An eclectic mix of energetic talent, Urban Flames was formed in September 2016 with 6 young singer-songwriters who had showed great promise during previous Urban Development Holiday Writing Camps. Fast forward to today and the vocal collective has grown from 6 to 20 singers aged between 14 and 18 years old.

The group write and arrange their own songs and have just completed their first 6 track EP, showcasing their ability to blend contemporary pop and urban music. The group have an infectious vibe when performing together with the live band that accompanies them. They came 2nd at Hackney Empire’s Alter Ego, their first ever live show and competed in the Music For Youth National semifinals up against the best under 21 musical acts in the country. They have been invited to perform at the final at the Royal Albert Hall in December

Bringing the Festival to a close with singing from Brexit Girl, Poetry from Salena Godden, and other special performances.

PEN Pinter Prize, poet, performer, author, chancellor of Manchester University talk about his extraordinary memoir ‘My Name is Why’

CHAIR: Chris Keulemans

Evdoxia Lymperi

U.K. Correspondent for the Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT) since 2007 so British politics and current affairs are her bread and butter.

The last nine years have been turbulent times for the country, with a hung parliament, a Scottish referendum, the EU referendum, terror attacks, and, for the last three years, Brexit. In Greece, she’s “the Brexit lady on TV” or, “not her again” for those who are fed up hearing about it. Jokes aside, it’s the most complicated political problem of our times in this continent and she’s happy to cover it.

Jakup Krupa

Stefanie Bolzen

Eric Albert

French journalist, has been based in London for 16 years. He works for Le Monde as well as the Swiss newspaper Le Temps. Quite reluctantly, he has become a Brexitologist during the last three years, watching with sadness and puzzlement Britain tearing itself apart. He did a documentary last year on Brexit for France 5 and he has even now become a British citizen. In 2015, before imagining Brexit possible, he published a short book about the English ("Les Anglais dans le doute", Ateliers Henry Dougier).

With Peter Jukes, Caroline Orr and Otto English

A review of the papers hosted by the Curious Arts Festival - news and views and a stellar line up of festival speakers: hosted by Paul Blezard

Hailing from Salisbury, the self-proclaimed kings of 'mongrel rock' and new saviours of rock 'n' roll' performing songs about all things Salisbury; its people, places and events. Songs of love, songs of hope, songs of anguish and one about a couple of dodgy Russian ‘tourists’.

Subtle as a flying mallet, a bit unpredictable but always fun!!

Their new CD, ‘A Quintessential English Scandal’ will be available at the festival

Department S are best known for two top 40 hits “Is Vic There?” and “Going Left Right”. The band reformed in 2006 and have since then become a live must see live band playing numerous dates including Glastonbury, W Fest, Benicassim, Rewind, Green Man festivals and over 300 gigs in 9 countries playing along side Mott the Hoople, The Mission, The Godfathers, UK Subs, The Skids to name but a few

Current line up features the legendary Eddie Roxy and Pete Jones (Public Image Limited) on bass along with guitarist Phil Thompson (The Rezillos) and new drummer Simon Bowley joining from Eddie and the Hot Rods

2016 saw Department S release the 3 rd Department S album “When all is said and all is done” along with a single of the same name to rave reviews. October 2017 saw the release of another long player “45 Revolutions” (Singles 1980-2017). Work is currently underway for the next album due for release in 2020.

A British new wave/sophisti-pop band that formed in 1981 who epitomised the glamour of mid-80s pop at its most graceful and sophisticated.

Argonaut are purveyors of fiery female fronted alternative punk rock. The band released their self-titled debut in 2012, and unleashed their second album 'Try' in 2015. Their latest album 'Forever' was released last November, and they are highly influenced by The Velvet Underground, Sonic Youth, Nirvana, Blondie, Pixies, Le Tigre and The Slits.

Awarding Bad Press from the last year, with John Mitchinson, Hardeep Singh Kohi, Salena Godden and guests

Chair: Gavin Elser

Tara Grace

Jason Arthur

Doire Finn

Simranjeet Riyat

For more than twenty-five years, David Nott has taken unpaid leave from his job as a general and vascular surgeon with the NHS to volunteer in some of the world’s most dangerous war zones. From Sarajevo under siege in 1993, to clandestine hospitals in rebel-held eastern Aleppo, he has carried out life-saving operations and field surgery in the most challenging conditions, and with none of the resources of a major London teaching hospital.

The conflicts he has worked in form a chronology of twenty-first-century combat: Afghanistan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Darfur, Congo, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Gaza and Syria. But he has also volunteered in areas blighted by natural disasters, such as the earthquakes in Haiti and Nepal.

Driven both by compassion and passion, the desire to help others and the thrill of extreme personal danger, he is now widely acknowledged to be the most experienced trauma surgeon in the world. But as time went on, David Nott began to realize that flying into a catastrophe – whether war or natural disaster – was not enough. Doctors on the ground needed to learn how to treat the appalling injuries that war inflicts upon its victims. Since 2015, the foundation he set up with his wife, Elly, has disseminated the knowledge he has gained, training other doctors in the art of saving lives threatened by bombs and bullets.

War Doctor is his extraordinary story.

