Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae and extra led an all-star tribute to Nina Simone at London’s Southbank Centre. Try footage, photographs, the setlist and extra beneath.
Held on the Royal Competition Corridor on Friday (January 31), Mississippi Goddam: A Celebration Of Nina Simone noticed the Nu Civilisation Orchestra honour the lifetime of the legend with particular visitor singers, led by conductor Peter Edwards. The evening was made all of the extra becoming by going down within the venue of Simone’s legendary 1999 live performance as a part of Nick Cave‘s Meltdown. This was one among her ultimate performances earlier than her loss of life in 2003.
Taking to the mic had been 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 track and speeches to honour Simone’s dedication to “Blackness, womanhood and the ability of music”.
Exchanging lead vocal duties and sometimes performing collectively, the gathered ensemble labored to seize completely different shades of Simone’s character however in the end seize her highly effective spirit of defiance and lust for all times.
Highlights of the evening included the sleek and silky turns of Tony Njoku, Ni Maxine’s tackle ‘I Loves You Porgy’, Laura Mvula’s tender renditions of ‘Plain Gold Ring’, ‘Stars’ and ‘Little Woman Blue’, China Moses’ weighty supply of ‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ and ‘See Line Girls’, Corrine Bailey Rae’s easy spin on classics ‘Feeling Good’ and ‘I Put A Spell On You’, and any time that the ensemble got here collectively in track.
The collaboration peaked with ‘Mississippi Goddam’ earlier than an almighty encore that noticed Bailey Rae announce that whereas they’d run out of songs to carry out “we felt this track was speaking via us” – earlier than performing a thunderous reprise of crowd favorite ‘4 Girls’ .
@robindunford Laura Mvula at The Nina Simone Celebration live performance tonight
@robindunford NI Maxine on the Nina Simone Celebration live performance tonight
@robindunford Had an incredible evening at The Royal Competition Corridor for the Nina Simone Celebration live performance together with Corinne Bailey Rae, in video, Laura Mvula, Ni Maxine, China Moses and Gary Crosby.
The ‘Mississippi Goddam’ tribute setlist was:
Set 1
‘See Line Girl’ – China Moses
‘I Loves You Porgy’ – Ni Maxine
‘I Want 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 Child Simply Cares’ – Corinne Bailey Rae
Set 2
‘Africa Mailman’/’Sinner Man’ medley – instrumental
‘Little Woman Blue’ – Laura Mvula
‘Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood’ – China Moses
‘Baltimore’ – Tony Njoku
‘4 Girls’ – 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
‘4 Girls’ – Laura Mvula, Corinne Bailey Rae, Ni Maxine, China Moses
The celebration was a part of Montreux Jazz Competition’s residency and new partnership with Southbank Centre, which explores the query ‘What’s jazz as we speak?’. Simone notably gave a legendary efficiency at Montreux Jazz Competition in 1976 after she returned from exile in Liberia.
Montreux Jazz Competition returns to Switzerland in July 2025. Go to right here for tickets and extra info.
