After Pharell Williams, Florence and the Machine and Little Mix, the newly renamed Apple Music Festival has added The Weeknd, Chemical Brothers, Take That, Leon Bridges, and James Bay to its lineup which kicks off this month at Camden’s Roundhouse. Apple Music announced the lineup additions on Twitter, promising that more information regarding showtimes would be provided soon.
The Weeknd, The Chemical Brothers and Take That will get separate sets, while James Bay is slated to join already-announced entertainer Pharrell on stage. Leon Bridges is sharing the stage with Florence and the Machine. The upcoming event, which previously packed in an entire month’s worth of shows as the iTunes Festival, has been trimmed down to ten days spanning Sept. 19 through Sept. 28 and renamed Apple Music Festival in acknowledgement of Apple’s streaming music service release. For years fans knew the annual event as the “iTunes Festival.” Unchanged, however, is the venue at London’s historic Roundhouse.
#AppleMusicFestival announcements continue! Welcome @theweeknd, @ChemBros & @takethat. More info coming soon. pic.twitter.com/vnx8dGbnNh
— Apple Music (@AppleMusic) September 2, 2015
Apple has collaborated with a number of high-profile performers in launching Apple Music and a few, including Pharrell and now The Weeknd, have signed on to Apple’s free concert series. On a related note, The Weeknd was featured in Apple Music’s two-part television commercial that aired during MTV’s Video Music Awards this past weekend. James Bay said: “The Roundhouse is one of London’s greatest venues. I’ve listened to so many live records recorded from that very stage. So to be able to say I get to play there too is a really big deal for me.”
So excited to be opening for the awesome @flo_tweet at the #applemusicfestival on 28th Sept http://t.co/hC9ZSS887c pic.twitter.com/3kICaAc8og — James Bay (@JamesBayMusic) September 2, 2015
Manchester duo The Chemical Brothers – aka Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons – said they are “looking forward” to taking to the stage on September 24. The pair teased: “It’s going to be exciting to be back in London, in a brilliant venue for Apple Music Festival. Hold tight!”
.@chembros headlining .@AppleMusic #applemusicfestival LIVE on Sept 24th! #BornInTheEchoes http://t.co/x0Ln9QvFn1 https://t.co/LPNMkNO4wC
— Chemical Brothers (@ChemBros) September 2, 2015
Canadian star Abel Tesfaye, better known as The Weeknd, said of his forthcoming gig on September 23: “Very honoured to be a part of the line-up this year.”
. @AppleMusic Festival XO pic.twitter.com/x1AdpBiIjJ
— The Weeknd (@theweeknd) September 2, 2015
See the full list of dates for the Apple Music Festival below.
20 September – Take That
22 September – One Direction + Little Mix
23 September – The Weeknd
24 September- The Chemical Brothers
25 September – Disclosure
26 September – Pharrell Williams + Leon Bridges
28 September – Florence + The Machine + James Bay
Ticket information for the Apple Music Festival can be found on www.applemusicfestival.com.
