Rooftop Assembly are a grime & folk fusion project from London who formed playing rooftop concerts during lockdown. Their music blends grime poetry with old-school songwriting chops, accompanied by swooning strings and dubby beats, bringing together a plurality of voices and influences in true London style. 

The band’s story began during covid lockdown in 2020, when folk musician James Riley & grime MC Kayes Mensah joined forces, playing live-streamed gigs on a Tottenham rooftop to entertain their locked-down neighbours and raise money for food banks.The concerts became a national 

sensation, attracting coverage from the BBC, funding from the ARTS COUNCIL ENGLAND, inspiring a large mural and prompting an outpouring of community support. The project culminated with James & Kayes collaborating with a full string quartet and a drummer in a live show that went viral on social media, prompting invitations for the ensemble to perform at GLASTONBURY, THE GREAT ESCAPE, WILDERNESS and many other UK festivals. 

Rooftop Assembly’s debut EP “Storeys” (supported by HELP MUSICIANS UK) is set for release on December 1st with their first single “Homecoming” having been played on BBC 6 MUSIC & BBC RADIO LONDON, and featured on Spotify’s “NEW MUSIC FRIDAY” and “FRESH FINDS” playlists. Rooftop Assembly aim to keep raising the roof in 2024 and beyond – with their first full length album and UK tour slated for next year, anything now seems possible for these genre-defying troubadours.