I’m looking for four if anyone wants to get shot. Don’t listen to the records, but Coldplay are built for that slot, and the undercard is full of great acts.
Disclosure, Headie One, Jessie Ware, Danny Brown, Jamie xx, Sampha, Cyndi Lauper, Idles, Romy, Alvvays, Barry Can’t Swim, Blondshell, Peggy Gou, Orbital, Ghetts, Bonobo, Skream & Benga all excellent.
It’s very un-Rock line up, but that’s the direction of travel for a lot of big festivals now. It’s good fun.
Well, in the last 30 years pop has won and rock has lost. The Spice Girls trampling the still-twitching corpse of Britpop into the mud was just the beginning. We might be in denial about that here with our endless insistence that “what is happening in music” is almost always earnest white men with guitars but out there in the real world it’s becoming a minority interest.
Shitter than ever. Frankly, I don’t think Glastonbury is targetted at rock fans in their 50s and 60s.
I would possibly watch Fat White Family, Sleaford Mods, The Last Dinner Party, Michael Kiwanuka, The Idles, Orbital, and Fountaines DC, but none of them are especially stellar. TV will oblige. Glastonbury used to be about getting suitably refreshed and wandering into a random moment of joy, so maybe that’s what would be the best thing if you were there – especially as there are no must-sees.
I think it does rather indicate what’ the remaining talent is out there, and of course, there are lots of other festivals and tours also happening for a finite audience. I also suspect youngsters are less interested, TBH.
I’ve said it before but I went for best part of 15 years and the longer I went, the less time I spent at any of the big stages. Who wants to see Texas on the Pyramid stage when Femi Kuti is on at the Jazz World stage? One year I spent almost all of it in the Acoustic Tent. Not to mention drifting around the green fields.
I spent a whole afternoon in the Circus Tent one year – absolute blast! That always was the attraction for me; the possibility that you’d see or hear something amazing that you’d simply never have seen anywhere else. Mind you, some of those things had nothing whatsoever to do with the festival…
Me too. One year I bumped into an old university pal, Crusty Vicky, performing on the trapeze (her, not me). It was a long way from her humble beginnings in Epsom and a Geography degree (see the Kid’s best albums post, Levellers entry).
Yes, word was they thought they had Madonna, but couldn’t make her stage stage work to their budget, then had Stevie Wonder lined up before he also cancelled his dates. So SZA was a bit of a left-field choice but Glasto has a good reputation for making headliners as well as just bagging the legends.
I’ve been to every Glastonbury since 2000 and still have never seen Coldplay. The thing is, I like them quite well enough and would be up for seeing them, it’s just they’re always up against someone I like more. This could be the year it finally happens!
I must have bumped into you somewhere in that time!
My record on one of the Glastonbury’s I’ve attended was to see just 4 bands. And I had, as always, an absolutely brilliant time.
That’s dedication to the cause of hedonism! I once spent a whole day without visiting any of the stages* – having my mind expanded in the green fields, Carhenge, all those Mutoid Waste things, I even had a sauna.
(*) Unless you count walking past Peter Gabriel on the Pyramid stage on the way back to my tent. ‘Biko’ seemed to go on forever.
I’ve never been to Glastonbury and am not about to start now – but if I did go there’s loads here I’d be interested in seeing – the likes of PJ Harvey, Michael Kiwanuka, Janelle Monae, Jessie Ware, Brittany Howard, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sampha, Lankum, Arooj Aftab and Mdou Moctar. And I’m sure there are plenty who I don’t know that I’d enjoy. It definitely feels a different and way more diverse kind of bill to a few years ago, which is a good thing, right?
Agreed. I would be interested in London Grammar, Romy, Dua Lipa, even Coldplay because they put on a good show and the crowd will be ecstatic. The Stevie Wonder problem is they are all too old and decrepit, the legends or not known, or dead.
Indeed. It’s easy to take pot-shots at the headline acts but, if you go there, you discover there are more stages than you can feasibly visit in three days plus big tops for comedy, theatre, circus, etc. Even then, that’s only about half of the entertainment – there’s all kinds of weird and wacky stuff going on round the fringes of the site. The total population of the site is about the same as Cambridge, and we wouldn’t all want to go to the Portland Arms.
I’ve been with non-music-obsessive friends who haven’t seen a single live music act over a weekend.
