Max Richter

" Cultural icon" Grace Jones has been announced as the headliner of The Next Bluedot Festival .

The Singer , actress and model, who curated London's Meltdown in 2022, will play under The Gaze of the Lovell Telescope at Cheshire's Jodrell Bank Observatory In July .

Lo-fi pioneers Pavement and electropop queen Roisin Murphy will also headline.

It will be The Sixth time the four-day festival, which celebrates music and science, has been staged.

A festival representative said that as " one of The Most influential musicians of her generation" Jones needed no introduction.

" Her influence has made her a towering figure of pop for over six decades, " they said.

" From The Classic beats of Slave To The Rhythm and Pull Up To The Bumper to her gold-selling most recent album Hurricane, [she] has become synonymous with a unique fusion of music, art and fashion that has inspired a New Generation of artists. "

They said Pavement's appearance would be the American Band 's only UK festival show in 2023, while Murphy's headline slot would be the First Time she has topped a festival bill.

They said The Festival 's organisers were delighted to give her The Top slot, as the " De Facto queen of electropop" would open the weekend with " a cosmic dance party".

They added that The Festival 's Opening Night , which traditionally sees an unexpected act top The Bill , would see composer Max Richter deliver " a unique orchestral performance beneath The Iconic Lovell Telescope ".

Also announced for The Festival are dance duo Leftfield, Mercury Prize winners Young Fathers , art rockers Django Django , post-punk four piece Dry Cleaning and experimental rockers Black Country , New Road.

Away from The Music , The Event will Once Again host talks from numerous scientific luminaries, including BBC Sky at Night's Chris Lintott and Maggie Aderin-Pocock, Climate Change researcher and author Mike Berners-Lee, the UK Space Agency 's Libby Jackson and the Open University's Professor of Planetary and Space Science Monica Grady .

Festival director Ben Robinson said The Festival had always been " ambitious in its programming and mission".

" Looking at the scale of iconic talent, breadth of genres and one-off moments, it really has matured into a very special event, " He Said .

" We look forward to gathering Together Again beneath The Telescope . "

Bluedot will take place at the Cheshire observatory from 20 to 23 July.

Source of news: bbc.com