Beyonce’s sister Solange Knowles headed to Oz for the 2018 Vivid Live festival

SIX months after being forced to take time off due to illness, R&B queen Solange Knowles will bring her cutting-edge stage style Down Under for Vivid Live.

Solange Knowles is coming to Austrlaia for Vivid Live. Picture: AP

THE genre-busting queen of R&B Solange Knowles will headline the 2018 Vivid Live festival with four concerts at the Sydney Opera House in June.

They will be the only Australian shows by the artist who stands at the intersection of music, art, fashion and activism.

The Grammy-winning singer, songwriter and director has scored rave reviews worldwide for her lavishly designed concerts with cutting-edge choreography which have drawn comparisons to Prince.

Solange Knowles performed at Sydney’s Metro Theatre in 2014. Picture: Mikki Gonez

Solange’s return to touring comes after she was forced to cancel a New Year’s performance in South Africa on doctor’s orders due to an autonomic disorder.

Just as her sister Beyonce is due to own the stage with her live return at Coachella in April, so Solange will prove to be a concert coup for Vivid organisers with her headlining performances for the 10th year of the winter festival.

Sister act Beyonce and Solange shared the stage at Coachella in 2014. Will they do it again in 2018? Picture: Getty Images

The prominent activist was recently named Harvard University’s Foundation Artist of the Year and has also broadened her artistic resume to direct the video for The Weekend, a single from fellow music groundbreaker SZA.

Her Australian concerts are likely to focus heavily on her acclaimed 2016 album A Seat At The Table.

“Solange Knowles is having her moment on the world stage right now,” Vivid Live curator Ben Marshall said.

“With A Seat at the Table’s exploration of black American identity, empowerment and the complexities of black womanhood, she is at the molten-hot intersection of effortlessly cool music and thoughtful activism.

“Solange’s brilliance in combining spectacular performance with politically-charged music to create a precisely choreographed, fun and riveting neo-soul show, points to the future of R & B.”

Demand for the shows is expected to be high so the Opera House has applied a ticket ballot as they did for the Vivid concerts by Kraftwerk, Morrissey and Anonhi. The ballot is open from today until March 4 at 11.59pm.

Successful applicants will be chosen at random from within the allocations designated for visitors and locals.

To apply go to sydneyoperahouse.com/vividlive

Originally published as Beyonce’s sister Solange Knowles headed to Oz for the 2018 Vivid Live festival