6 Music - Music News

Rufus and Martha Wainwright are to take part in a tribute concert for their mother Kate McGarrigle at the Meltdown festival in London in June.

McGarrigle, who died in January, was a renowned folk singer best known for performing with her sister Anna.
Anna will also perform at the Southbank Centre show. Meltdown is being curated by folk veteran Richard Thompson.

Rufus Wainwright said: "Apparently his first request was to do something for Kate, so I was very touched by that."

"It's an amazing legacy that Martha and I have."

Rufus Wainwright

Rufus told 6 Music that planning the event had given him a great opportunity to reflect on his mother's career.

"That's been an amazing process too over the last month or so - diving into her material and realising how unique and powerful and effective the McGarrigle sisters were in both their songs and their recordings," he said.

"It's an amazing legacy that Martha and I have."

Singers Lisa Hannigan, Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Teddy Thompson and Krystle Warren will also take part in the tribute on 12 June.

It will take place at 1630 BST to avoid a clash with England's first game in the football World Cup, which kicks off at 1930.

Other events at Meltdown, which begins on 11 June, will include the premiere of Richard Thompson's Cabaret Of Souls, a musical chronicle of a talent contest set in hell.

There will be "an evening of political song" featuring protest songs performed by Tom Robinson, Jez Lowe, Eliza Carthy and Martin Carthy, and a Cricket-themed night with Neil Hannon's project The Duckworth Lewis Method.

Broken Bells, Elvis Costello, Paolo Nutini are among the other artists who will perform.