Summer Ball 2019 Main Stage Line-Up

Here it is, your official Main Stage line-up for this year’s Summer Ball and we’re delighted to announce Mabel as your headline act as we prepare to end 2018/19 in style!

After being named Critics’ Choice winner at the 2018 BRIT Awards, Mabel has seen continued success and earned a nomination in the British Breakthrough Act category at this year's BRITs as her rapid rise to the top shows no signs of slowing down. Her latest single 'Don’t Call Me Up' is taking The Official UK Top 40 Singles Chart by storm, currently sitting at no.3 and spending eight consecutive weeks in the top ten since its release in January.

Mabel

An effortless storyteller with a pure and unfiltered singing talent and songwriting ability, Mabel McVey has an instinctive gift of melody far beyond her 22 years.

Indeed Mabel has made quite the impression since bursting on to the scene in September 2015 with her release ‘Know Me Better’. Quietly released onto Mabel’s personal SoundCloud, the single didn’t remain a secret for long, putting the wheels in motion for Mabel to become a fresh and exciting name amongst a brand new generation of R&B chanteuses.

In the three and a half years since then, Mabel’s growth (musically, emotionally, and visually) has been extraordinary. Her formative material led to the surprise breakthrough of ‘Finders Keepers’ ft. Kojo Funds in 2017, which went platinum, spent five weeks in the top ten, and saw Mabel nominated for her first BRIT Award (Critics’ Choice).

She has gone from playing nervous, intimate shows to touring with Harry Styles, to selling out her own dates around the world (including London’s Brixton Academy). Over two million single sales in the UK and over half a billion streams followed.

Repaying all her early promise in the process, Mabel has emerged as one of the UK’s most positive, candid lyrical voices, with songs that frequently explore everything from identity (sexual, racial, personal), to the challenges of modern relationships, and working out who you are and what you want.

Other notable top 20 chart successes include 'My Lover' with Not3s (14) and Fine Line' ft. Not3s (11), both from the 'Ivy to Roses' mixtape, as well as the catchy 'Ring Ring' (12) with Jax Jones ft. Rich the Kid.

Lady Leshurr

Hailing from Birmingham, Lady Leshurr is best known for her Queen's Speech series of freestyles which went viral in 2015. Her standout single ‘Queen's Speech 4’ garnered worldwide attention and has racked up over 56 million YouTube views!

Born Melesha O'Garro in 1988 to parents from the Caribbean Isle of St. Kitts, her first foray was into poetry and writing at age six, before releasing her first mixtape at age 14. In her words: "I grew up around music. My mum used to play a lot of reggae like Sister Nancy and Bob Marley around the house so basically, when I was around six, I was messing about and doing my own little raps and songs. My family are all rappers and singers anyway so I was always involved in it from a young age."

Her accolades include winning a MOBO Award for Best Female Act in 2016, following up the second place she received in the same category at the Official Mixtape Awards in 2011.

Danny Howard

Following his discovery through a Radio 1 talent search, which led to him opening the iconic Radio 1 Ibiza Weekend in 2011, Danny Howard has become an influential presenter, producer, and all-round champion of electronic music.

Well-respected as one of the world’s leading dance music DJs, he’s had a hand in supporting the early careers of global superstars such as Martin Garrix, Duke Dumont and Rudimental, and gained props from all across the scene; from Eric Prydz to Calvin Harris, Dusky, and Gorgon City.

Danny Howard presented Radio 1’s Dance Anthems for more than five years before joining Pete Tong and Annie Mac on the legendary Friday night dance line-up. Expect the best in house and underground dance music: “a true reflection of what I play out when I DJ. Expect back-to-back fire for two hours!”

Massaoke

If you’ve attended Summer Ball before, these guys need no introduction, but for the benefit of the rest of you…

Massaoke is the live band, singalong sensation that’s sweeping the UK, from Glastonbury to the Edinburgh Fringe. Playing the greatest pop, indie and rock anthems of all time, you'll be singing and swaying along, guided by lyrics on the big screen.

There’s no dreaded karaoke spotlight here – this is Massaoke, where everyone sings and dances their hearts out together in a unique live-gig atmosphere. The result is a euphoric celebration of some of the best songs ever written and an unforgettable night out.

Taking you through to the early hours of the morning and the 6am survivors’ photo, you won’t want to miss this party!

Old Dirty Brasstards

Another act making their Summer Ball return, Old Dirty Brasstards thrilled the Founder's crowd in 2016 and 2017 with their unique recipe of tweed-clad drum ‘n’ brass.

