Mental health event to replace Frightened Rabbit set at Meltdown

Frightened Rabbit’s set at Meltdown festival in London is to be replaced by a panel on mental health awareness and the music industry, following the death of singer Scott Hutchison, who took his own life in May.

The Scottish indie band were due to perform on 19 June at Southbank Centre’s annual arts festival, this year curated by the Cure’s Robert Smith. Hutchison was last seen on 9 May. Police found his body near Edinburgh the following day.

The panel will feature discussion from Kristin Hersh of Throwing Muses, Stefan Olsdal of Placebo, musician and poet Dizraeli, and Christine Brown from music charity Help Musicians UK.

Clinical psychology Jay Watts will moderate the discussion. Volunteers from the Samaritans will provide support at the event.

“The music industry has seen a number of devastating losses of life in recent years, and increasing numbers of musicians are speaking out in the media and in their songs about struggles with mental health,” said a Southbank Centre spokesperson.

Smith paid tribute to Hutchison in a recent interview with TimeOut. “It’s awful. They were one of the bands that I was really, really looking forward to seeing. I’ve been listening to them for 10 years. I’ve never met him, but I feel I know him because of his voice.”

Meltdown 2018 concludes on 24 June with performances by My Bloody Valentine, Nine Inch Nails and Smith performing with guests under the Cureation banner.

• In the UK, the Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Hotline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14. Hotlines in other countries can be found here.