12:00 pm on Sunday 11th July 2021
The Floating Stage
Double MOBO Award winning YolanDa Brown is the premier female saxophonist in the UK, known for her delicious fusion of reggae, jazz and soul. YolanDa has toured with Diana Krall, The Temptations, Billy Ocean, and collaborated with artists such as Snarky Puppy’s Bill Laurance, Reggae Legend Bob Marley’s son Julian, Kelly Jones from Stereophonics and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.
She is broadcaster – working on TV and radio, presenting shows for the BBC including her eponymous series for CBeebies, YolanDa’s Band Jam, which recently won the Royal Television Society NW Awards in the Best Children’s Programme category.
For the BBC Proms she hosted the Ella and Dizzy Centenary as well as Last night of the Proms on BBC Four, Gospel Choir of the Year for BBC 1, co presents Loose Ends with Clive Anderson on BBC Radio 4 and recently sat in for Trevor Nelson on BBC Radio 2. She has also appeared on a whole host of shows including Celebrity Mastermind, The Wright Stuff, Sunday Brunch, BBC breakfast, House of Games, Celebrity Eggheads, Jools Holland’s Hootenanny and Gareth Malone’s All Star Music Quiz.
YolanDa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Arts by the University of East London and also invited to meet the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh at Buckingham Palace. A champion for the importance of music education, YolanDa is chair of Youth Music, patron of the London Music Fund and launched along with James JP Drake, the Drake YolanDa Award for emerging musicians. She strives to bring music education to wider audiences in a fun and accessible way and for children in challenging circumstances.
On top of all of this YolanDa loves to drive fast cars around race tracks in her spare time – if you can seriously imagine her having any – and can even rattle off a Rubik’s Cube in around five minutes (on a good day).
A real renaissance woman, set to reach new heights.