Ancestral Communal Listening: A Chaka Celebration
Jazz vocalist and bandleader Michael Mwenso is your guide on this interactive listening journey into Chaka Khan’s biggest hits and deepest cuts.
As you the audience share your favourite music, lyrics and memories of the inimitable star, we celebrate her artistry and career through the protest, strength and resilience that has made her a positive force of change in the world.
Michael Mwenso was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone and raised in London, UK. A precocious trombonist, his teenage years were spent hanging out at Ronnie Scott’s legendary jazz club and performing with the likes of James Brown, who became an influential mentor.
After a decade of running the Late Late Show at Ronnie Scott’s, Mwenso was invited by Wynton Marsalis to move to New York City, to helm the late-night sessions at Dizzy’s Club, and to curate programming at Jazz at Lincoln Center.
From among the best young young players in NYC’s vibrant, global scene, he founded Mwenso & the Shakes, thrilling audiences with the astonishing chops and high-energy grooves that the New York Times describes as ‘intense, prowling, and ebullient’.
In 2020, Mwenso pivoted to become a much sought-after collaborator and cultural leader, creating programming, curating festivals, and running workshops and residencies at leading American arts institutions, always moving the conversation forward.
In 2022, he won an Emmy for the All Arts television documentary special Michael Mwenso Honors George Floyd.
Need to know
For your visit
This event is held at the Royal Festival Hall Southbank Centre
The Royal Festival Hall is open six days a week.
Tuesday – Sunday, 10am – 11pm
Monday, closed.
Plan your visit
The Royal Festival Hall is home to our largest auditorium as well as The Clore Ballroom, National Poetry Library, Members’ Lounge, Festival Bar & Kitchen, Ballroom Cafe and Skylon restaurant.
Getting here
Our address is Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, London, SE1 8XX.
The nearest tube stations to us are Waterloo and Embankment; Waterloo is also the nearest train station. And more than 20 different London bus routes pass within 500 metres of our venues. More information on getting here by rail, road or river is available on our Getting here page.
We’re cash-free
Please note that we’re unable to accept cash payments across our venues.
Access
We’re working hard to remove barriers, so that our facilities and events can be accessible to as many people as possible.
All help points, toilets, performance and exhibition spaces at the Southbank Centre are accessible to all, as are the cafes, bars and restaurants. We also have excellent public transport links with step-free access.
All information about booking wheelchair spaces, step-free access, blue badge parking, access maps and guides and other help available whilst you’re here, including details about our Access Scheme, can be found on our Access page.
Food & drink
On Level 2 of our Royal Festival Hall you can grab a slice of life by the Thames with drinks and freshly made pizza at our Festival Bar & Kitchen which opens out onto our Riverside Terrace. You can grab a coffee and a slice of freshly made cake from our Ballroom Cafe. Or alternatively enjoy destination dining in the restaurant at Skylon.
From coffee to cocktails, filling favourites to fine dining, plus some of London’s best street food – it’s all here at the Southbank Centre.