As anyone who caught our Antony and the Johnsons music site takeover will know, Antony Hegarty knows a thing or two about artful curation. That's why we're excited by the prospect of the New York singer's Meltdown directorship. There will be shows from the operatic Diamanda Galás, Bolton-born electronic artist Planningtorock and previous Meltdown director Laurie Anderson. Hegarty has also invited his friend and previous collaborator Lou Reed to perform, and will be performing himself.
The Meltdown festival has been held at London's Southbank Centre every year since 1993, with a different high-profile figure from the music world chosen as director each time. Previous directors have included John Peel, Patti Smith, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Scott Walker and Jarvis Cocker.
Ahead of this year's festival, which runs from 1–12 August, the Observer New Review will be collecting some of the highlights from the last 20 years of Meltdowns – and we'd like to hear your nominations. If you've attended any memorable Meltdown performances, let us know about them in the comment thread below, or tweet them to @guardianmusic.
