This year’s flagship music showcase takes place at a newly renovated St. George’s Hall, with rap royalty, fierce poetry, and the experimental underground coalescing for an unforgettable evening of lyrical artistry.
Lady Leshurr brings the flair of her infectious Queen’s Speech freestyles to headline. The MOBO award-winning grime and hip-hop vocalist is famous for her playful delivery and fearless character, switching between battle-rap witticisms to bars about mental health without skipping a beat.
No-one pushes the envelope like Saul Williams, whose career spans well beyond 20 years and boasts avant-rap albums, slam poetry success, Sundance-winning feature films and Broadway theatre. The legendary American’s magnetic presence is globally renowned.
King Midas Sound pairs returning poet Roger Robinson with electronic dub maverick Kevin Martin (AKA The Bug). The duo fuse devastating spoken word with melancholic ambience on their immersive, vulnerable new album, Solitude.
Having played resident DJ to the Akala and Lowkey show last year, NikNak returns to BLF to hold down the ones-and-twos in reliably fine style.
Each act is a master of their own domain, so this is not a night to be missed!

This year we are excited to launch our new B-Lit Programme for young people aged 13 – 18, made possible by the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Look out for events marked with the B-Lit stamp as they are free for anybody aged 18 or under.