Kamasi Washington says Brexit could make touring UK tricky for artists

Britain leaving the EU could make the country less appealing to international performers, one of the world’s leading jazz musicians has said. Kamasi Washington, whose album The Epic and his work with Kendrick Lamar made him a poster boy of the jazz revival, said Brexit was not an inviting idea to musicians and could make coming to England harder for smaller bands. “It is not an inviting idea … and then, yes, there will be the notion of coming to Europe and the ease of travelling from one country to the next. That is part of what makes touring possible for lots of artists,” the US saxophonist told the Guardian. “Once it becomes harder to get into a country, just logistically, much more planning would have to be involved,” he said. “It is a bit unknown at the moment. We don’t know how difficult it is to get a visa. But if you are playing in France and want to come to the UK, you don’t know how hard it will be.