Nile Rogers & Chic
Among music legends, Nile Rodgers is truly exceptional. He amplifies his legacy as a multiple GRAMMY-winning composer, producer, arranger and guitarist by constantly traversing new musical terrain and successfully expanding the boundaries of popular music. As the co-founder of CHIC and the newly elected Chairman of the Songwriters Hall of Fame, Rodgers pioneered a musical language that generated chart-topping hits like “Le Freak,” (the biggest selling single in the history of Atlantic Records!) and sparked the advent of hip-hop with “Good Times”. Nile Rodgers transcends all styles of music across every generation with a body of work that’s garnered him inductions into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Most recently, he was appointed as the first ever Chief Creative Advisor for the legendary Abbey Road Studios and was included in “festival best” performances at both Glastonbury and Coachella that resulted in the BBC nominating the band for the BBC Music Awards as “Best Live Performance” and the LA Times stating “Nile Rodgers influence stretches all over Coachella, beaming the sound of a better future”.
His work in the CHIC Organization and his productions for artists like David Bowie, Diana Ross, and Madonna have sold over 500 million albums and 75 million singles worldwide while his innovative, trendsetting collaborations with Daft Punk, Avicii, Sigala, Disclosure, and Sam Smith reflect the vanguard of contemporary music. Nile Rodgers & CHIC recently released their first new studio album, “It’s About Time” in over 26 years to critical acclaim and a Top 10 position in the UK album charts.
Van Morrison
Born in 1945 Van heard his Shipyard worker father’s collection of blues, country and gospel early in life. Feeding off musical greats such as Hank Williams, Jimmie Rodgers, Muddy Waters, Mahalia Jackson and Leadbelly he was a travelling musician at 13 and singing, playing guitar and sax, in several bands, before forming Them in 1964.
Making their name at Belfast’s Maritime Club, Them soon established Van as a major force in the British R&B scene. Morrison’s matchless vocal and songwriting talents produced instant classics such as the much covered ‘Gloria’ and ‘Here Comes The Night’.
Those talents found full astonishing range in Van’s solo career. After working with Them’s New York producer Bert Berns on beautiful Top 40 pop hit ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ (1967), Morrison moved to another realm.
Emeli Sande
With over 340 million video views, 19 million singles sold including 3 Number One UK singles and over 6 million albums, EMELI SANDÉ has dominated the music industry and captured the heart of the nation. Her debut album ‘Our Version of Events’ released in 2012 was the biggest selling album of that year and this month featured in the official chart company’s top 10 albums of the decade. The Aberdonian has won numerous accolades including 4 Brit Awards (Critics Choice, Best Album and Female Solo twice, most recently in 2017 for her second album, ‘Long Live the Angels’ and in 2018 was awarded an MBE for services to Music.)
Alongside her solo career, EMELI regularly provided guest vocals for other artists including the huge hits ‘Read All About It’ (Professor Green), ‘Beneath Your Beautiful’ (Labrinth) and ‘What I Did for Love’ (David Guetta). She also performed at both the opening and closing ceremonies of the London Olympics and at the White House for Barack Obama.