I’d love to go again but my bad guts make it tricky. I’m considering buying a campervan with a bed, fridge, cooker, toilet & shower – that might be feasible.
“PJ Harvey, Michael Kiwanuka, Janelle Monae, Jessie Ware, Brittany Howard, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sampha, Lankum, Arooj Aftab and Mdou Moctar.”
Impressive stuff, @Blue Boy. That line up would keep me very busy and very content.
But Glasto is all far too big for my taste.
A festival can have the most amazing line up ever (the Phoenix Festival at Long Marston Airfield being a classic example).
But once one factors in all the practical issues like distances between stages, clashes, weather conditions, toilets etc…the reality is anything but enjoyable.
As an attendee last century I enjoyed it a lot. Last year, I did not. For all the talk of all the stuff scattered over the 400 acres, frankly, you spend more time walking than ever arriving. I saw a few good sets, but far fewer than at any other smaller and less famous festival. Plus, had I wanted to see anything at the fabled Phoenix stage, I’d have to arrive at 8am and stand stockstill, with neither sustenance in, or to empty, until their, say, 3pm slot, then be wedged in solid until the close. Hideous.
I will stick with Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival which happens to be on the same weekend. About 4 stages, 10K people and 2.5 Wilco sets (1 Jeff Tweedy solo) along with Nick Lowe, Jason Isbell and a few others. My Airbnb will be 20 minutes walk from Mass Moca (Massachussetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, MA where it is held. Hopefully my bed will be comfy. It will rain though, it always does
I don’t really like huge gigs. Too many people, too much queueing, the toilets, etc…. But if I had to go to one, I would want a band that puts on a show and knows how to engage. Coldplay seem absolutely brilliant at that and I would far rather watch them than bands whose albums I have bought more of. Glastonbury is a beach holiday. Don’t bemoan the lack of fine art museums at the resort.
Looking forward to hearing how their set was “legendary” and “perhaps the best ever” from Jo Whiley, even if it’s identical to what they played in Budapest the week before
I wouldn’t play their stuff at home. I did see a concert from South America on youtube. Think it was Brazil. Found it entertaining but really it was the crowd that made it. Wonderful. It felt churlish to sneer. Pure joy on their faces. If you’re a band and you want a successful music video, film it in South America – Brazil or Argentina. Can’t fail as long as they love you there.
I bought the first album and thought it was pretty good, bought the second one, thought this sounds the same as the first. Bought the 3rd one and gave up. So I hate them only owning 3 albums by them! Think whatever they get up to on stage, Martin’s weak, whining voice does it for me.
Coldplay have to be the definitive Jo Whiley band. Guitars? Yep. Meaningless lyrics a child could have written? Yep. Predictable? Oh god yes. No horses frightened here.
Landfill doesn’t quite cover it … Radio Times Rock?
“In our day, we didn’t wear clothes”
“Typical students: always demonstrating” etc
Me, I’ll be glued to my tv for Dua, Janelle, Kiwanuka, Jungle, Jessie Ware, Confidence Man, Black Pumas, Nia Archives, Yard Act, Barry Can’t Swim, Olivia Dean, SZA, Steel Pulse and Dexys, have high hopes for half a dozen others and expect – as usual – to be blown away by someone not even on my radar. And I don’t think it’s a particularly strong line up.
This time last year Poo Shiters, Hozier and Rick Astley-Astley-Astley were not yet on the bill..
I’d like to see a lot of the acts. So, yes. But only if I can avoid crowds, mud, long walks, long queues at the bar and the toilets. So I’m doing Sofa Glasto again I think.
Although I remember getting a flyer for the first Glastonbury, I didn’t get there until 2013 but haven’t missed one since. The atmosphere is like nowhere else. I rarely get to the Pyramid Stage as there is so much else to take in. If the ticket price is a barrier, try volunteering, it’s a great experience, with a hidden world of bars & venues to enjoy.
Yeeeesss, I get all this un-music related jolly japes to be had, but, as a music fan, nay fanatic, festivals, to me, equal seeing loadsa bands, outdoors, and remembering most of it. And, much as catching unexpected gems malarkey might sound grand, any of the unsigned and uncelebrated I caught last year, frankly, their performances explained entirely why they were neither those things. Christ, even Bearded Theory offers way more this year. (I say even, but their niche has slipped a tad, more in favour of the crusty central they have always flirted with)
Talking of, hey, @kid-dynamite , you going this year?
