FEATURE:
Classic Acts and Modern Icons
Reacting to the First Wave of Names for This Year’s Glastonbury Festival
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EVEN though…
IN THIS PHOTO: Neil Young/PHOTO CREDIT: Ryan Pfluger for The New Yorker
every year the Glastonbury Festival is announced there is division and wildly differing reactions, this year does have some clear positives and exciting first-timers. At such a horrible, unpredictable and frightening time, I think music and festivals in particular are more important than ever. There are some big takeaways from the names that have already been announced. Of course, there will be more names coming up. The poster will get fuller. What we did get yesterday (6th March) were the three headline acts that will take to the Pyramid Stage, together with those that will headline other stages. Before getting to some reaction, The Guardian wrote about the varied and exciting names that have just been announced:
“This year’s Glastonbury set will feature two first-time headliners in the British pop-rock group the 1975 and the US pop-punk songwriter Olivia Rodrigo.
The band, led by Matty Healy, will top the Friday night billing on the Pyramid stage. Rodrigo will perform on Sunday. In 2022, the Drivers License singer performed on the Other stage, a set that boasted a guest spot from Lily Allen and an excoriation of the US supreme court following the overturning of Roe v Wade a day earlier.
In between on Saturday comes a previously – accidentally – announced headline set from Neil Young and his band the Chrome Hearts. On 1 January, Young declared, out of the blue, that he was withdrawing from this year’s festival owing to his perception that it was under broadcast partner the BBC’s “corporate control”. Two days later, he said he had received “an error in information” and that the festival was “back on our itinerary”. He previously headlined in 2009.
The soul-pop star Raye will play on the Pyramid stage before Young. The 27-year-old Londoner is already something of a national treasure after walking away from her major label to find critical and commercial success with her debut album, My 21st Century Blues.
The festival previously revealed that Rod Stewart would take this year’s “legends” slot. Stewart, who turned 80 in January, said he was “more than able to pleasure and titillate” at his age.
The Other stage headliners have also been revealed. After turning the world lime green with her culture-dominating album Brat last summer – and rivalling Dua Lipa’s headline extravaganza with merely a DJ set at Glastonbury 2024 – Charli xcx will headline the festival’s second stage on Saturday. The London rapper Loyle Carner headlines it on Friday, and the Prodigy will close the stage on Sunday – the dance group’s first Glastonbury performance since the death of their frontman, Keith Flint, in 2019, just before that year’s festival.
A raft of talents old and new are among this year’s first-time performers. At the breakout end of the scale, there is the Stick Season troubadour Noah Kahan, the That’s So True songwriter Gracie Abrams, the Messy singer Lola Young, the euphoric Brits-minted star Myles Smith, the cheeky American-Ghanaian rapper Amaarae and the A Bar Song (Tipsy) star and Beyoncé collaborator Shaboozey.
There are more surprising debuts from Alanis Morissette, Busta Rhymes, Brandi Carlile – who will be fresh off the back of a duets album with Elton John – the US girl group En Vogue, Anohni and the Johnsons, the cult British funk act Cymande, the hard-touring Osees and everyone’s friend electric, Gary Numan.
Worthy farm stalwarts scheduled to perform include Ezra Collective – riding high off winning best group at this year’s Brit awards – the Australian punk tykes Amyl and the Sniffers, Jorja Smith, Creedence Clearwater Revival’s John Fogerty and the roots reggae stars Burning Spear and Black Uhuru.
Friday also sees the return of the Isle of Wight indie duo Wet Leg, presumed to be back this year with their second album. The Irish pop star CMAT is another returning talent, along with the Bath dance iconoclast PinkPantheress and Sheffield’s Self Esteem, who returns with her new album, A Complicated Woman, in April.
After winning best rap album for her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal at this year’s Grammy awards – which also featured a performance hinting at the magic she will bring to Worthy Farm – the Florida rapper Doechii will headline the West Holts stage on Saturday”.
The biggest ‘negatives’ perhaps – or things that seem odd – revolve around the headline slots. One can appreciate the fact a legend like Neil Young has been booked. He and his band will be a popular choice. I was expecting Olivia Rodrigo to have been booked a couple of years ago. Although it is a really good booking, I wonder why she was not a headliner closer to the release of her 2023 album, GUTS. However, as an established artist, it is appropriate she is given a bigger stage. However, it just seems like the timing is a bit off. I wonder whether someone like Sabrina Carpenter was considered for a headline slot. With such much momentum behind her right now, she would have been a huge booking. Carpenter plays at London’s Hyde Park on 5th July, but maybe there was a budget issue. Perhaps Carpenter was approached but did not feel up for it. There could be a lot of reasons for it. However, I do think it is great that the headliners are a mix of ages. You have the iconic Neil Young and he will bring this golden set. It will be a hugely emotional experience for older and younger fans alike. No line-up is ever going to unite people. D.J., broadcaster and journalist Georgie Rogers said in an interview when asked for her reaction that it is impossible to please everyone. You always get people saying it is the worst line-up ever or the best. In truth, the past few years have definitely been more towards the ‘best’ end of the scale. The fact that there is gender balance being struck is vital. Upcoming artists given exposure and opportunity. More varied in terms of the musical palette. Icons like Paul McCartney and Elton John headlining. We have also seen Dua Lipa and SZA headline. One of the festival’s biggest issues was a lack of female headliners on the Pyramid Stage. Before they booked two female headliners (SZA and Dua Lipa) last year, there had only been four female headliners since the year 2000. That is a shocking and frankly depressing statistic! I was expecting either two or three female headliners this year. Will we ever see a year when female dominance is reflected in an all-female line-up on the Pyramid Stage headline slots?! The fact that such a big step forward was taken last year pointed at a new tide and improvement. If we have incredible women headlining other stages, the Pyramid Stage has only one female headliner.
