Reeperbahn Festival announces Tony Visconti, Linda Perry, and Skye Edwards will be on 2018 ANCHOR panel
Tonight, the Hamburg-based music conference and festival, Reeperbahn, announced the 2018 panel for its annual rising artist award, the ANCHOR panel. Acclaimed producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex, The Damned), the chair of this year’s ANCHOR, made the announcement at a conference ahead of tonight’s Reeperbahn Festival New York Edition at A2IM Indie Week presented by SoundExchange event.
During a panel moderated by KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, Visconti revealed that his panel will also include 4 Non Blondes member and ubiquitous composer Linda Perry; British singer-songwriter Skye Edwards of trailblazing electronic outfit Morcheeba; and Jason Bentley, the music director at KCRW.
Though Edwards couldn’t be at the event due to tour commitments, she shared a video message, which you can view below.
In advance of tonight’s event, 2017 ANCHOR winner Jade Bird, who is headlining tonight’s showcase, also appeared to speak in depth about the music industry and her own experience navigating it.
(Read: Reeperbahn Festival Is Breaking Down Barriers and Crossing Borders)
In discussion with Bentley, Bird chronicled her rise from playing pubs in her native Wales to the development of her onstage persona to the impact of the 2017 ANCHOR win, which has helped nab her slots opening for Stevie Nicks and performing on the Late Night with Stephen Colbert.
When asked how a musician makes it in today’s day and age, Bird emphasized that an artist must know what success is for them. “The measure of a true artist is knowing what ‘there’ is,” she said, emphasizing that the “there” is different for everyone.
Afterwards, Bird played an acoustic version of a new song called “Uh Huh”, which signals that more new tunes could also be included in her headlining slot at tonight’s showcase.