That don’t impress me much.
Dua Lipa, Cyndi Lauper – yeah!
But no Maggie Rogers?
I’m looking for four if anyone wants to get shot. Don’t listen to the records, but Coldplay are built for that slot, and the undercard is full of great acts.
Disclosure, Headie One, Jessie Ware, Danny Brown, Jamie xx, Sampha, Cyndi Lauper, Idles, Romy, Alvvays, Barry Can’t Swim, Blondshell, Peggy Gou, Orbital, Ghetts, Bonobo, Skream & Benga all excellent.
It’s very un-Rock line up, but that’s the direction of travel for a lot of big festivals now. It’s good fun.
Well, in the last 30 years pop has won and rock has lost. The Spice Girls trampling the still-twitching corpse of Britpop into the mud was just the beginning. We might be in denial about that here with our endless insistence that “what is happening in music” is almost always earnest white men with guitars but out there in the real world it’s becoming a minority interest.
I couldn’t care less what instruments are played as long as there’s a long, groovy jam with an extended guitar solo.
That’s just you, Moose…
Aye, it always is.
Shitter than ever. Frankly, I don’t think Glastonbury is targetted at rock fans in their 50s and 60s.
I would possibly watch Fat White Family, Sleaford Mods, The Last Dinner Party, Michael Kiwanuka, The Idles, Orbital, and Fountaines DC, but none of them are especially stellar. TV will oblige. Glastonbury used to be about getting suitably refreshed and wandering into a random moment of joy, so maybe that’s what would be the best thing if you were there – especially as there are no must-sees.
I think it does rather indicate what’ the remaining talent is out there, and of course, there are lots of other festivals and tours also happening for a finite audience. I also suspect youngsters are less interested, TBH.
I’ve said it before but I went for best part of 15 years and the longer I went, the less time I spent at any of the big stages. Who wants to see Texas on the Pyramid stage when Femi Kuti is on at the Jazz World stage? One year I spent almost all of it in the Acoustic Tent. Not to mention drifting around the green fields.
I spent a whole afternoon in the Circus Tent one year – absolute blast! That always was the attraction for me; the possibility that you’d see or hear something amazing that you’d simply never have seen anywhere else. Mind you, some of those things had nothing whatsoever to do with the festival…
Me too. One year I bumped into an old university pal, Crusty Vicky, performing on the trapeze (her, not me). It was a long way from her humble beginnings in Epsom and a Geography degree (see the Kid’s best albums post, Levellers entry).
@fentonsteve Thanks for the clarification. 🙂
Folk festivals, or festivals previously labelled as folk, are where all the guitars are playing.
To be fair, even Donnington can’t get the talent these days. The only band I’d bother with there would be QOTSA.
Whither the bottles of piss of yore….. The bedenimed hoardes, where are they now?
Or as Francois Villon nearly wrote.
“Où sont les bouteilles d’urine d’antan.”
What’s happened to your hauntingly lifelike imagery, Hubes?
As J P Satyr said “je ne peux pas être connard”
I’m for connard.
[connard – Fr. duck – Ed.]
A reference to this?
I was ignoring Moosey’s boast about how ‘ard he is.
It was first thing in the morning.
As his cousin JP Satay said “Hmm, peanuts….”
Ho hum…
Another huge chunk of BBC coverage I’ll (mostly) be avoiding.
Wasn’t there a story doing the rounds that Stevie Wonder was going to headline
but pulled out due to illness?
Consensus seems to be that the line up is meh with a capital M, but on the plus
side, at least it isn’t going to have The Eagles topping the bill
Yes, word was they thought they had Madonna, but couldn’t make her stage stage work to their budget, then had Stevie Wonder lined up before he also cancelled his dates. So SZA was a bit of a left-field choice but Glasto has a good reputation for making headliners as well as just bagging the legends.
I bet Dua Lipa will be great. Would leave the country to avoid catching any Coldplay
A few weeks back I bought a ticket to see the very wonderful Phospheresence at a small Dublin club called Whelans.
Hotels in the city that late August Thursday night were two or three times the price they were the same night a week before and a week later.
