Tinashe, IAMDDB and Ayra Starr at Release Athens X SNF Nostos
In 2023, Release Athens and SNF Nostos from the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF)arejoining forces to present three unique days of concerts on two stages. On Tuesday, June 20, after the headliners Rosalía and Central Cee, we will welcome three special artists of urban music.
Tinashe, one of the most unique figures of R&B/hip-hop, and Ayra Starr, a great talent in black music, will take the stage at Plateia Nerou. At the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Center (SNFCC) Great Lawn, we will welcome IAMDDB, one of the great up-and-coming acts in hip-hop/trap and neo-soul.
Release Athens X SNF Nostos is taking place on June 20, 21, and 23, presenting acclaimed Greek and international artists at Plateia Nerou and at the SNFCC Great Lawn, giving us the chance to experience an electrifying three-day concert event that will be an integral part of Release Athens 2023.
It’s not easy to describe Tinashe. She worked as a child actor and dancer, she’s been a frontwoman of a girl-group, and at the same time she became an extremely skilled musician who handles every aspect of her craft herself (composition, production, mixing). Nowadays, she releases her albums through her label, Tinashe Music Inc, and has become a role model for young women who want to create with total freedom.
Her solo career began in 2012 with the mixtape In Case We Die, and in the following ten years Tinashe released three mixtapes, five studio albums and collaborated with the greatest stars of R&B, pop and hip-hop – including Britney Spears, A$AP Rocky, Usher, Charli XCX, Chance The Rapper, Travis Scott and Calvin Harris. Her latest album, 333 (2021), was applauded as her best work to date by major music outlets, like Pitchfork who described it as “the freest, most exuberant album of her career” while NME praised Tinashe for being “anartist who is always reinventing what pop is and blurs the linesas to what R&B can be”.
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Born in Benin Republic, West Africa, Ayra Starr was raised between its beach city, Cotonou and the cultural hub of Lagos, Nigeria. This mix of cultures inspires her global approach to music, art and life. The 20-year-old influenced by the earthiness of Angelique Kidjo, Rihanna’s confidence and the edgy aesthetic of emo-pop, explores with her songs topics such as love, relationships, empowerment and freedom.
Her first releases, the eponymous EP and the debut album 19 & Dangerous (2021, were a huge success and the single “Bloody Samaritan”, became the first song by a female solo artist to reach number one in Nigeria’s charts. In 2022 she achieved international recognition with the release of “Rush” that charted in several European countries, including Switzerland, Ireland and the United Kingdom. This captivating single made history in Africa, with Ayra becoming the youngest African female artist to surpass 100 million views on YouTube and the first to do so within five months. Now, millions of fans are waiting for her next move and we’re thrilled to host one of the biggest talents in contemporary music.
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IAMDDB (born Diana De Brito) was born in Lisbon, Portugal and moved to Manchester at a young age. Blending a plethora of urban genres (hip-hop, trap, R&B) and absorbing influences from her Angolan/Portuguese roots, De Brito creates what she calls “Urban Jazz” that oozes originality and makes her stand out in the highly demanding world of hip-hop/trap.
Raised in a music family (her father is a prominent session musician in Angola), IAMDBB started writing at the age of seven but didn’t release her debut single until 2016’s “Leaned Out”, which she posted online after dropping out of university earlier that day. Her first big hit was the thrilling “Shade” (2017), which went viral in the UK and racked up tens of millions of views on streaming platforms. Subsequent mixtapes Hood rich, Vol. 3 (2017) and Flight mode, Vol. 4 (2018) continued to build buzz for the vocalist, resulting in third place at BBC’s prestigious annual Sound of 2018 list, and an opening spot on the tour of the great Lauryn Hill.
2023 is expected to be another very important year for her, as new material is on the way, which “will reveal what I’m really capable of”, as she said in a recent interview.
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Presale continues.
Limited VIP tickets are also available. This category includes the following benefits: a separate raised area with stands and stools for everyone, an open bar, priority access to the venue, private parking, separate toilets, and a souvenir of the event. Kindly note that VIP ticket holders will have access to both stages, but the specially designed space offering the above benefits is available at Plateia Nerou only.
The two headline shows (at Plateia Nerou and the SNFCC Great Lawn) will not overlap, and there will be sufficient time for the audience to move from one stage to the other.
Tickets available:
By phone at 11876
Online at releaseathens.gr / viva.gr
In person at Nova, Public, Media Markt, Evripidis, Yoleni’s, and Viva Spot Technopolis
For full information (prices, lineup, access, etc.), visit releaseathens.gr / snfnostos.org
*Ticket proceeds go exclusively to Release Athens. The Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) is a philanthropic organization that makes grants to nonprofit organizations. SNF does not accept funds from private individuals, corporations, or any other organizations.
In parallel, SNF is making €500,000 in additional grants under the name SNF Χ Release Athens to nonprofit organizations whose mission is to support mental health, in line with the wider mental health theme of this year’s SNF Nostos.
