Watch Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae and more perform at ‘Mississipi Goddam’ London tribute
Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae and more led an all-star tribute to Nina Simone at London’s Southbank Centre. Check out footage, photos, the setlist and more below.
Held at the Royal Festival Hall on Friday (January 31), Mississippi Goddam: A Celebration Of Nina Simone saw the Nu Civilisation Orchestra honour the life of the legend with special guest singers, led by conductor Peter Edwards. The night was made all the more fitting by taking place in the venue of Simone’s legendary 1999 concert as part of Nick Cave‘s Meltdown. This was one of her final performances before her death in 2003.
Taking to the mic were the Mercury-nominated Mvula and Bailey Rae alongside neo-jazz star Ni Maxine, and acclaimed singer-songwriters China Moses and Tony Njoku – all spirited in song and speeches to honour Simone’s dedication to “Blackness, womanhood and the power of music”.
Exchanging lead vocal duties and often performing together, the gathered ensemble worked to capture different shades of Simone’s personality but ultimately capture her powerful spirit of defiance and lust for life.
Highlights of the night included the smooth and silky turns of Tony Njoku, Ni Maxine’s take on ‘I Loves You Porgy’, Laura Mvula’s tender renditions of ‘Plain Gold Ring’, ‘Stars’ and ‘Little Girl Blue’, China Moses’ weighty delivery of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ and ‘See Line Women’, Corrine Bailey Rae’s effortless spin on classics ‘Feeling Good’ and ‘I Put A Spell On You’, and any time that the ensemble came together in song.
The collaboration peaked with ‘Mississippi Goddam’ before an almighty encore that saw Bailey Rae announce that while they’d run out of songs to perform “we felt this song was talking through us” – before performing a thunderous reprise of crowd favourite ‘Four Women’ .
@robindunford Laura Mvula at The Nina Simone Celebration concert tonight
@robindunford NI Maxine at the Nina Simone Celebration concert tonight
@robindunford Had an amazing night at The Royal Festival Hall for the Nina Simone Celebration concert including Corinne Bailey Rae, in video, Laura Mvula, Ni Maxine, China Moses and Gary Crosby.
The ‘Mississippi Goddam’ tribute setlist was:
Set 1
‘See Line Woman’ – China Moses
‘I Loves You Porgy’ – Ni Maxine
‘I Wish I knew How’ – Tony Njoku
‘Plain Gold Ring’ – Laura Mvula
‘I Put a Spell on You’ – Corinne Bailey Rae
‘Be my Husband’ – Corinne with Ni Maxine and China Moses
‘My Baby Just Cares’ – Corinne Bailey Rae
Set 2
‘Africa Mailman’/’Sinner Man’ medley – instrumental
‘Little Girl Blue’ – Laura Mvula
‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ – China Moses
‘Baltimore’ – Tony Njoku
‘Four Women’ – Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ni Maxine, China Moses
‘Stars’ – Laura Mvula
‘Feeling Good’ – Corinne Bailey Rae
‘Mississippi Goddam’ – Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ni Maxine, China Moses
‘Four Women’ – Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ni Maxine, China Moses
The celebration was part of Montreux Jazz Festival’s residency and new partnership with Southbank Centre, which explores the question ‘What is jazz today?’. Simone notably gave a legendary performance at Montreux Jazz Festival in 1976 after she returned from exile in Liberia.
Montreux Jazz Festival returns to Switzerland in July 2025. Visit here for tickets and more information.
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Andrew Trendell
NME
