Massive Attack announce first live UK show in five years
Massive Attack are set to perform their first live UK show in five years in 2024 with a summer climate action event in Bristol.
The trip hop collective have announced Act 1.5, an all-day “large-scale climate action accelerator event” taking place August 25, 2024 at Clifton Downs in their hometown of Bristol, which will see Robert Del Naja and Grant Marshall play their first concert on UK soil in five years.
The event will mark 25 years of climate activism for the band, and it’s set to be the lowest carbon show of its size ever staged. Special guests are also due to be announced to join the line-up for the event.
Fans can sign-up for pre-sale tickets here by entering the first half of their postcode when asked. A localised ticket pre-sale will start 10 GMT Wednesday (December 6), before general sale tickets go on sale Friday (December 8), with the live time set to be confirmed.
Massive Attack’s Del Naja, AKA 3D, shared in a statement: “We’re chuffed to play our home city again and to be able do it in the right way. In terms of climate change action there are no excuses left; offsetting, endless seminars and diluted declarations have all been found out – so live music must drastically reduce all primary emissions and take account of fan travel. Working with pioneering partners on this project means we can seriously move the dial for major live music events & help create precedents that are immediately available.”
The event will celebration their collaboration with climate scientists and analysts from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, which has included the band’s commissioning of a compatible roadmap for decarbonisation of the Live Music Sector.
The band had previously planned a prototype show in Liverpool, but were unable to go ahead due to Covid-19 pandemic and their boycotting of an Arms Fair being held in the city.
Decarbonisation measures that will be taken for the show will include a localised pre-sale – available to Bristol, Bath and the surrounding Gloucestershire, Swindon and Taunton area postcodes – to to deter private car travel, the use of renewable energy and a rail travel incentive initiative.
Professor Carly McLachlan from The Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research said in a statement: “This is precisely the type of transformative approach that we need to see more of in the live music sector and indeed every sector; one that has the collaboration and vision to reduce emissions across all areas of impact and working beyond the areas you directly control to unlock the systemic change we urgently need to deliver on our Paris Agreement commitments”.
Massive attack will also be performing in Spain at Bilbao BBK Live next summer, which takes place from from July 11-13, 2024.
Back in October, Massive Attack guitarist Angelo Bruschini died just months after revealing his lung cancer diagnosis. The news was shared by the band, who described the guitarist as “a singularly brilliant & eccentric talent”.
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Hollie Geraghty
NME
