Music of Banksy’s Dismaland ‘theme park’: Run the Jewels, Kate Tempest, Massive Attack

Jackson Pollock listened to jazz records while composing his drip paintings. Pablo Picasso designed sets for Igor Stravinsky and Erik Satie. Jean-Michel Basquiat ran wild through post-disco New York City making rap-inspired visual art and music.

See the most-read entertainment stories this hour >>

And mysterious graffiti artist Banksy? If the musical roster of Dismaland, his newly announced exhibition/theme park in North Somerset, England, accurately reflects his tastes, he’s a fan of Run the Jewels, Massive Attack, DJ Peanut Butter Wolf and poet-rapper Kate Tempest, among others. All will perform during the massive show, which takes place at an abandoned theme park. It opened Thursday and is scheduled to run through Sept. 27.

The show is a dystopic riff on Disneyland — minus the rodent.

“I banned any imagery of Mickey Mouse from the site,” Banksy told the Guardian, describing Dismaland as “a showcase for the best artists I could imagine, apart from the two who turned me down.”

SIGN UP for the free Essential Arts & Culture newsletter >>

Most are visual artists, and as such, we’ll defer to Culture Monster for analysis. That said, those who attended the Coachella Music and Arts Festival in 2013 will recognize Los Angeles sculptor Mike Ross’ “Big Rig Jig.” The jumbo creation features stacked tanker trucks and served as a backdrop to thousands of selfies during Coachella.

Musically, Banksy has booked acts to perform Friday nights through the end of the festival. They are as follows:

Aug. 28: DJ Yoda, Peanut Butter Wolf and Breakbeat Lou

Sept. 4: Run the Jewels, DJ Dapper Dan

Sept. 11: Comedy night, featuring Roger Monkhouse, Simon Munnery, Adam Bloom and others

Sept. 18: Sleaford Mods, Savages

Sept. 25: Pussy Riot, Kate Tempest, Massive Attack

Also of note to music fans: According to the Guardian, artist Jimmy Cauty, formerly of British electronic music disrupters KLF, will be displaying “his version of a fun model village, complete with 3,000 riot police in the aftermath of major civil unrest.”

Follow Randall Roberts on Twitter: @liledit