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Take That, The Weeknd, and The Chemical Brothers are playing at Apple's music festival in London

Take That, The Weeknd, and The Chemical Brothers are to play at the Apple Music Festival in London later this month.

Apple announced the new lineup on Twitter on Wednesday night. The acts are joining the already confirmed One Direction, Disclosure, Pharrell Williams, and Florence + the Machine.

The Apple Music Festival is less a traditional festival and more a series of gigs over multiple nights. It's going to be held at the Roundhouse in Camden, North London, and will run for 10 nights from September 19 to September 28. It's the ninth year that Apple has held such an event, but this time around it has rebranded to mark the launch of the company's Apple Music service (it was previously known as the iTunes Festival.)

take that gary barlow
Take That (L-R) Howard Donald, Gary Barlow and Mark Owen perform during a secret gig for Magic FM at One Marylebone on April 24, 2015 in London, England. Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

The event acts as a kind of promotional tool for Apple's music platforms. It doesn't charge an entry fee — instead letting the public apply for a chance to win tickets — and showcases the various artists that appear on its services. Each night, one high-profile artist performs, and is supported by a smaller act.

This time around, Apple is using it as an opportunity to plug the various features of Apple Music, which launched earlier this year: The performances will be available to stream live on the service, and its global radio station Beats 1 will offer coverage, and music social network Apple Music Connect is promising "backstage news and footage straight from the artists."

Here's the lineup so far:

  • September 19 — unannounced
  • September 20 — Take That; special guest
  • September 21 — unannounced
  • September 22 — One Direction; Little Mix
  • September 23 — The Weeknd; special guest
  • September 24 — The Chemical Brothers; special guest
  • September 25 — Disclosure; special guest
  • September 26 — Pharrell Williams; Leon Bridges
  • September 27 — unannounced
  • September 28 — Florence + The Machine; James Bay

Here's the announcement tweet:

Apple London

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