Formed in Forest Hill – South East London’s melting pot of music making – the ten-piece band have been dishing out their brassy tunes since 2012. They can be seen serving up well-marinated dancefloor fillers at top venues such as Fabric, the Forum, Hammersmith Apollo, KOKO, the Roundhouse and Scala, or delivering sizzling sets at UK festivals such as Bestival, Glastonbury, Latitude and Secret Garden Party.

In 2016 the band entered the studio to record their debut eponymous album. A stand-alone single ‘Paranoid Android’ was released in 2017, accompanied by a live-action video remake of the original Radiohead animation by Magnus Carlsson. A festive EP ‘Sleigh Another Day’ then followed in 2018, complete with a parody video of a classic East 17 ballad.

2019 sees the band present a series of ‘re-imagined’ shows at their Brixton Blues Kitchen residency – performing iconic albums front-to-back in their entirety. So far the series has included complete covers of The Strokes debut ‘Is This It’ and Arctic Monkeys’ Mercury Prize-winning ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’.

DJ Cameo

A familiar face to some of you after his Flawless set at the SU back in June, DJ Cameo is one of the true legends of the UK underground scene, having played a key role in pioneering some of the key UK genres - grime, garage funky and bassline.

Cameo started as an apprentice at London's infamous Uptown Records before going on to host one of the longest running shows on BBC Radio.

The UKG show on BBC 1xtra ran for over a decade and helped to bring through a wave of artists including Krept & Konan, Wretch 32, Giggs, Tempa T, Skepta, Tinie Tempah, Scrufizzer, Crazy Cousins, T2, Champion, Lowsteppa, Tom Zanetti, Toughlove, DJ S.K.T, Ryan Blyth, James Hype and many more.

DJ Rob Crouch

Rob has been active on the London DJ circuit since 2008. Found pursuing a passion for creativity, his highlights in the last decade have included supporting the likes of Avicii, Martin Solveig, Afrojack, Robin S, and MJ Cole to name a few.

More recently, Rob has demonstrated his talents to a broader audience through the release of his music and remixes, which over the last few years have gained him support from major UK radio stations (BBC, Capital FM, and Kiss FM) as well as reaching an audience worldwide through both volumes of online streams and international radio. 

2019 has begun a busy year with official remixes set for release along with original releases in the pipeline. 

Life & Soul

Having previously played all over the globe for the world's most iconic dance music brand - Ministry Of Sound - Joelle (aka Jo-Elle) has rocked some of the best clubs and dancefloors out there.  

Following up on her production success with Pacha and CR2, Joelle is ready to bring her sound to the party once more. She is teaming up with fellow female DJ and producer Arabella Larssen - one of the next generation of inspirational up and coming house music protagonists, Arabella can read any dancefloor and delivers the art in party.

'Life & Soul' is the new identity for the duo as they take on dancefloors worldwide, celebrating their unique blend of disco, house and dance anthems - all neatly packaged up as feel-good music.

Pammi Pasqual

Hailing from Greece, Pammi started his career as a radio producer and DJ in 2005.

As a teenager he was performing and producing under the name of BACK2BACKTM, a DJ duo comprising of Pasqual and his friend Martin Levon. Their music video 'Somewhere' reached over 100,000 views on YouTube while 'Paradise' was featured on YouTube Mixes with over 5 million views.?

Pasqual moved to the UK in 2013 to study Music & Audio Production at Middlesex University and SAE Institute of London. During his studies he developed his musical taste and skills which helped produce his first releases as solo artist. 'Bounce', 'Summer Feeling' and a very recent remix called 'Brother At Your Side' are available on Spotify, Apple Music and iTunes.

Moreover, Pasqual's music has been featured at Matt Darey's DJ mixes in 2012 (BACK2BACKTM - Mirror), while he has played warm-up sets for well-known DJs such as Andy C, Wax Worx and Patrick Nazemi.

He is set to release his debut album later this year, drawing on very strong influences from artists such as Claptone, Solomun, Adana Twins and Disclosure.?

AsSAXination

We're excited to introduce duo Sam King (saxophone) and Tom Guyer (DJ and producer), better known as AsSAXination, who will be brringing you the best of commercial, with some house elements. Sam is alumni of Royal Holloway Music Department and we can't wait to welcome him back to campus for Summer Ball.

Papa Michael

Papa Michael is the alter ego of the DJ and producer Pammi Pasqual. During the past year he has been performing as a resident DJ for RHSU. Under this name and DJ profile he performs in bars and clubs around the UK playing some of the finest mashups, classic remixes, popular bangers and legendary sing along tracks! Papa Michael doesn't just press play! He loves mixing tunes on a "top speed", adding weird and noisy sound effects and performing a DJ set that sounds more like a Megamix with fast and smooth transitions between super-popular tracks. He is the party starter and when it comes to giving the dancefloor what it needs, there is no-one better at lifting the crowd's energy to the sky.

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