Drake to Headline Wireless Festival for All Three Nights
#image_title

Drake to Headline Wireless Festival for All Three Nights


Share this post

Rapper Drake has been announced as the headliner for all three nights of this year's Wireless festival.

It will be his first UK performance in six years, with the One Dance hitmaker due to play a bespoke set on each night.

Wireless is celebrating 20 years and returns to Finsbury Park, London, between 11 and 13 July.

Other artists confirmed to be playing across the weekend are Burna Boy, PARTYNEXTDOOR, Summer Walker and Vybz Kartel.

Drake has most recently been embroiled in a rap beef with Super Bowl headliner Kendrick Lamar.

The spotlight will again be on the pair, as Kendrick has his own UK tour dates lined up for July, including playing in Birmingham the night before Drake's first performance.

Despite the origins of the feud going back a decade, the past year has seen it ignite again with Kendrick's Not Like Us takedown of Drake winning a Grammy - but also the subject of an ongoing legal case by the Canadian.

Drake first headlined Wireless in 2012, with the festival saying he holds the title "for the audience's most requested artist".

He recently released Some Sexy Songs 4 U, a joint album with fellow Canadian artist PARTYNEXTDOOR who will be performing on the Friday.

The same day will see R&B star Summer Walker on stage, who made waves with her previous performance at Finsbury Park in 2022.

Sunday will see Afrobeats icon Burna Boy making his Wireless debut, with dancehall star Vybz Kartel also performing on that day.

The Jamaican artist was freed from prison last year after having a murder conviction overturned.

Where are the UK acts?

The prospect of three nights of Drake has led to a mixed reaction from fans.

While some are excited to see "history" being made think his back catalogue is deep enough to make each night sound different, others have criticised the lack of UK artists.

"I don't think there needs to be three days," music fan Rehea Shillingford tells BBC Newsbeat, adding she's "not against Drake".

"There's other British artists that could have been headlining," she says, naming the likes of Dave and J Hus who have previously topped the bill.

But she is excited that Vybz Kartel will be performing, and feels he could "have been headlining".

Megaman, from garage and hip-hop collective So Solid Crew, says while Drake is "the biggest artist in the world", it's wrong to announce Wireless "without a UK artist".

"It's a UK brand, so I would always love to see a top UK artist as part of the first run of promo," he told 1Xtra Breakfast's Nadia Jae.

"We have so many big artists in the culture, there's no harm putting any on there."

"We love [Drake] for what he does. But we hope he's on-side and says: 'I have to put a UK act on the lineup'."

The festival has promised more acts for the weekend will be announced later.

Last year saw the likes Nicki Minaj, 21 Savage, J Hus and Doja Cat perform.

About 50,000 rap, R&B and hip-hop fans head to the event each day.

In 2023, Wireless signed a five-year deal with Haringey Council for the festival to be held in Finsbury Park every summer until at least 2027.


Share this post
Comments

Be the first to know

Join our community and get notified about upcoming stories

Subscribing...
You've been subscribed!
Something went wrong
NBA Roundup: Pistons Extend Win Streak to 7, Heat Win on Buzzer-Beating Alley-Oop

NBA Roundup: Pistons Extend Win Streak to 7, Heat Win on Buzzer-Beating Alley-Oop

Cade Cunningham's triple double, Daniss Jenkins's three-pointer at the buzzer and Javonte Green's overtime dunk lifted Detroit past Washington 137-135 on Monday, stretching the Pistons' win streak to seven games. In an unexpected thriller, the NBA's second-best team barely outlasted a Wizards club that fell to an NBA-worst 1-10 with their ninth consecutive loss. "We knew how big this game was for us," Jenkins said. "We wasn't going to let nothing stop us from getting this W." Cunningham made


O A

Syria to Join US-Led Coalition Against Islamic State After Trump Meeting

Syria to Join US-Led Coalition Against Islamic State After Trump Meeting

Syria will join the international coalition to combat the Islamic State group, marking a shift in US foreign policy in the Middle East, a senior Trump administration official has confirmed.  The announcement came as President Donald Trump met Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa at the White House - the first such visit from a Syrian leader in the country's history. In an interview with Special Report on Fox News, al-Sharaa said the visit was part of a "new era" in which the country would co-opera


O A

BBC Chief Tim Davie Resigns After Row Over Trump Documentary

BBC Chief Tim Davie Resigns After Row Over Trump Documentary

The director general of the British Broadcasting Corporation announced his resignation Sunday following a row over the editing of a documentary about US President Donald Trump. Tim Davie and the BBC’s head of news, Deborah Turness, resigned after accusations that a documentary by its flagship Panorama programme edited a speech by Trump in a misleading way. “Like all public organisations, the BBC is not perfect, and we must always be open, transparent and accountable,” Davie said in a statement


O A

Listen to the 8 Songs Nominated for the 68th Grammys’ Song of the Year Award

Listen to the 8 Songs Nominated for the 68th Grammys’ Song of the Year Award

The Recording Academy has officially named the 2026 Grammy nominees, and now the world is waiting for February 1st to see who will take home an award during the Los Angeles ceremony. And one of the most highly anticipated categories is the Song of the Year category. Lady Gaga, Doechii, Rosé and Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny, HUNTR/X, Kendrick Lamar and SZA, Sabrina Carpenter, and Billie Eilishare all up for songs that really resonated, ruling the radio and replaying on our playlists all year. From cha


O A