Glastonbury Festival usually has a nicely eclectic lineup, presenting the cutting edge of pop as well as classic acts. This year is no different. There are a few out-of-place headliners, but otherwise the bill is solid.
It depresses me to see The 1975 headlining, as if they are the best ‘rock’ has to offer at the moment, as well as The Script, a band I have heard frequently described as ‘coworker music.’ That being said, some of the finest names in pop music are playing, including Olivia Rodrigo, Lola Young, Gracie Abrams and Doechii. It’ll be interesting to see who’s still worth listening to in five years. There are also solid hip-hop artists on the bill, including Loyle Carner, Denzel Curry, and Greentea Peng.
Sadly, these fine acts are swamped by a number of past-their-prime and fallen-off-the-zeitgeist artists. Some are old millennial fare like Biffy Clyro, Kaiser Chiefs and Father John Misty, while others are more recently left behind, including PinkPantheress and Girl In Red. Others flog the dead horse of landfill indie for the Strongbow bucket-hat lads, including Wunderhorse and Inhaler. Some people criticise Glastonbury for being an out-of-touch, middle-of-the-road festival now. I won’t comment, but booking Snow Patrol, one of the most boring bands ever, makes them hard to defend.
That being said, take courage. Many luminaries who shaped today’s music are playing, including Fatboy Slim and The Prodigy (90s dance), Burning Spear and Black Uhuru (reggae), Cymande (jazz-funk) and Gary Numan and Nile Rodgers (generally good music). Some hot names in psychedelia are playing too – Glass Beams, Osees, Goat and The Brian Jonestown Massacre, as well as Yussef Dayes, Kae Tempest and St. Vincent, some of the most forward-thinking, distinct 21st century artists about.
The last word must be that the Saturday headliners are excellent. There are no excuses for missing Neil Young and Charli XCX. Although they sound radically different from one another, they both have it going on.