Thanks, Chris
I’ve been to every Glastonbury since 2000 and still have never seen Coldplay. The thing is, I like them quite well enough and would be up for seeing them, it’s just they’re always up against someone I like more. This could be the year it finally happens!
I’ve seen one and a half of their previous Glastonbury sets. My advice would be – Don’t bother.
I must have bumped into you somewhere in that time!
My record on one of the Glastonbury’s I’ve attended was to see just 4 bands. And I had, as always, an absolutely brilliant time.
That’s dedication to the cause of hedonism! I once spent a whole day without visiting any of the stages* – having my mind expanded in the green fields, Carhenge, all those Mutoid Waste things, I even had a sauna.
(*) Unless you count walking past Peter Gabriel on the Pyramid stage on the way back to my tent. ‘Biko’ seemed to go on forever.
Biko in early 90s? It did, it did. Put me right off the GWFHM; for years.
I can recommend hedonism for 5 days, after that the comedown can be severe!
Hedonism seems a word at odds with how most apply it: headoffism would seem much more applicable,.
This is a funny joke.
dubnobasswithmyheadoff?
Dua *will* be great. She was so good on the Future Nostalgia tour two years ago.
I’ve never been to Glastonbury and am not about to start now – but if I did go there’s loads here I’d be interested in seeing – the likes of PJ Harvey, Michael Kiwanuka, Janelle Monae, Jessie Ware, Brittany Howard, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sampha, Lankum, Arooj Aftab and Mdou Moctar. And I’m sure there are plenty who I don’t know that I’d enjoy. It definitely feels a different and way more diverse kind of bill to a few years ago, which is a good thing, right?
Agreed. I would be interested in London Grammar, Romy, Dua Lipa, even Coldplay because they put on a good show and the crowd will be ecstatic. The Stevie Wonder problem is they are all too old and decrepit, the legends or not known, or dead.
Nooooo! How can Little Stevie Wonder be old and decrepit? Look at the wee fella!
Indeed. It’s easy to take pot-shots at the headline acts but, if you go there, you discover there are more stages than you can feasibly visit in three days plus big tops for comedy, theatre, circus, etc. Even then, that’s only about half of the entertainment – there’s all kinds of weird and wacky stuff going on round the fringes of the site. The total population of the site is about the same as Cambridge, and we wouldn’t all want to go to the Portland Arms.
I’ve been with non-music-obsessive friends who haven’t seen a single live music act over a weekend.
I’d love to go again but my bad guts make it tricky. I’m considering buying a campervan with a bed, fridge, cooker, toilet & shower – that might be feasible.
“PJ Harvey, Michael Kiwanuka, Janelle Monae, Jessie Ware, Brittany Howard, Corinne Bailey Rae, Sampha, Lankum, Arooj Aftab and Mdou Moctar.”
Impressive stuff, @Blue Boy. That line up would keep me very busy and very content.
But Glasto is all far too big for my taste.
A festival can have the most amazing line up ever (the Phoenix Festival at Long Marston Airfield being a classic example).
But once one factors in all the practical issues like distances between stages, clashes, weather conditions, toilets etc…the reality is anything but enjoyable.
As an attendee last century I enjoyed it a lot. Last year, I did not. For all the talk of all the stuff scattered over the 400 acres, frankly, you spend more time walking than ever arriving. I saw a few good sets, but far fewer than at any other smaller and less famous festival. Plus, had I wanted to see anything at the fabled Phoenix stage, I’d have to arrive at 8am and stand stockstill, with neither sustenance in, or to empty, until their, say, 3pm slot, then be wedged in solid until the close. Hideous.
I will stick with Wilco’s Solid Sound Festival which happens to be on the same weekend. About 4 stages, 10K people and 2.5 Wilco sets (1 Jeff Tweedy solo) along with Nick Lowe, Jason Isbell and a few others. My Airbnb will be 20 minutes walk from Mass Moca (Massachussetts Museum of Contemporary Art) in North Adams, MA where it is held. Hopefully my bed will be comfy. It will rain though, it always does
https://solidsoundfestival.com/
I’d be over the moon to join you. Sounds perfect, I’m assuming our rooms have single beds?
The 2 bedrooms are spoken for, but you can have the couch.
Just say no, LoW.
