As someone fortunate enough to be attending this year’s Glastonbury Festival, I’d been waiting patiently for the first line-up poster since finding out that I was lucky enough to get tickets for the third time in four years, back in November.
So when it finally dropped at 8am on Thursday morning, my excitement was palpable. However, the timing of the announcement wasn’t particularly ideal as I was just about to leave for work, and so it took the rest of the day for me to get my head fully around it.
Let’s start with the negatives; the headliners don’t really blow me away.
Neil Young is undoubtedly a legend but not one that is going to draw a crowd in the same way that Elton John or Paul McCartney did in the past few years. His tantrum about the festival being under ‘corporate control’ has also become more bizarre recently when he was announced as a headliner for a festival that has ‘American Express presents’ at the start of its name.
I understand why Olivia Rodrigo is headlining; her streaming numbers speak for themselves and by all accounts, she tore the place down when she played the Other Stage in 2022. Despite this, she’s not particularly to my tastes and, in my opinion, doesn’t have the wow factor of someone like Rihanna or Lady Gaga.
As for The 1975, I do like a few of their songs and with Sam Fender seemingly just doing his own thing this summer, they seem like the most obvious British option. But once again, it just doesn’t fill me with excitement.
A strong undercard
That being said, I’m really happy with the rest of the line-up and the undercard is probably the strongest its been in all the years that I’ve been.
The first name that jumped out to me was Wolf Alice – one of my favourite bands, whose mesmerising Pyramid performance in 2022 almost moved me to tears. They were also a huge surprise, as they haven’t released any new music since the brilliant ‘Blue Weekend’ four years ago.
Keeping with acts on the top two lines, Nile Rodgers and Chic are one of the remaining bands on my bucket list and their set on Sunday afternoon should make for a brilliant party atmosphere. Wet Leg were brilliant on the Park Stage in 2022 and despite not releasing any new music since then, I’m excited to see what they can do in a more prominent slot. Then there’s The Libertines, who are a band I have a lot of love for.
Then there’s culturally relevant acts who are objectively huge bookings, such as Gracie Abrams, Noah Kahan, Charli XCX headlining the Other Stage at the same time as Neil Young, Raye sub-headlining the Pyramid the same day, and Doechii headlining West Holts that same evening – those five acts alone have more than 190 million monthly Spotify streams between them.
Legends and hidden gems
Rod Stewart is a bit of a safe Legends Slot booking but he has enough big tunes to draw a massive crowd, while Busta Rhymes, Alanis Morissette and John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater Revival fame are three legends in their own right, from across the pond.
Further down the line-up the great acts keep coming; Blossoms, Scissor Sisters, Weezer and The Maccabees are particular highlights for me, but after dipping into the line-up a bit more, I’ve added the likes of En Vogue, Parcels, Joy Crookes, Greentea Peng, Faye Webster, BADBADNOTGOOD, Maribou State, Djo and PinkPantheress to my list.
Then there’s artists that I was already planning to watch at Neighbourhood Weekender, like CMAT, Wunderhorse, and Inhaler, who have also made it to the Glastonbury line-up.
Omissions and other issues
Following strong rumours that she would open for Olivia Rodrigo, Chappell Roan seems like the most glaring omission, but there’s clearly enough going on elsewhere that this isn’t really an issue.
What is potentially an issue, however, is Charli XCX clashing with Neil Young – who I expect to draw one of the smallest Pyramid headline crowds in recent memory (although still larger than Sza last year). Scheduling Doechii on West Holts at the same time should alleviate some of the pressure but the Other Stage is likely to be very very busy that Saturday night.
With the individual stage posters still to come, I’m sure there’s still a few surprises on the way. Either way, the potential clashes are already giving me a massive headache, so pray for my sanity when the full line-up and schedule is released a few weeks before the festival.
What do you think of this year’s Glastonbury line-up? Who are your must-see acts? Let me know in the comments.