Young Fathers star to help programme Edinburgh festival this summer

Young Fathers star Alloysious Massaquoi is to help programme one of Edinburgh's leading summer music festivals, organisers have revealed.

The award-winning musician will be curating his own stage at Jupiter Rising, the annual event at the outdoor art gallery and sculpture park Jupiter Artland, in west Edinburgh.

The Dylema Collective, Mychelle and Distruction Boyz are among his first hand-picked acts to be revealed for the line-up of the festival, which will take over the outdoor attraction on the August bank holiday weekend.

The three-day festival, which brings together music, performance and art, is also working with a new collective of female and non-binary singers and songwriters in Scotland to help shape this year’s programme.

Tamara Schlesinger, who formed Hen Hoose to take a stand against gender inequality in the music industry, will be curating a separate stage.

Emma Pollock, Suse Bear and Jayda are among the Hen Hoose acts who will be appearing at Jupiter Rising, along with Djana Gabrielle, Poster Paints, Amundah and Malka, Schlesinger’s own music project.

Jupiter Rising, which has a capacity capped at 1,000, transforms the outdoor attraction with multiple stages, tents and pop-up bars, while festival-goers are able to camp in the 100-acre grounds at Jupiter Artland.

Previous acts to appear at the festival include Pictish Trail, Free Love, The Comet is Coming, Cate Le Bon, Sacred Paws, Nova and Aisha Mirza.

Distruction Boyz will be appearing at this year's Jupiter Artland festival in Edinburgh.

Massaquoi, who was born in Liberia and moved to Edinburgh when he was four, formed Young Fathers with Kayus Bankole and Graham 'G' Hastings when they were all teengers after they met at an under-18s hip-hop night at the Bongo Club in Edinburgh.

The band won the Scottish Album of the Year Award twice in the space of four years and were also named winners of the Mercury Prize in 2014.

An official announcement from Jupiter Rising said: “Alloysious Massaquoi is one of the most influential artists in the Scottish music scene. Young Fathers produce music which spans genres and defies categorisation, always pushing artistic boundaries whilst delivering consistently awe-inspiring records, an ethos matching that of Jupiter Rising.

“Alloysious’ line-up for the Edinburgh-based camping festival includes some of the most adventurous artists working across spoken word, dance, performance, soul and house music, from the driving rhythms of Gqom phenomenon Distruction Boyz to the politically-charged anthems of Dylema Collective.

Tamara Schlesinger, founder of the Hen Hoose songwriting collective, is a guest curator of this year's Jupiter Rising festival. Picture: Andrew Jackson

"The Hen Hoose collective has seen some of the finest female and non-binary songwriters and producers in Scotland come together to work collaboratively, releasing their debut album Equaliser to five-star reviews and the highest of critical acclaim.

"Live music took a blow during the pandemic, with female and non-binary artists disproportionally impacted as a result of pre-existing biases in the sector.

“In the midst of this uncertainty, Hen Hoose grew as a gender non-conforming collective championing community, connection with an inspirationally talented group of artists at its core."

Massaquoi said: “I’m excited for the crowd to experience the creative work of the artists I’ve chosen. My advice to them is, come ready, be open and take a chance.”

Alloysious Massaquoi (centre) formed Young Fathers with Graham 'G' Hastings (left) and Kayus Bankole (right) in 2008.

Schlesinger said: “We are taking this opportunity to highlight some incredibly talented female and nonbinary artists in Scotland.

“It feels refreshing to be involved in putting together such a diverse and gender balanced line up at a festival."