Meltdown 2026: Nilüfer Yanya

There’s a ritualistic feeling to entering The Queen Elizabeth Hall on a midsummer’s day; Meltdown Festival offers audiophiles a warm familiarity as the days stretch out before them. Those who had sauntered down to Southbank for this year’s offering presented by Harry Styles were about to have their Sunday scaries both soothed and supplanted in equal measure. 

The Berlin-based and London-raised musician Yaffra opened the show. Flanked by two musical virtuosos in Dave Okumu and Tom Skinner on guitar and drums respectively, this was a trio with no shortage of prowess. Leading from the seat of his piano, Yaffra presented a daring, vocal-infused jazz spectacle. Okumu’s glistening guitar sent deep, cutting strings of sound around the packed Brutalist theatre, dipping and diving between the haunting vocals and dancing drums with tremendous grace. For a man without any released music to his name, and a band that has seldom performed, there was a remarkable harmony between them all. A sense of purity and honest gratitude saw the show out. Keep an ear out for this man’s moody and melodic piano, because it was a wholly unexpected treat.  

The evening’s headliner has no shortage of released music, however she remains an elusive presence. Two years have passed since the release of her widely acclaimed third studio album Method Actor yet Meltdown represents her first live shows this year. Nilüfer Yanya arrives on stage to a warm embrace from the audience. Jumping straight into the title track of said album and hits ‘L/R’ and ‘chase me’ from PAINLESS it’s a punchy start from this pocket size rocker. Any self-confessed nerves or hiatus-shaped cobwebs were blown away with immediate effect. Her three piece band, all evidently highly multifaceted musicians, effortlessly melted into one another, creating tech-infused dreamscapes supercharged by the raw depth in Yanya’s vocal chords.. 

Her unique blend of soul-fired rock continued to reverberate around the concert hall until a saxophone-induced mid-gig gear change slowed the pace. A heartfelt and solo acoustic performance of ‘Treason’ pulled everyone’s attention to her voice which speaks well beyond her years. ‘Binding’ reanimated the band around her towards a run of older songs that at times felt like ballads given the magnetism with which they were being thrust from the stage. None less so than her eerie cover of PJ Harvey’s ‘Rid Of Me’.

A performance delivered with smiles all round, both on stage and from those watching on, a delightfully warm mid-afternoon treat matched perfectly by the sunshine fellow Londoners outside were basking in. Whilst your Instagram tagline reads “Pls don’t make me go back on tour”, it was so good to see you Nilufer, and we hope it isn’t so long until the next time.