*shudder*
Who’s booked for the John Peel tent?
It’s now the Peter Powell arena.
I always liked his stunt kites.
Kids today …
Anyone he can get his hands on etc
The Saint Winifred’s Girls Choir were apparently but then swiftly cancelled due to no longer being able to squeeze into their uniforms
I don’t really like huge gigs. Too many people, too much queueing, the toilets, etc…. But if I had to go to one, I would want a band that puts on a show and knows how to engage. Coldplay seem absolutely brilliant at that and I would far rather watch them than bands whose albums I have bought more of. Glastonbury is a beach holiday. Don’t bemoan the lack of fine art museums at the resort.
Looking forward to hearing how their set was “legendary” and “perhaps the best ever” from Jo Whiley, even if it’s identical to what they played in Budapest the week before
There will, undoubtedly, people who are amazed that a hugely competent band who have vast experience at playing enormodomes played a great show.
A lot of us are very sniffy about Coldplay but I’m with Leedsboy to some extent though they do have questionable fashion sense.
I wouldn’t play their stuff at home. I did see a concert from South America on youtube. Think it was Brazil. Found it entertaining but really it was the crowd that made it. Wonderful. It felt churlish to sneer. Pure joy on their faces. If you’re a band and you want a successful music video, film it in South America – Brazil or Argentina. Can’t fail as long as they love you there.
I bought the first album and thought it was pretty good, bought the second one, thought this sounds the same as the first. Bought the 3rd one and gave up. So I hate them only owning 3 albums by them! Think whatever they get up to on stage, Martin’s weak, whining voice does it for me.
I think I only made it to 2 albums.
I made three and then gave up as well.
Similar thing with the Stereophonics. Two great albums as a start then a bit meh.
In truth, The Stereophonics started running out of steam halfway through the second album.
Coldplay have to be the definitive Jo Whiley band. Guitars? Yep. Meaningless lyrics a child could have written? Yep. Predictable? Oh god yes. No horses frightened here.
Landfill doesn’t quite cover it … Radio Times Rock?
Lowest Common Denominator rock, more like
SwitchYourBrainOffAnd Rock.
But please don’t rock too hard as you might spoil the gig for the people sitting behind in front and on either side of you
I think we need to conclude that the squares won.
We probably had more fun though.
“In our day, we didn’t wear clothes”
“Typical students: always demonstrating” etc
Me, I’ll be glued to my tv for Dua, Janelle, Kiwanuka, Jungle, Jessie Ware, Confidence Man, Black Pumas, Nia Archives, Yard Act, Barry Can’t Swim, Olivia Dean, SZA, Steel Pulse and Dexys, have high hopes for half a dozen others and expect – as usual – to be blown away by someone not even on my radar. And I don’t think it’s a particularly strong line up.
This time last year Poo Shiters, Hozier and Rick Astley-Astley-Astley were not yet on the bill..
I love the idea that we aren’t the squares. Alanis Morrisette could get a new verse out of that statement.
Wouldn’t she have to understand irony first?
(He said, squarely)
Yebbut she was using the term ironically in the first place. So misunderstood.
Yeah but it’s Glastonbury. It’s about the event and being there. The music part is secondary.
This is true.
For some, a rite of passage even.
Getting back to the question in the OP title…no, thanks.
I’d like to see a lot of the acts. So, yes. But only if I can avoid crowds, mud, long walks, long queues at the bar and the toilets. So I’m doing Sofa Glasto again I think.
Although I remember getting a flyer for the first Glastonbury, I didn’t get there until 2013 but haven’t missed one since. The atmosphere is like nowhere else. I rarely get to the Pyramid Stage as there is so much else to take in. If the ticket price is a barrier, try volunteering, it’s a great experience, with a hidden world of bars & venues to enjoy.
Yeeeesss, I get all this un-music related jolly japes to be had, but, as a music fan, nay fanatic, festivals, to me, equal seeing loadsa bands, outdoors, and remembering most of it. And, much as catching unexpected gems malarkey might sound grand, any of the unsigned and uncelebrated I caught last year, frankly, their performances explained entirely why they were neither those things. Christ, even Bearded Theory offers way more this year. (I say even, but their niche has slipped a tad, more in favour of the crusty central they have always flirted with)
Talking of, hey, @kid-dynamite , you going this year?