV Empire Windrush had arrived in Tilbury on 22 June 1948, bringing workers from the Caribbean to help address a post-war labour shortage in the UK.
An allocation of subsidised tickets for the concert have been made available through community groups including the Windrush 75 network.