In association with MEND

Chair: Shazad Amin

Naz Shah
Caroline Orr

Richard McNeill- Wilson, European University Institute, Florence

Gina Miller

CHAIR: Hardeep Matharu

Naz Shah

Bonnie Greer

Dr Maya Goodfellow

Gina Miller is a businesswoman and transparency activist. She is the founder of Lead Not Leave and End the Chaos. She was the lead claimant in the successful legal fight to allow parliament to vote on whether the UK could start the process of leaving the EU.

Balaklava Blues is the brainchild of Mark and Marichka Marczyk, creators of the multi-award winning guerrilla-folk-opera Counting Sheep and leaders of the mighty Lemon Bucket Orkestra – Canada’s notorious 12 piece balkan-party-punk-massive. Falling somewhere between a traditional song cycle and a full blown multimedia techno show, the duo fuses Ukrainian polyphony and other folk traditions with EDM, trap, dub step, and more as a launching pad to explore the seemingly never-ending blues that have long emanated from the Ukrainian steppe.

Mark and Marichka composed all the music for Counting Sheep, a story of love and revolution. Balaklava Blues music is a reclamation of the violence perpetrated on the artists’ home country and they want to redesign and remix physical and psychological oppression and question how and why it continues to inform who we are and what we can become.

CHAIR: Malini Mehra

Damian Tambini

Andrew Ramsay

Ian Lucas has been Labour MP for Wrexham since 2001 and is currently a member of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee.

The Committee’s reports on ‘Fake News and Disinformation’ have been at the heart of uncovering the Cambridge Analytica Scandal and Ian has questioned Alexander Nix, Brittany Kaiser, Christopher Wylie, Arron Banks and a number of senior Facebook executives as part of the Inquiry.

Following Boris Johnson’s appointment as Prime Minister, Ian wrote to Johnson asking him to direct Dominic Cummings, now adviser to the Prime Minister, to give evidence to the Select Committee, which he has, so far, refused to do.

Ian was Business and Regulatory Reform Minister in Gordon Brown’s Government and was a Shadow Foreign Office and Defence Minister under Ed Miliband. He has served on the Select Committee since 2015.

A lawyer by background, Ian represented Trevor Rees-Jones, the sole survivor of the car crash that killed the Princess of Wales in 1997, and has taken a close interest in press, media intrusion and the law ever since. 

A review of the papers hosted by the Curious Arts Festival

Don’t miss this Hot Boppin, Groovin' 4 piece group playing Rockin, Roots Music with a Guitar, Double Bass & Stand Up Drums! Right across the board people seem to be lovin’ it – young, old, stupid, clever, hippies, punks, students, drop outs, mums, dads, drunks, weirdos, ravers, strippers, rockers, mods…Everybody loves that raw sound!

Black Kat Boppers hail from down on the South Coast Water Way in Southampton and are 4 fellas who love to play hard boppin’, jump up, rockin’ blues, dance music. Their influences include Rhythm & Blues, Jump & Jive, Ska, Doo-Wop with a lucky energy. Collectively, when all brought together, Black Kat Boppers sound is raw, authentic, sincere & unique.

A Russian feminist punk-rock collective that stages politically provocative impromptu performances in Moscow, on subjects such as the status of women in Russia formed in August 2911. The collective's lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to current Russian President.

The Priscillas have gained an awesome live reputation. Their shows leave audiences with huge grin, humming their catchier-than-flu tunes. They have honed their shows into proper events. They're not just the best all-girl band in the UK, but among the best bands in the country full stop. They make music to make the heart soar, the feet tap, and the jaw drop. On the cusp of rock n roll, punk and pop, they balance perfectly sweet tunes, sarky attitude, and romper stomping beats.

An Irish singer and songwriter. In February 2017 Don received an Irish World Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting and Production in London. He also received the award for Songwriter of the Year at the Irish Post Country Music Awards 2017 on August 30 2017.

Following his success writing for other artists, Mescall released his own album ‘Lighthouse Keeper’, in November 2018, which went in at number 1 in the Irish Independent Album charts.

British band that was formed in 1983. They are mainly known for their success in the mid-1980s and their jazz, Latin-flavoured music

Lowkey, is a rapper and activist based in London, England. Born Kareem Dennis, this English-Iraqi rapper has been known for his strong political views. He first gained fame through the series of mixtapes he released as a teenager. He later made it onto the national album charts with his sophomore LP Soundtrack to the Struggle in 2011.

A British-Congolese musician from Lewisham, London. Better known for his single's "Living In The Moment" which peaked at number 68 on the iTunes world chart and Playlisted by Spotify on the day of its release on the "New Music Friday UK" playlist whilst still unsigned and most recently "Summer Rain" Peaked at number 13 on the iTunes world chart. He is known for mixing genres such as Pop, Afrobeat, Afro house, Hip hop, UK RAP and Urban music

CHAIR: ASIM QURESHI

Lowkey

Hoda Katebi

Aamer Rahman

Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan

Dr Azeezat Johnson

Check out the groovy South London Choir led by the dynamic American composer and entertainer, MJ Paranzino..

This year’s theme is Musicals; from past old favourites to the new wave of ideas embracing the influence of England and beyond. If you would like to participate at rehearsal to join MJ’s GREAT BIG CHOIR, sign up and register with your contact details as you check in or just jump in on the day spontaneously when you see the time slot.

CHAIR: HARDEEP MATHARU in conversation
with Aisha ali-Khan, Shahmir Sanni and Lord Victor Adebowale