Some might say the fact it is not all-male is a positive. That is true. It was be a massive step back to have no women. However, like last year, there is one odd inclusion. I can appreciate Coldplay were a crowd-pleasing booking last year. However, it didn’t seem fresh or a reaction to this new album that was wowing critics. It seemed a little lazy. This year, The 1975 have been booked. Aside from the fact that their lead Matty Healy – who I have made no secret of disliking enormously – is controversial, the band have not released an album since 2022. Being Funny in a Foreign Language got positive reaction but the band have not put much out in the three years since. It does seem another case of bad timing. It is baffling why they were selected when there are so many other bands that are more worthy. Fontaines D.C. would have been awesome headliners. Solo artists like Sam Fender. I was also thinking about Kylie Minogue. She was due to headline in 2005 but was replaced by Basement Jaxx. Minogue was diagnosed with breast cancer and one would have hoped that twenty years on, she would have been given that headline slot. She has played since 2005 but with the remarkable TENSION (2023) ranking alongside her best albums, she would have been a phenomenal booking. Also, her 2000 album, Light Years, turns twenty-five in September. Its iconic lead single, Spinning Around, turns twenty-five shortly before Glastonbury starts this year. As Glastonbury does not started until 25th June, Minogue will be done with The Tension Tour. It would be a perfect finale or encore if she was a Glastonbury headliner! The biggest omission is Charli xcx. Headlining on the Other Stage on the Saturday night, why not a Saturday headline slot on the Pyramid Stage?!
Dua Lipa was booked last year. Olivia Rodrigo this year. Charli xcx is arguably more popular and worthy. I reckon her Saturday headline slot will get more attention and buzz than The 1975’s headline slot. It does seem a weird oversight. Her time is now. With the momentum created from last year’s BRAT – which many highlighted as their album of the year -, she would be one of the best headliners from recent years! I think that her set will be a five-star spectacle, but you have to ask why she was not asked to headline the Pyramid Stage. It would mean two women headlining the festival’s biggest stage. Keeping that advantage from last year. Even though this year is not a step back, it does seem to be a missed opportunity. However, it is good that artists like Charli xcx and Doechii get a big platform. That might not have happened in years past. The festival organisers (Emily and Michael Eavis) aware of more female visibility in headline slots. Greater parity across the bill. Still a festival leading the way when it comes to gender inequality, though there is clearly room for improvement. The Pyramid Stage headline bookings have raised some questions. Though we have to celebrate the positives. Neil Young and The Chrome Hearts will be amazing. Olivia Rodrigo is definitely going to smash it! The biggest takeaway from the announced names is how broad it is. Something to please everyone. Alanis Morisette a first-time booking. Timely, as her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill, turns thirty on 13th June – two weeks before she plays Glastonbury. Busta Rhymes is an unusual call but a great one! En Vogue, Lola Young and Supergrass playing on the same day (Friday) as Self Esteem. It is a great Friday that promises so many treats. We will get more names but the ones announced so far are amazing.
Saturday is a brilliant one. Doechii and Charli xcx. Nova Twins and Gary Numan. Aside from some questionable calls like The Script and Kaiser Chiefs, they do work when you think about their demographic and fanbase. Appealing to a different crowd than Doechii or Beth Gibbons. Sunday ending the festival with a bang. Possibly the most diverse day, the Legends slot sees Rod Stewart take to the stage. He plays on the same day as The Prodigy, Olivia Rodrigo, Kae Tempest, The Brian Jonestown Massacre and the newly-reformed The Maccabees. When more names are announced, I think we will see a lot of rising artists given incredible recognition. Although I have some concerns and issues with the line-up – especially the main headliners -, it is subjective. Again, you cannot please everyone! Eclectic genres and time periods. Gender parity and important headline slots for women. Some older and classic bands sitting alongside modern icons. Perhaps one of the most enjoyable diverse line-up in many years! Last year’s festival was a wonderful thing. I think that this year’s could be even bigger and better. When more names are announced, we will get a clear picture of what Glastonbury 2025 will look like. However, the first wave of names offers plenty of positives! That is the main thing: the positive majority. My niggles aside, it is great that the U.K.’s biggest music festival is still going strong. Down at Worthy Farm, from 25th to 29th June, there is going to be…
A huge celebration!