Mercury Prize-nominated rapper Slowthai has been removed from the line-ups of several major festivals, following two charges of rape.

The British artist — whose real name is Tyron Frampton — was charged with two counts of rape earlier this week, and appeared before Oxfordshire Magistrates Court on Tuesday (16 May).

The 28-year-old was scheduled to appear this summer at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Parklife in Manchester and Forbidden Fruit in Dublin but his name has been quietly removed from their line-ups in recent days.

However, he is still billed to appear as Blur’s support act for their 8 July concert at Wembley and tickets for his Ugly World Tour in September are still on sale.

Slowthai appeared before Oxford Magistrates’ Court via video link from his home in Northampton on Tuesday, speaking only to confirm his name, date of birth and address. He is set to appear before Oxford Crown Court next month.

The 28-year-old was scheduled to appear this summer at Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds, Parklife and Forbidden Fruit

The rapper has “categorically” denied the charges and said he is “confident” his name will be cleared.

He wrote in an Instagram post on Tuesday: “Regarding the allegations being reported about me. I categorically deny the charges.

“I am innocent and I am confident my name will be cleared. Until then I will apply my energy to ensure this is concluded swiftly and justly.

“I ask that my supporters don’t comment about this situation and respect the process and privacy of my family during this time.”

Slowthai was nominated for a Grammy award in 2021 and a Mercury prize in 2019. He has also won gongs at the NME Awards and UK Music Video Awards.

The rapper is also known for his budget-friendly tours such as ’99p tour’, a £5 ticketed tour and the recent £1 pub tour dubbed Best Night of Your Life.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.

Award-winning British rapper Slowthai has announced a tour of UK pubs, with tickets available for £1.

The six-date ‘Best Night of Your Life’ outing will kick off on 28 February at the Independent pub in Sunderland and will wrap up at The Black Prince in his hometown of Northampton on 3 March.

The tour, which is supported by Jagermeister, echoes the rapper’s previous budget-friendly 2019 tours: the ’99p tour’ and a £5 ticketed tour.

“It’s important to me that people can have access to me and my music”

“I make music for myself but I wouldn’t be where I am without my fans,” says Slowthai. “It’s important to me that people can have access to me and my music so I wanted to go to some new places and play this album first. Times are tough for a lot of people and working with Jägermeister has helped me keep tickets to only a quid.”

The ‘Best Night of Your Life’ tour will see the rapper perform his first headline shows in a year, in support of his recently-announced third album ‘Ugly’.

Slowthai joins a slate of artists including Tom Grennan, Rina Sawayama, Paul Heaton and The Big Moon that have capped the prices of their tickets or merchandise in a bid to help fans in the UK weather the cost of living crisis.

Get more stories like this in your inbox by signing up for IQ Index, IQ’s free email digest of essential live music industry news.